ABUSE OF POWER

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Summary: Masterful Logic Leads Astray
Review: A fine addition to any Watergate library. Kutler is a dazzling professor who often turns fine logic and thinking to the wrong conclusions. As a litigation historian he can shed copius amounts of illumination onto America's law. However, the fine paths which are followed by Kutler often lead to the wrong conclusion. He has made brilliant arguments for the separation of church and state which in the end only elegantly confirm the opposite conclusion. Our high law not only encourages religous affiliations in civic life, but that government cannot in fact prohibit this free exercise of religion by not only any individual, state, judge or other federal official but by even the federal government itself. It is always a joy to consume a Kutler premise, but even more enjoyable to find the true conclusions.

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Summary: Kutler Again Refuses to Create a Historically Useful Book
Review: As the Nixon tapes continue to come out, they continue to confirm that President Nixon did not order the White House burglary. It is unfortunate that historians from the babyboomer era continue to attack Richard Nixon's Presidency rather than aspire to use the tapes in context and actually make a meaningful contribution to history. For years, journalists have been waiting for the tapes to come out to prove that Nixon lied about his role in Watergate but now that the tapes are out, writers like Anthony Summers creat new and ridiculous scandals (Nixon beat Pat Nixon but nobody knew until now. LOL). Although Nixon used profane language in private, current records show that JFK and LBJ also used strong language. In fact, Harry Truman's diaries show that he often used anti-semitic language. Richard Nixon was one of the best friends Israel ever had and his domestic goals for civil rights was certainly not racist. JFK, while claiming to be supporting Ngo Dien Diem, planned to overthrow and assasinate the Vietnamese leader and he also bugged Martin Luther King and moitored the Civil Rights movement. Put into context, it is evident that Nixon was not much different from anyone else fighting in the political arena. As President Bill Clinton said at Nixon's funeral in 1994, it is important that we look at Nixon in the context of his entire life and take into consideration the political atmosphere of the Cold War. If Mr. Kutler wants to produce a true contribution to history, he will produce a work that puts the tapes into context.

Rating:
Summary: A New Insight Into History
Review: If you are interested in how the Nixon and his staff handled the Watergate issue then this is a wonderful look into the private conversations that took place. The author does a good job of setting most of the conversations up with comments as to what the conversation covers. There are also some explanations at the beginnings of the major areas of the book. I would have preferred a little bit more editing out of some of the conversations, but they do serve a point in the overall book.

What struck me the most was just how desperate Nixon kept getting. I almost started to think that maybe he even believed the lies he was telling. It was so fascinating to see how he would formulate a "cover" story and then keep presenting it to staff to see if they would replace their understanding of the events with his. What is sad is the amount of denial that Nixon was sliding into at the end. He was justifying his actions so hard, I started to think that he was trying to change reality with his force of will.

Many of the conversations are very revealing and interesting. I wonder if at times Nixon forgot he was being taped? Why would anyone think that what he was up to would stand the test of time and be thought of as acceptable behavior. You get a good understanding of why Nixon and his family fought so hard to keep the tapes private. In my opinion, these tapes have set back all the work Nixon did after leaving office to rebuild his reputation. My only warring would be that this should not be the first or only book on Watergate that you read. It will help you if have read something else to give you some back ground on the conversations. Overall the book is interesting and a good addition to your Nixon collection.

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Summary: Listen to Abuse of Power, edited by Kutler, as Book on Tape
Review: If you grew up during the Vietnam era (or not), and cut your teeth on Watergate and the resignation of a president, listen to Abuse of Power as a book on tape. Hear the participants speak for themselves in the privacy of their offices. Kutler's Abuse of Power is based on tapes hitherto suppressed as Nixon, in his lifetime, vigorously sought to repaint his image.

Also recommended to read alongside the tapes: Secrets, A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg, and the Haldeman Diaries. Although flawed by grammatical and spelling errors, the Breaking of a President 1974, compiled by Marvin Miller, is also worth reading because it contains thumbnail personal histories of each of the players in the above volumes, and day-by-day breaking news of that era, with lots of pictures.

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Summary: Nixon revealed
Review: Kutler has done a masterful job of presenting these tapes.Nixon was terribly served by his advisors. Haldeman was a meanspirited drone. One surprise was how badly Haldeman's successor, General Aexander Haig,comes across. In his goal to consolidate his own power he spurs Nixon's paranoia and anger. In the end all the president's men ill served their flawed chief. Nixon comes across and a petty, vengeful and neurotic man. Imagine. having your day to day conversations publicly revealed. Posthumus humiliation! Any student of Watergate must read this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Nixon Legacy.
Review: There is only one word to describe many of these conversations....chilling. Nixon's arrogance and ruthlessness were astounding! What a terrible shock it must have been for men like Haige and Kissinger to learn this was all on tape.

That anyone could listen to these tapes and proclaim that Nixon was a good president is unbelievable! Clinton lied about his sex life. That was embarrassing, I agree. Nixon, however, lied about his plans for Vietnam, his tax returns, and that fifth-rate burglary known as Watergate, in other words, a felony! As for those of you complaining that these tapes don't contain a "smoking gun." He destroyed two of the tapes he made after he was ordered by the authorities to turn them over. We'll never know what those tapes contained.

He did all this and Ronald Reagan made him a goodwill ambassador to China! It's terrifying.

This book is a must for any student of American History or the Cold War.

We should all be grateful to Nixon for leaving us this invaluable piece of history.

Rating:
Summary: A book with an agenda
Review: This book is put together by an author with credibility. However, he picked and chose excerpts of certain tapes to suit his purpose. I do believe, however, these tapes actually debunk many of the myths put forward by Nixon-haters.

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Summary: Like being a fly on the wall
Review: This is an incredible read, an essential addition to any Watergate buff's library. The bulk of the book consists of transcripts from conversations Nixon had with his advisors during the Watergate break-in and its aftermath. All of the material is recently released and there's no doubt why the Nixon daughters desperately want this stuff suppressed: it paints their father with a viscerally black brush. We all know Nixon was a paranoid loner, brilliant but erratic, and distrustful of everyone around him except Haldeman and Ehrlichman. These tapes show conclusively that Nixon also demanded total sycophancy from his inner circle, that he was a racist, an habitual liar and someone with a pathological need to deceive.

Bob Haldeman and Alexander Haig come off as complete toadies; worthless "yes men." Ehrlichman comes across better, as does Magruder, but the worst abuse must be heaped on Henry Kissinger, who appears as a quasi-insane boot licker of the highest order. It's incredible to see these men constantly assure Nixon that he was always right, always clever and completely above the law. How wrong they all were.

The most delicious parts are when Nixon speaks himself. He is unintentionally hilarious, as he plots to "get" various reporters, wiretap his enemies and harass anyone who gets in his way. His diatribes on Howard Baker and Sam Erwin are the stuff of classics, you'll be on the floor, laughing. "That senile old b------," Nixon growls about Erwin. "He's half in the bag every waking moment, the miserable a------." This is a grand book, highly entertaining!