Rating: 
Summary: A COURAGEOUS ACT: A MUST READ FOR DEMOCRACY
Review: THE TRAVESTY THAT SITS ATOP THE SUPREME LAW OFTHE LAND IS NOW REVEALED FOR THE TRAVESTY THAT BROUGHT HIM THERE. (...). THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN EVERY DEMOCRACY CLASS IN US HIGH SCHOOLS. JOHN DEAN (AND HIS WIFE) SHOULD BE GIVEN A NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR. THIS BOOK, ALONG WITH THEIR OTHER WORK, SHOWS WHAT "IT" IS REALLY ABOUT, ACCESSIBLE TO THE AVERAGE GOOD-THINKING, USUALLY GULLIBLE AMERICAN. AND IT MAKES ONE PLEASED THAT, AFTER THE DECADES OF HOOVER HORRORS AND REPUBLICAN PANDERING, DEMAGOGUERY, AND PANIC-INSTILLING-SNOWBALLING DESTRUCTION OF POLITICIANS THEY CAN'T BUY, CLINTON STOOD HIS GROUND AGAINST THAT ABSURD IMPEACHMENT CHARADE. AT WHICH, DON'T FORGET, REHNQUIST PRESIDED IN HIS MEDIEVAL ROBES, WAITING FOR SOME INQUISITION-LIKE OBSCURE NOTE TO POUNCE ON TO SECURE HIS WISH. THANK GOD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE GOOD JUDGES OF HUMAN NATURE. ANYONE WHO THINKS REHNQUIST HARMLESS, HAD BETTER LOOK INTO HIS RECORD A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY, AND ASK, DOES THIS MAN REALLY REPRESENT WHAT AMERICA EITHER WAS INTENDED TO BE ABOUT BY THE FOUNDERS, OR WANTED BY OUR PEOPLE. THE ABSURDITY OF SUCH AN EXTREMIST PARADING UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TOP PERMANENT OFFICE OF THE NATION AND THE PERFIDY BY WHICH HE ATTAINED IT IS NIXON'S ULTIMATE REVENGE. AND HELPLESS THOUGH WE MAY BE, WE OWE DEAN A GREAT DEBT FOR CLARIFYING THE PICTURE.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read by Dubious Writer
Review: Unfortunately I've come to notice that people tend to react to reviews on the Nixon Administration based on ideological positions instead of the actual review of the book. What I think of Richard Nixon and my political are irrelevant, what you need to know is what I think of this book.Given that preamble, I would warn you to avoid this book if you are hoping to read a scholarly analysis of how William Rhenquist was appointed to the Supreme Court. What John Dean provides in this book is a well-written anecdotal review of Richard Nixon's Supreme Court selection process. What becomes obvious in reading the book is that Dean was pretty much out of the loop of the day-to-day operation of the White House. While he would like you to think that he played an important role in Rhenquist's selection, he exaggerates his contributions. More importantly, he offers very little personal insight to the history of the times (because he was out of the loop). This book is merely and attempt of Dean trying to cash in on his White House years. He's a gifted writer which makes the book easy to read, but he's also a lazy journalist. What you get is a skillful retelling of what was recorded on the infamous White House tapes. It's interesting reading and will keep your attention, but much of the information has been told in other books. Haldeman's book is much more informative as is Anthony Summer's trashy and sensationalist expose. As for the Rhenquist appointment, Dean implies criticism of Nixon for being so political, but that's a criticism that can be leveled at many presidents too. Given Dean's comparitively low standing in the White House, he doesn't have the needed perspective to evaluate Nixon's actions. Finally, it's very hard to have much respect for Dean on any level. If you're a conservative you can loathe him for his disloyalty to Nixon. If you're a liberal you can hate him because he was part of the administration. What everyone can agree on is that he a shameless self-promoter whose impact on history will be much less profound than he realizes. The real heroes and villans of the Nixon era (depending on your political views) filled important roles and positions in the adminstration and shaped a history that continues to affect our nation. Dean was merely a bit player who now has the skill to recount events that happened that he barely affected.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read by Dubious Writer
Review: Unfortunately I've come to notice that people tend to react to reviews on the Nixon Administration based on ideological positions instead of the actual review of the book. What I think of Richard Nixon and my political are irrelevant, what you need to know is what I think of this book. Given that preamble, I would warn you to avoid this book if you are hoping to read a scholarly analysis of how William Rhenquist was appointed to the Supreme Court. What John Dean provides in this book is a well-written anecdotal review of Richard Nixon's Supreme Court selection process. What becomes obvious in reading the book is that Dean was pretty much out of the loop of the day-to-day operation of the White House. While he would like you to think that he played an important role in Rhenquist's selection, he exaggerates his contributions. More importantly, he offers very little personal insight to the history of the times (because he was out of the loop). This book is merely and attempt of Dean trying to cash in on his White House years. He's a gifted writer which makes the book easy to read, but he's also a lazy journalist. What you get is a skillful retelling of what was recorded on the infamous White House tapes. It's interesting reading and will keep your attention, but much of the information has been told in other books. Haldeman's book is much more informative as is Anthony Summer's trashy and sensationalist expose. As for the Rhenquist appointment, Dean implies criticism of Nixon for being so political, but that's a criticism that can be leveled at many presidents too. Given Dean's comparitively low standing in the White House, he doesn't have the needed perspective to evaluate Nixon's actions. Finally, it's very hard to have much respect for Dean on any level. If you're a conservative you can loathe him for his disloyalty to Nixon. If you're a liberal you can hate him because he was part of the administration. What everyone can agree on is that he a shameless self-promoter whose impact on history will be much less profound than he realizes. The real heroes and villans of the Nixon era (depending on your political views) filled important roles and positions in the adminstration and shaped a history that continues to affect our nation. Dean was merely a bit player who now has the skill to recount events that happened that he barely affected.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful subject; flawed author
Review: With the recent debacles that seem to have dominated recent American political history, the general public has finally become aware of the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court. As opposed to the U.S. Congress or the President, members of the court are appointed for life. They do not have to face reelection nor do they have a set date for retirement. In short, there's probably no presidential appointment that carries more importance than who the president names (and the Senate confirms) to the Supreme Court. One bad nomination (as history has shown time and again) can have a deterimental effect on U.S. policy for decades to come. However, despite its power, the Court has always had a somewhat stuffy, unsexy image. It usually doesn't make for fun reading and for too long, the process that goes into selecting the men and women who populate our highest court has been ignored. For this reason alone, John Dean's The Rehnquist Choice is a long overdue book. At the title implies, the Rehnquist Choice follows the long course of strategizing that led to the appointment, by Richard Nixon, of William Rehnquist. With his recent prominence following both the impeachment trials and the election debacle, its easy to forget that Rehnquist was seemingly plucked from obscurity. In one of the book's more amusing revelations, we discover that Nixon himself was often unsure of the correct pronunciation of the man he appointed to the highest court in the land. Dean, who was an aide to Nixon, was one of the few members of the administration to lobby for the appointment of Rehnquist and, as he opaquely acknowledges, his lobbying was more of a case of his own need to display power than anything else. Nixon, meanwhile, is shown as he considers a wide range of surprising names before settling on Rehnquist. Indeed, part of the book's fun comes from imagining the possibilities of some of the men that Nixon considered. Nixon, as always a fascinating character who comes across as half-genius and half-child, is especially entertaining as he seriously speculates on naming U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, a former Klan members who has never actually practiced law, just to annoy Democrats in Congress. Its an interesting inside look and also a sad look at how political concerns trivialize the entire appointment and confirmation process. There's something definitely disturbing about how one of the most powerful men in the country got his job mostly because of the petty egos of Nixon and the members of his dysfunctional staff. If there is a problem with this insightful record, it is with the author himself. After working in obscurity, Dean came to prominence as one of the youngest (and the quickest to betray his boss) of the president's men. Ever since the Watergate ordeal, Dean's been trying to justify his place and role in the Nixon administration. Basically, in this book and others, Dean's overriding theme seems to be "Everyone in the Nixon White House was bad except for me." Unfortunately, especially towards the end of the book, Dean seems to sacrifice the book's insider details in order to make himself look better. Too much of the book is full of him assuring us that he feels very guilty for having engineered the appointment and confirmation of the man who, in the eyes of many, elected a Republican to the White House in 2000. Regardless of your politics, its hard not to wish that Dean would stop promoting his own sainthood and instead concentrate on the insider details that makes the rest of this book such a wonderful document.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful subject; flawed author
Review: With the recent debacles that seem to have dominated recent American political history, the general public has finally become aware of the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court. As opposed to the U.S. Congress or the President, members of the court are appointed for life. They do not have to face reelection nor do they have a set date for retirement. In short, there's probably no presidential appointment that carries more importance than who the president names (and the Senate confirms) to the Supreme Court. One bad nomination (as history has shown time and again) can have a deterimental effect on U.S. policy for decades to come. However, despite its power, the Court has always had a somewhat stuffy, unsexy image. It usually doesn't make for fun reading and for too long, the process that goes into selecting the men and women who populate our highest court has been ignored. For this reason alone, John Dean's The Rehnquist Choice is a long overdue book. At the title implies, the Rehnquist Choice follows the long course of strategizing that led to the appointment, by Richard Nixon, of William Rehnquist. With his recent prominence following both the impeachment trials and the election debacle, its easy to forget that Rehnquist was seemingly plucked from obscurity. In one of the book's more amusing revelations, we discover that Nixon himself was often unsure of the correct pronunciation of the man he appointed to the highest court in the land. Dean, who was an aide to Nixon, was one of the few members of the administration to lobby for the appointment of Rehnquist and, as he opaquely acknowledges, his lobbying was more of a case of his own need to display power than anything else. Nixon, meanwhile, is shown as he considers a wide range of surprising names before settling on Rehnquist. Indeed, part of the book's fun comes from imagining the possibilities of some of the men that Nixon considered. Nixon, as always a fascinating character who comes across as half-genius and half-child, is especially entertaining as he seriously speculates on naming U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, a former Klan members who has never actually practiced law, just to annoy Democrats in Congress. Its an interesting inside look and also a sad look at how political concerns trivialize the entire appointment and confirmation process. There's something definitely disturbing about how one of the most powerful men in the country got his job mostly because of the petty egos of Nixon and the members of his dysfunctional staff. If there is a problem with this insightful record, it is with the author himself. After working in obscurity, Dean came to prominence as one of the youngest (and the quickest to betray his boss) of the president's men. Ever since the Watergate ordeal, Dean's been trying to justify his place and role in the Nixon administration. Basically, in this book and others, Dean's overriding theme seems to be "Everyone in the Nixon White House was bad except for me." Unfortunately, especially towards the end of the book, Dean seems to sacrifice the book's insider details in order to make himself look better. Too much of the book is full of him assuring us that he feels very guilty for having engineered the appointment and confirmation of the man who, in the eyes of many, elected a Republican to the White House in 2000. Regardless of your politics, its hard not to wish that Dean would stop promoting his own sainthood and instead concentrate on the insider details that makes the rest of this book such a wonderful document.
|
