Rating: 
Summary: HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN
Review: i get tired of all these old fashioned biographies like david mccullough. this book is a lot more interesting. it tells what nixon meant to the people who elected him, and after all the public is as much a part of history as the presidents!the best chapter is the one on nixon and the press. it debunks the idea that the press hated nixon and shows how the press was really lying down on the job during watergate. i recommend nixon's shadow if you want something more interesting and challenging than the usual "great man" stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Pulitzer Prize Historian: It's "The Best Analysis of Nixon"
Review: I was intrigued about this book when I heard it praised in a lecture by Walter Macdougall, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian. He published his lecture and what he said was, "What image will posterity nurture of Nixon? The best analysis is David Greenberg's Nixon's Shadow, published last year. Greenberg describes five Richard Nixons that beguile and perplex the American people."
But after reading it, I agree. Greenberg is younger than other historians who have written about Nixon and so he is, arguably, more objective. This book gives each point of view its due - those who hate Nixon, those who think he's an elder statesman, those who think he is a nutcase. It is as much a book about American political and social life and all of its strife and controversy in the years 1946-1974 (and after) as it is about Nixon himself. It doesn't just praise or bash Nixon - it explains WHY people praised or bashed Nixon.
Greenberg has really invented a new genre of history here. You might call it Rashomon Plus. He shows you Nixon from different perspective but then goes on to unpack these different images of Nixon and explain why they have all taken root in our political mindset.
A couple of the other posts apparently don't like Greenberg because he is liberal. That may be true, but this is not a liberal attack on Nixon, in fact he is more critical in many places of Nixon's critics than he is of Nixon. The "liberals" who came up with Tricky Dick are faulted for sneering at the middle class. And the radical left that attacked Nixon on Vietnam are faulted for being in the grip of conspiracy theories at times. The book gives Nixon's supporters more than their due. (In fact Walter Macdougall is a Conservative.) This is a highly orginal work of history.
Rating:
Summary: The Shadow Knows
Review: It amazes me that anybody reading this book would believe that having one central idea could be considered a flaw. The brilliance of this book is its central theme. The coherence brought to this subject is staggering, given past and often failed attempts to capture the essence of Nixon not as a political person, but as a political hydra. The legwork it must have taken to build such a coherent narrative out of that many disparate sources is truly a remarkable achievement. To make it accessible to the non-academic reader is nothing short of a miracle and reflects the writer's well-established credentials as a seasoned political writer and editor. If this is book one, I eagerly look forward to his future efforts. I would also recommend this book to anybody who wants to challenge his or her pre-conceived notions about who Richard Nixon was and what his influence will be on the political landscape of America. For the Nixon neophyte, the book frames the Nixon legacy into a well-organized source on an individual's significant role in the revolution and evolution of American politics towards image control and ideological spinning.
Rating:
Summary: A 'tricky' dance across genres, masterfully done
Review: Mixing psychology, media studies, political science, punditry, and good old-fashioned History with a capital 'H,' Greenberg manages to illuminate an oft-analyzed icon from a host of new and different perspectives. Reading this book was a bit like being a guest at a scintillating dinner party among intellectuals from a range of fields, in which a single topic dominates the evening's discussion and debate, but never gets boring because of the diversity of the company. Here, what is most impressive is that Greenberg (whom the book jacket indicates was trained as a traditional academic historian) manages to pull it off single-handedly, and so well. The breadth of 'takes' on Nixon included in this book was a risky move -- it might well have come out confusing, disjointed, or watered-down -- but like a modern-day Fred Astaire or Nipsey Russell, Greenberg manages to smoothly tap-dance across genres (and generations of Nixon fans & foes) without missing a beat. Hats off to the author for taking this risk, and for carrying it off with such grace and skill. Highly recommended for history buffs, pop culture buffs, and those of us who simply enjoy a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Nixon's Shadow sheds light on Nixon's life and legacy--and it opens up a fascinating world on the civic life of the United States. It's one of the best books I've read in a long, long time. What I love about most this book is that it tells Nixon's story through the eyes of his critics and the lens of his detractors. In doing so, Greenberg opens up a whole new way, really, of thinking about our politics. The book marks a major contribution to the Nixon literature as well as a shrewd, detailed portrait of the rise of image-making in 20th century America. By focusing on the forces that led to Nixon's rise and fall, Greenberg shows us how images in politics aren't simply products created by a candidate--they are, in fact, the result of complex forces in our culture and our politics. This book goes to the heart of our civic life. It is one of the most fascinating take our politics that I've ever had the pleasure to read--and one of the best-written non-fiction books to come down the pike in recent memory.
Rating: 
Summary: New Light on an Familiar Subject
Review: Richard Nixon was such a major figure for so long a time and has been so extensively analyzed it is hard to believe anything new could be said about him. David Greenberg has done the seemingly impossible. Rather than just the same parade of horribles or accolades, Greenberg's well researched book offers fresh insights on a familiar topic--one of the key goals of good historians. As a writer Greenberg also achieves the illusive goal of being both scholarly and readable. The book gives us insight into the past while he demonstrates Nixon's continuing relevance to our political culture. Historians help us recover, restore and understand who we have been and who we are. In so doing they perform an essential public service. We should all celebrate when a thoughtful historian emerges and thank goodness this is such an occasion!
Rating:
Summary: New Light on an Familiar Subject
Review: Richard Nixon was such a major figure for so long a time and has been so extensively analyzed it is hard to believe anything new could be said about him. David Greenberg has done the seemingly impossible. Rather than just the same parade of horribles or accolades, Greenberg's well researched book offers fresh insights on a familiar topic--one of the key goals of good historians. As a writer Greenberg also achieves the illusive goal of being both scholarly and readable. The book gives us insight into the past while he demonstrates Nixon's continuing relevance to our political culture. Historians help us recover, restore and understand who we have been and who we are. In so doing they perform an essential public service. We should all celebrate when a thoughtful historian emerges and thank goodness this is such an occasion!
Rating:
Summary: An impressive and engaging read
Review: Seldom does one find such a readable, enlightening treatment of a subject so many of us believe we know so well. Nixon's Shadow documents, in a most engaging fashion, the genesis of a significant change in American political culture. One has not studied Nixon, or modern American political history, until one understands Nixon's many images. Greenberg breaks this ground in fascinating and well-organized detail. The guy can write, too.
Rating:
Summary: Sensational history
Review: The freshest thing written in years on one of America's most engimatic presidents. Greenberg's book is a model of originality and historical craft. And it's a great read--always smart, often surprisingly funny, and laden with great anecdotes. Anyone wondering how our politics got so distorted should pick this one up.
Rating: 
Summary: So, what's the point?
Review: The premise of Greenberg's book, evaluating and interpreting opinion's of Nixon, is really a pointless task. Journalists, constituents, and opponents all were attacking Nixon from a partisan perspective and did not really know him anyway. Furthermore, all Presidents and politicians since F.D.R. have created an image to represent strength, goals, or to inspire the country. It is hardly a Richard Nixon thing as Greenberg seems to suggest. If one wanted to really get to know Nixon, then they would interview or have interviewed Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, Ed Nixon, the late Bebe Rebozo,or other intimates that were true Nixon loyalists. A journalists opinion, heavily influenced by political persuasion, is not a truthful depiction of any of RN's images. Likewise, the media loved Jack Kennedy and Jackie, so does that imply that JFK was perfect? Absolutely not--what it means is that there was a media bias that helped shape the perceptions of each figure.
| 
