President Nixon: Alone in the White House

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Look at a Fascinating and Enigmatic Man
Review: "President Nixon: Alone in the White House" is one of those rare biographies that manages to capture the very essence of its subject. Mr. Reeves, who had access not only to President Nixon himself but to most of Nixon's key advisors and confidantes, has written a book that reveals Richard Nixon's motivations and thus goes a long way toward explaining some of the strange things Nixon did as President. What we see in the book is a man who assumes that all men approach life the way he does--and his approach is quintessentially Machiavellian. Nixon truly believes that all men cheat, lie and are out to get him. All is fair in politics. By assuming the worst in others, Nixon guarantees the worst in himself.

And yet one catches glimpses of Nixon the man where one feels a certain amount of compassion. Nixon was a melancholy and lonely individual, distrustful of those around him. He was a politician who had an aversion to people. He feels awkward in any social situation, to the point where his interactions are meticulously scripted beforehand on one of his handy yellow legal pads. In one hilarious sequence, Nixon is up all night writing and memorizing a script for an "off the cuff" speech he is planning to give the next day. What is amazing is that he does not see how ridiculous it is to be scripting an unscripted speech. Nixon also spends hours writing memos to himself about how he wants to be perceived. Each one of the memos drips with irony, for he sees in himself all the things that he is not. One cannot help but feel compassion for a man so out of touch with who he is.

Reeves argues that Nixon is at his best when looking at the bigger picture, in "connecting the dots" of major policy decisions and their historical precedents as well as the possible outcomes. This is the Nixon who takes the bold steps to open up Communist China and to bring a much-needed thaw to the festering Cold War with Russia. Reeves also shows a Nixon who realizes the disaster of Vietnam but doesn't know how to remove the U.S. and preserve the honor and dignity of the nation. One must admire Nixon for his foreign policy successes and for his broad thinking in this area. The book also paints an interesting portrait of Henry Kissinger, showing him to be brilliant but incredibly vain and condescending. Kissinger spends a great deal of time making sure Secretary of State Rogers is out of the loop on every major foreign policy decision.

Domestically, however, we see in this book a Nixon who is all politician and zero statesman. He waffles on integration, does little to help Blacks because they vote 90% Democrat, and panders in the worst way to groups he believes he must win over in order to win reelection in 1972. Nixon tells his dynamic duo, Haldeman and Erlichman, not to bog him down with policy details, then buries himself in such details as replacement shower heads for the White House or the clownish design for the White House security force. We also see Nixon the bigot, saving his cruelest cuts for the Jews. In these glimpses we see just how shallow and ignorant Nixon could be, despite his moments of greatness. The last section of the book deals with Watergate and the events that brought Richard Nixon to disgrace. It is not a pretty sight, and just goes to show how thoroughly Nixon was involved in the cover-up and how much he enjoyed the dirty tricks attributed to his campaign. At one point, after George Wallace is shot, Nixon laments the fact that Nixon's men didn't think to go into the would-be assasin's apartment and plant McGovern literature to discredit his opponent.

Upon finishing this book, I immediately wondered if Reeves began working on a sequel, following Nixon from his resignation through his period of exile and disgrace to the era of his partial rehabilitation near the end of his life. I certainly hope Reeves follows up, for the story of Nixon the private citizen in the years after his fall from power would be fascinating and remains largely untold.

This is a good book, and I believe that both fans and detractors of our former President would enjoy it. Reeves has not written it to discredit the man, but to try to explain him. After finishing the book, I felt I knew the real Richard Nixon somewhat better, and that had Richard Nixon had a different take on the motivations of his fellow man, he may have gone down as one of our better Presidents.

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly, informative, well-written.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: They Don't Make Richard Nixons Anymore
Review: I first met Richard Reeves 28 years ago when he had a crush on a cute blonde from Lima Ohio who worked in my office. I was in awe of him then, as he had already written the wonderful novel Convention; and I was an impressionable teenager at the time. His writing skills, moving from fiction to non-fiction, are undiminished though I guess you can't go far wrong with a subject who is a)endlessly fascinating; and 2)who recorded every word he spoke during his Presidency. There is so much of topical relevance to be gleaned from this book. RNs fascination was foreign affairs and since his departure, we seem to have had Presidents who have emphasized domestic politics. One can make an argument that our current woeful status in the international affairs arena is a direct result of our subsequent neglect. Here is a Nixon juggling the Middle East, the Russians, the Chinese, Allende, war between India and Pakistan seemingly all at the same moment; while at the same time his lieutenants, Rogers, Laird and Kissinger are all at war inside the White House with spies and counterspies on each other and palace intrigues which seemed to delight our supreme leader no end. One cant help but be struck by how much autotomy and power we give a president, as nixon and kissinger almost singlehandedly reshaped the world with as little imput as possible from annoying members of congress or anybody else, and especially not from pariah Secretary of State Rogers. One final point, before you rush to relive the 1970s, in the Huston plan for domestic intelligence which in part led to the Watrergate excesses, you may note a similarity to the anti terrorism bill just passed by Congress. Great period; important lessons for today, and well reported, mostly from the tapes.

Rating:
Summary: Nixon vs Nixon
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Truly an enigmatic man and story...
Review: Richard Reeves takes a different tact (from his previous Presidential biography of JFK) in this comprehensive and, at the same time, haunting portrayal of Richard Nixon. Granted, there is more material available (compared to Kennedy's presidency) to make an in-depth judgement of the Nixon administration, but Reeves' appears to have also re-fit his writing style and reporting to this specific story and the results (in my opinion) are a major success. We see Nixon as an insecure and manipulative chief executive while at the same time scoring major Foreign policy coups (China and Moscow summit visits as examples...) and Reeves manages to weave these together in a very detailed but highly readable account that, I feel, paints Nixon fairly and accurately. Relying on many sources, and with the perspective of almost 30 years, Reeves presents surprisingly in-depth coverage of the inner-workings of the Nixon presidency...full of late 60's and early 70's domestic and foreign policy discussion that effectively sets the framework for the end of the Vietnam conflict as well as giving the reader a feeling of what it was like actually inside the White House. The little known fueding between Henry Kissinger and Secretary-of-State Bill Rogers is shown to be one of the major motivations behind Kissinger's somewhat duplicitous actions on the Foreign policy front along with the, at times, un-believably insecure actions and writings of Nixon himself...all the covert actions against perceived Presidential rivals, the Establishment and anyone else who got in his way (either real or imagined) is covered in explicit detail...making for fascinating reading. Watergate and it's slow dissolution of Nixon's Presidency is effectively covered as is the destruction of his staff and, ultimately, himself. The only critique I'd mention is that the book essentially ends with the "firings" of Haldeman and Erlichman and leaves the rest of his Presidential collapse in the Epilouge (with only a fraction of the detail found in previous chapters...makes me wonder if the "Haldeman Diaries" was the primary source). In the final analysis, the Nixon administration was famous for lying, cheating and inappropriate behaviour while at the same time being famous for opening major Foreign policy doors and Reeves' book presents both with equal treatment that should be added to essential reading of the Nixon administration.