Rating: 
Summary: Sympathetic look at America's 29th President
Review: When was the last time you read anything about our 29th President? Most folks would have to admit that they have not encountered the subject since high school. In most textbooks and indeed by most historical accounts Warren Harding was an incompetent President who was dogged by scandal. Not so says John Dean!!!! Dean has written a very engaging little book that takes yet another look at Warren Harding's brief Presidency. According to Dean, history has been quite unfair to the man. Using recently unearthed documents previously thought to have been destroyed, Dean portrays Harding as a personally engaging fellow and a predominately centrist President. Alas, he was betrayed by several of his appointees, most notably Interior Secretary Albert Fall and an old chum from Ohio, the Attorney General William Dougherty. But Harding died just as the Teapot Dome scandal began to erupt. He
was not around to defend himself but there appears to be precious little evidence that Harding was directly involved in the scandals in any way. Is this just revisionist history? Hard to say. But John Dean is quite convincing in his presentation. I am compelled to read more about Harding before reaching any final conclusions. If you are a history buff who has not yet partaken of any of the books in Arthur Schlesinger's American Presidents Series you a doing yourself a serious disservice. I have read a few of them now and they are top notch!!!
Rating: 
Summary: John Dean should not write history
Review: While the major networks and NPR are going crazy over Mr. Dean's latest "revelation," I think it is important to remember who and what John Dean is. Even before his brief time with the Nixon administration, Dean had been fired by his former law firm for engaging in suspicious and illegal activities and that was only the begining. After becoming special counsel to the President, Mr. Dean stole Whitehouse money to pay for his honeymoon and most likely stole funds for other purposes. Furthermore, his wife, Maureen Biner, had ran a Washington prostitute ring to help pay for the couples life in the fast lane. Most recently, Dean had to admit that he didn't write the book "Blind Ambition" while under oath.While Dean would like to make you think he was involved with major decisions during the Nixon Administration, nothing could be further from the truth. Since Dean had shaggy hair and refused to wear an American lapel pin, Nixon would use him for press photo opportunities to appease the anti-Nixon media. On the other hand, Dean was heavily involved with the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP)and there is new evidence that suggests that Dean may have even ordered the Watergate break-in. After Dean became "aware" of his criminal conduct, he jumped ship and told the Ervin Committee that he would reveal all that he knew if they would give him immunity. So, Dean cut his hair and bought a pair of horned rimmed glasses to look more credible, and gave a very self-serving testimony. Unfortunately for Dean, the committee decided not to give him immunity and he went to prison anyway. "Worse Than Watergate" is a ridiculous comparison of Nixon and George W. Bush's "secrecy." First of all, Dean wasn't even close enough to Nixon to observe his behavior so there is no way that he could even compare the two Presidents. Furthermore, let us not forget the positives of Nixon's secret diplomacy, such as the China iniative that forever changed the stucture of the world or the Moscow trip, in which President Nixon became the first U.S. President to set foot in the Kremlin and signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. None of these magnificent feats would been accomplished if they were not done in secret because anyone who knows anything about the Chinese or the Russians know that they care about 'face' and they are not going to negotiate in public where they could possibly lose 'face.' Despite popular misperceptions, the Cambodia bombing was not secret and that is why the Democratic Congress could not impeach Nixon for this fabled offense (although they did try but realized that it would be hypocritical to impeach someone for something that was not secret). Furthermore, there was no 'enemies list.' What came to called the enemies list was a list of people that Chuck Colson made of political opponents of the Nixon Administration. They were legally investigated by the IRS and the press members were denied various White House privileges. These ideas and practices were nothing new, JFK and LBJ had both used this practice against their opponents, including Nixon, his mother, and his good friend the Reverend Billy Graham. In conclusion, the point is that historically John Wesley Dean III has only ever cared about one thing and no, it is not justice, it is not governmental reform, but it is infact the welfare and reputation of John Wesley Dean III. It is most likely that a publisher encouraged Dean to release the book at this time and Dean has never been one to miss out on a self-serving opportunity. Furthermore, John Dean has no qualifications to write any sort of history. If academia has gotten on Stephen Ambrose's case for plaugerizing, it should be reccommended that Dean's books never be taken seriously. It does not help that Schlisinger, famous for his fictitious and dishonesty glorifications of the Kennedys, is also on the book.
| 
