[.ca] President Nixon : Alone in the White House (ISBN 0684802317)

From Amazon.com:
Drawing on thousands of pages of archival material and on interviews with surviving associates, presidential biographer Reeves paints a complex, sometimes disturbing portrait of the man forever enshrined as Tricky Dick. "I have decided my major role is moral leadership," Nixon wrote in 1972 in one of his myriad memos to himself. (As Reeves writes, "Whatever else he accomplished, Richard Nixon produced more paper and tape than any president before or since.") That resolution quickly collapsed; instead, as the Vietnam War shaded into defeat and protests at home mounted, Nixon sank into a siege mentality, seeing himself as a lone crusader at war with the rest of the world. Reeves examines the cat-and-mouse quality of Nixon's relations with his inner circle and family, as well as the excruciating collapse of national leadership in the wake of missteps, miscalculations, and sheer crimes. Rigorous and thoughtful, Reeves's book adds much to our understanding of Nixon's troubled presidency--and of his troubled soul. --Gregory McNamee

WOW!:
Even after watching the NIXON movie and hearding many stories from many different people, I still didn't know who Dick Nixon really was. That is, untill I read this book. I found out who the man really was and what he wanted and did accomplish in his presidency. I learned about his paranoia and how his gruffness to everyone. At the same time, I learned that there was a sweeter, younger side to him that he rarly shared with anyone. If I could talk to Nixon now, I don't think that I would learn anything about him that I didn't learn in this book. I highly recomend this book.

Scholarly, informative, well-written.:
An astounding amount of research went into producing this very informative book. Richard Reeves has given us a detailed view of the Nixon presidency starting with the first inauguration in January, 1969. Oddly, except for a very brief epilogue, the book ends in April, 1973 with the resignations of Haldeman and Erlichman. This despite the fact that Nixon would remain in office more than 15 additional months before resigning himself. President Nixon: Alone in the White House consists of a chronological compilations of events occuring during Nixon's tumultuous tenure. The well documented facts presented in this book leave the reader with the following impressions: On the positive side. Nixon was an extremely knowledgeable politician with a very sophisticated understanding of geopolitics. He had a clearly defined vision of America's place in the world and was not afraid to take bold steps to enhance the country's position of power on the world stage. On the negative side. Nixon, the individual, was petty, vindictive, distrustful and self delusional. He was very much a loner who spent an inordinate amount of time by himself. As chief of staff, Haldeman's primary function was to prevent Congressional leaders, Cabinet members and White House staff from getting in to see Nixon. It appears that the only adviser who had unfettered access was Henry Kissinger. Furthermore, in the Nixon White House, there was no need for the likes of Karl Rove or Karen Hughes. When it came to public relations and building up the President's image, Nixon handled all of that himself, in microscopic detail. And we find in Nixon a man whose moral compass was more than slightly askew. The Watergate break-in, which ultimately led to his downfall, was only one of a number of illegal or unethical acts sanctioned by Nixon to gain advantage over his political enemies. President Nixon: Alone in the White House is a valuable resource for understanding the Nixon presidency. Anyone reading this book, no matter what their level of knowledge about Nixon might be, will be guaranteed to learn new things about this fascinating, enigmatic figure.

Nixon vs Nixon:
Richard Reeve's biography President Nixon: Alone in the White House chronologically details the Richard Nixon presidency from the day he was inaugurated until the resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman. Reeve's depiction of the Nixon presidency will leave many shocked, appalled, and at times dumb founded. Those who read this book will find it an enlightening ride into the mind of Richard Nixon and his "close" associates. This book shows a man who was insanely paranoid, to the point where he would spend more time memorizing speeches then on the actual policy he was speaking of. A man who made racist and bigoted jokes routinely. Reeve's also shows a "softer" side of Nixon, one who believed he had to, and was, doing well for the world. Richard Nixon was a man out of touch with himself, staff, and family. This lack of comprehension for anyone around him and himself was evident through his staff and how unorganized they truly were. Often staff members would tap each others phones and hide behind one lie after another. One downfall to President Nixon was at times the book became tedious, thus making it hard to follow along and keep up with all the people. Those who grew up during the Nixon presidency or anyone curious about the man Richard Nixon, this book is for you. I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks they know all about President Richard Nixon.

It Was Not Great Having Him in the Whitehouse:
I lived in the US during the time of the Nixon presidency and knew it well - reading the NY Times daily etc. To me it is still a wonder that he got in. But then his opposition was Nelson Rockefeller who by all accounts was a weak candidate. Why he chose Spiro Agnew as his running mate is another mystery. In any case, his problems were far worse than anything that we have seen from Clinton or others. Nixon surrounded himself with a group of men that acted with complete disregard for the law. That is not my opinion but a reflection on the fact that dozens of the members of his administration were successfully prosecuted as criminals including the attorney general who spent time in Federal Prison. Nixon was lucky to be pardoned by Gerald Ford. In any case this book is well written and researched. It misses many important and basic factors outlined in his life as noted by some of the other reviewers including more references to his wife Pat and others. I think the book as a book is not bad, and is well written, but Nixon is a depressing character, a person that surprisingly (for a politician) did not relate well to other people and always seemed stiff and ill at ease with himself. So I would give the book 4 stars but I would not recommend buying. Jack in Toronto

Excellent insight into a very complicated man...:
Nixon haters will love this book - Nixon supporters won't be happy and probably won't want to read it. People curious about Richard Nixon the man should certainly want to take a peek under the cover. I really liked this book. The central premise is that Nixon cut himself off from the most of his administration and the rest of the world during the darkest hours of his presidency. It was shocking to read how many important foreign policy decisions that Nixon and Kissinger made together, many possibly illegally. For those wishing to explore the dark side of Nixon, there's plenty to read about, including anti-Semitic, racist and misogynist comments about Indira Gandhi, his misuse of government funds and power and his illegal campaign contributions. The conviction records of his former aides and the tapes do not lie - Nixon was far from our best chief executive in many ways, and Reeves lays a good part of this out in stunning detail. This book makes a great addition to any historian's library.