Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, instructive, a good reading
Review: A very interesting book by an intelligent and willed man. I surely prefer the first part, the one regarding his change, the shaping of his caracter as it is in there that the writer shares his thoughts deeply. The second part, vivid as it may be, lacks that profound feelings from the author that would explain his view of himself and of the events in which he took part.
Finally, seen his role in the DNC burglary, I would have expected his judgment about Watergate, the reasons why the second burglary failed and to know who could be put the blame on, politically and not, for the way all ended up.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good Book
Review: As a child of liberal parents, I had always been taught to fear G. Gordon Liddy. However, recent studies of Watergate combined with a well read friend's recommendation led me to read his autobiography, and I was surprised at the results. In his autobiography, Mr. Liddy tells of his childhood, his college years at Fordham, and his years in the FBI. After the FBI, he began working for the White House, where he achieved his fame, or infamy. While the conservative movement has not gained a convert, I found this to be a fascinating book that I found difficult to put down. This man is, without a doubt, crazy. Some of the things he does, including burning his own flesh, makes one question his sanity. And his views on many things, particularly his wife, may raise some eyebrows. They certainly raised mine. But he is also loyal, courageous, and intelligent. Read his book and decide for yourself what you think of Mr. Liddy.
Rating: 
Summary: Nietzsche Knows Best
Review: As a former conservative turned to what Mr. Liddy would call a "liberal nitwit," I have nothing but praise for this fascinating book. And the words of other five-star rating reviewers are right on target. What I want to emphasize is that G. Gordon Liddy is, to my mind, one of the few living embodiments of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. This may seem strange to leftist college profs, to whom the great iconoclast of the nineteenth century is a hero for his debunking and (to use a modern word) deconstruction of so many traditional modes of thought, and who wish to carry on his work in the name of democracy and justice. But Nietzsche was in truth a right-wing aristocrat, and his destruction of the old "myths" was certainly not done to pave the way for the banality of a Starbucks coffee hour. G. Gordon Liddy knows this; and whether or not he has actually read any of Nietzsche is, for this astute and articulate defender of the old order of things, quite beside the point. Liddy's book is an account of a man who believes that he has cracked open the secret of life, and decides to live accordingly, on his own terms and by his own lights. As a Christian and a Catholic, I do not agree with Mr. Liddy's conclusions. But his own desire to escape any self-observed hypocrisy is, in contrast to many of his opponents, simply admirable.
Rating:
Summary: Kundalini Yoga and a .357 mag. . .
Review: Because the right regards Liddy as a hero (or an embarassment) while the left regards him as a fascist loon, it's hard to ask readers to skip their political bias and, from a purely literary point of view examine why this autobiography is great reading. But I'll give it a shot. BTW I had the good fortune of seeing G. Gordon Liddy, J.D. "debate" Dr. Timothy Leary, Phd. I put the word debate in brackets, not because it was faked--far from it--they were both sincere adherents of what they preached. It's just that by then they (and their wives) were the best of friends and had taken their bizarre show on the road, on to college campuses. Talk about The Odd Couple! It was funny and surreal, or as some people would say "total theater." This of course was years after the episode when they first met, recounted with humor in 'Will' ( Yes, the G-man does have a sense of humor) when Liddy arrested Leary--but I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is that while neither Leary nor Liddy could be said to have been a major influence on the 20th century-- certainly not like Einstein, Hitler, Churchill or Freud, well. . . they do make it come to life by their um... colorfull characters. (Plus the G-man is a helluva good writer, 24 years after publication there's a MILLION copies of 'Will' in print.) Likewise while the giants of the 19th century would be Napoleon, Darwin, Lincoln & co. Nevertheless, I pity anyone who has not read a good book on Kit Carson, Doc Holliday, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Lord Byron, or---well, you get the idea. This book is filled with outrageous anecdotes about Nixon, Watergate, how to survive life in a federal prison, how to keep on the good side of J Edgar Hoover (don't use the company car) and the advantqges of a .357 mag over a .38 as taught to a young Liddy by two old time FBI agents, one of whom had actually seen a gunfight in The Old West ( Did I mention Kit Carson?), it's all, to put it mildly, larger than life. . . But outside of these wonderfull stories, what is the theme of "Will'? FEAR. And how to overcome it. Most of us ignore it, keep busy, take valium, go to shrinks, pray or party. None of these options were available to a child with a high I.Q. and a very active imagination which kept hounding him with dreadfull scenarios. He was scared of his own shadow and painfully ashamed of it. He resolved to conquer his fears one at a time by forcing himself to face them. Make that face them IN THE EXTREME. Sounds great on paper, but it does have its price. At one point Liddy informs us that he had trouble being understood as a result of habitually clenching his teeth (somebody page Wilhelm Reich!)-- Guess it's hard to repress only ONE emotion without affecting the others. At the risk of going from Reich to his mentor and playing hop-along-Freud, I'd venture the theory that subconciously, a fiasco like Watergate had to 'happen' to him--what better place to test your toughness than prison? If this seems far fetched, check out the part where this latter day samurai, having overcome fear after fear is left with The Big One--Death. Until one day finally overcomes it. How? Having struggled with it like a Zen monk with a koan, he's sitting down when he feels a tremendous pain on top of his head (can you say 'chakra') the greatest pain he has ever experienced, unsure whether he's dying or at the very least about to pass out suddenly 'something exploded...like a viscous fluid.. like honey running from the top of my head... a great bliss...all fear of death left me after that' Think what you will of him, this is one interesting yogi. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely honest (from what Liddy would call a 'liberal').
Review: First, as a purely literary work, Liddy has been extremely honest, and therein lies his power as a writer and of this book (not because he could ever become a literary giant, such as Faulkner, but because he is honest and writes honestly, that is, writes as he sees the world and never strays from what he knows). So let's just stand on that. It is a good book and it has merit, at the very least in that it gives us a good look into the mind of a zealot. Liddy believes (and today still does) that all of his actions were justified. That's the definition of a zealot because in order to be fanatical about something--and rational--one must believe one has some semblance of absolute truth. Enter Liddy. Now if there were such a thing as Truth, then we would all be justified in becoming fanatics about it. Or, on the other hand, complacent because Truth has no opposition. Given this definition of fanatic and how it must be justified, was Liddy justified? Consider his reasons for what he did, the sixties forcing the decline of the United States ala drugs, and this one is important--disrespect for authority. Now if Liddy was not as smart as he is, and I'm convinced the man is a genius (not because of any unique ideas he landed on us, but because he has raw smarts, his processing power), he was either wrong in doing what he did, or uncircumspect. His intended ends were to get Nixon reelected and to save the US from a decline into drug addiction and disrespect for authority (let's just say a negative state of the State, according to Liddy, a negative progression of events that he believed would either destroy or greatly harm American values, you know, all the things the US stands for, what we hold as ideals).
However, his actions caused exactly what he tried to prevent, disrespect for authority and a disdain for government, paranoia about government, and even though Nixon got reelected, I don't think Liddy would consider his ends fulfilled given that Nixon lost his presidency because of Liddy's actions (and those like him). Thus, the pay-off from the actions of Liddy and crew were grossly outweighed by the consequences of failure. In fact, it reads like a Greek tragedy! Why then would a smart and circumspect young man do what Liddy did? I leave that for you to figure out by reading the book. As a Liberal (whatever that means today), I found myself cheering Liddy on, can you believe it? Why? Because behind Liddy's dogmatic, tyrannical and infuriating ego, I found, in many ways, a very trustworthy and honorable man. First, he is a man of his word, he's no snake. Second, like most despots, he wants control over everything, to make everything 'like it should be' and that is a burden all driven people can too relate. Third, he demands and needs honesty from his fellow humans, and that is admirable. Fourth, I think Liddy is a tortured man, and again I can relate to that. In short, his politics are mad, but there is something likeable about the guy. And I guess this is the genius of Will--people on both sides of the spectrum can identify in some way with him. That said, I do not mean to gloss over what Liddy did. Liddy caused more damage to the US than he could ever have prevented. But I do agree with Liddy on many thing, mostly character oriented. In one passage he explains his concern for the new FBI agents who were clerks, given a questionable education by the FBI in a no name college (so as to allow them eligibility into the FBI), and how they had caused a decline in the excellence of the FBI by relying on being sycophants instead of good agents. We see this is the university systems, less in state but in a matters of degree and blatantly in pay-for-degree `colleges' such as the University of Phoenix and Laverne (In my mind, they are not even colleges of academia). One friend went to Laverne, after completing his BA in History at State, to complete a Masters in the same. He said it took him six months and his thesis paper was three pages! He also said the `masters' curriculum at Laverne was about the same rigor as college prep history that he had in High School. So I can again understand where Liddy is coming from in the FBI instance, but there are ways to remedy these problems of society without undermining it at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Wham! Impactful whether you love him or hate him
Review: G. Gordon Liddy seems to generate a lot of different views. Liberals hate him, though Al Franken is a good friend of his. Conservatives respect him, though he doesn't seem to be able to stomach Bill O'reilly. Timothy Leary - well, they considered each other respected adversaries. Mr. Liddy's autobiography will provide keen insights into the man, the story and the legend. This is more than just a viewpoint on Watergate. In fact, if that's what you're after, you'll probably be disappointed. The book covers his upbringing, his early military career, his arrest of Timothy Leary, his personal development of willpower, and his initial forays into the political arena. Who cares? Well, one of the questions of Watergate is "Why?" and this helps quite a bit. As someone who was very young at the time, I do not have a great deal of recall of the situation. Mr. Liddy does a good job explaining his views of society at the time - that America was at war from within, and he was duty bound to do everything in his power to re-elect and then protect the President. You know the outcome of the Watergate breakins, but the story still draws you in. You know bad things will happen, but you want to see how the G-man comes through it. His stay in prison is common knowledge, but how did survive and even thrive in there? I suspect this autobiography will amplify your feelings of the man. Those that hate him may find him a monster. Those who like him will deepen their respect. I came in to the book on the fence, and find myself admiring a man whom I still am working to comprehend. To use one of his favorite words, you'll find this a very potent book. Even if you don't like him.
Rating:
Summary: Wham! Impactful whether you love him or hate him
Review: G. Gordon Liddy seems to generate a lot of different views. Liberals hate him, though Al Franken is a good friend of his. Conservatives respect him, though he doesn't seem to be able to stomach Bill O'reilly. Timothy Leary - well, they considered each other respected adversaries. Mr. Liddy's autobiography will provide keen insights into the man, the story and the legend. This is more than just a viewpoint on Watergate. In fact, if that's what you're after, you'll probably be disappointed. The book covers his upbringing, his early military career, his arrest of Timothy Leary, his personal development of willpower, and his initial forays into the political arena. Who cares? Well, one of the questions of Watergate is "Why?" and this helps quite a bit. As someone who was very young at the time, I do not have a great deal of recall of the situation. Mr. Liddy does a good job explaining his views of society at the time - that America was at war from within, and he was duty bound to do everything in his power to re-elect and then protect the President. You know the outcome of the Watergate breakins, but the story still draws you in. You know bad things will happen, but you want to see how the G-man comes through it. His stay in prison is common knowledge, but how did survive and even thrive in there? I suspect this autobiography will amplify your feelings of the man. Those that hate him may find him a monster. Those who like him will deepen their respect. I came in to the book on the fence, and find myself admiring a man whom I still am working to comprehend. To use one of his favorite words, you'll find this a very potent book. Even if you don't like him.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I don't think you have to agree with Liddy's code to like this book. I don't agree with Liddy's code. But the fact is, his code of life is a very self-disciplined and difficult one, and I admit to a grudging admiration for the guy for living up to it. (How many of you would laugh when entering prison to serve a 20 year sentence? The guy has cajones!) To the comment below "Genius or Sociopath." Liddy is neither. He gives his IQ in this book at around 140. That is "gifted" but not "genius". Liddy had to overcome fears, and sociopaths do not feel such fears. (I strongly urge you to read WITHOUT CONSCIENCE by Robert D. Hare, that is hailed as the best book about sociopaths). Police are constantly amazed when they arrest a sociopath after committing a murder or robbery, to find that they show no signs of fear or stress or guilt. That's how Bill Clinton could rape Juanita Broaddrick and just cooly put on his sunglasses and tell her to put ice on her lips, that he'd just bitten to a bloody mess. Sociopaths are this way by birth. Liddy was filled with fear as a kid. Although he mentions the book in his intro., I'll say it here, you HAVE to read the book SILENT COUP if you read this one. I highly recommend WILL, if you aren't too narrow-minded about what humanity encompasses. (As Tennessee Williams said, "Nothing human is alien to me.")
Rating:
Summary: Liddy, the great defender of Coney Island
Review: I knew not that a man of such character existed. Precise language and an extraordinary set of personal experiences makes Will the most moving piece I have ever read outside of the Bible.
Rating:
Summary: As Close As You'll Ever Get to Understanding Him
Review: I read "Will" in the early 80's and was fascinated. It provides the reader with somewhat of a glimpse as to what makes G. Gordon Liddy tick, but the tone of this book leaves no doubt that its author is also making a huge investment in his ego. Therefore, I recommend that the reader take a good deal of his story with a grain of salt. Although I consider Liddy to be one of the most deranged and outright weird persons on the American political landscape, this book is nevertheless a good read because you'll get to understand (and if you're of his political persuasion, perhaps even agree with) the environment that breeds such an enigmatic persona.
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