Nixon, Vol. 3: Ruin and Recovery, 1973-1990 - Hardcover

Stephen E. Ambrose

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671691880 ISBN 13: 9780671691882

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1991

Synopsis

Watergate is a story of high drama and low skulduggery, of lies and bribes, of greed and lust for power. With access to the central characters, the public papers, and the trials transcripts, Ambrose explains how Nixon destroyed himself through a combination of arrogance and indecision, allowing a "third-rate burglary" to escalate into a scandal that overwhelmed his presidency. Within a decade and a half however, Nixon had become one of America's elder statesmen, respected internationally and at home even by those who had earlier clamoured loudest for his head. This is the story of Nixon's final fall from grace and astonishing recovery.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Foreign policy master, political brawler, family man, loner, tragic hero, criminal, elder statesman, eternal conniver--Richard Nixon plays all of these roles in the final installment of Ambrose's fascinating three-volume biography (1987, 1989) of the ex-President. Ambrose (History/Univ. of New Orleans) meticulously traces how Nixon--flush with triumph from his landslide reelection victory over George McGovern--spoiled, through his mishandling of Watergate, his best-laid plans for reorganizing the executive branch of the government and for achieving a durable peace in Vietnam and with the Soviet Union. There aren't many surprises here about this extensively documented portion of Nixon's life, but Ambrose compensates with an excellent assessment of his subject's character and record. The author underscores what America lost, as a result of Nixon's Icarus-like fall, in such areas as arms control, energy policy, the Mideast, and national health insurance (though, dubiously, he bemoans the Reagan Revolution without acknowledging how much it owed to Nixon's polarizing campaigns). Admiring Nixon's perseverance, Ambrose draws a sympathetic portrait of the beleaguered politician's attempts to handle a vain Henry Kissinger, military top brass contemptuous of d‚tente, even politicians and lawyers unnerved by Nixon's blatant disregard for the Constitution. In the end, despite appreciating Nixon's intelligence and ability, Ambrose scores the President for a lack of domestic achievements and an even more demonstrable lack of virtue. An adroit retelling of how Nixon plunged into his political black hole--and why, like Lady Macbeth's ``damned spot,'' and despite his carefully orchestrated comeback, his role in the Watergate cover-up can never be obliterated. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

Although Ambrose discusses Nixon's post-presidential roles as author and elder statesman, this final volume of his three-part biography ( Nixon: The Education of a Politican, 1913-1962 , LJ 5/1/87; one of LJ 's "Best Books of 1987"; and Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician , LJ 11/1/89) is largely the story of Watergate. Unlike Tom Wicker's One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream ( LJ 2/1/91), which credits Nixon as a domestic success, Ambrose concludes that because of Watergate, Nixon's well-intended national and international programs were not "accomplishments but might have beens." The ultimate and, to Ambrose, tragic legacy of the president who wanted to be admired but not liked was the destruction of the moderate wing of the Republican party. Complemented by Roger Morris's Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician and Herbert Parmet's Richard Nixon and His America (both reviewed LJ 12/89), Ambrose's three-volume biography is an indispensable acquisition for academic collections and is highly recommended for most public libraries as well. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/91.
- Karl He licher, Upper Merion Twp . Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0671691880
• ISBN 13: 9780671691882
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 667