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Loading... Nixon: A Lifeby Jonathan Aitken
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  LisaMaria_C | Sep 5, 2013 |   I am one of those people who grew up in a world after Watergate, where Nixon was the bad guy and nothing else was said about him. This book did provide me with a more balanced view of the man. I found it very insightful and it really did help me to make up my own mind about the various activities of Richard Nixon. What I found slightly annoying what the fact that Jonathan Aitken at several points in the story tries to justify Nixon's actions. It's a biography, not a school report! Thankfully he's not very good at hiding his views, so they are easy to find and ignore. Still, I would recommend this to people who are interested in a more complete view of this American ex-president. (  ) nicky_too | Dec 4, 2010 | no reviews | add a review
The rise, fall, and rebirth of Richard Nixon is perhaps the most fascinating story in American politics. Presidential chronicles and other outside sources have tried to capture it in full, but Nixon: A Life is the first to succeed. Nixon: A Life is the first entirely objective biography of Richard Nixon. Jonathan Aitken, who, in addition to serving in Parliament, serves as Her Majesty's Minister of State for Defense, conducted over sixty hours of interviews with Nixon and was granted unprecedented access to thousands of pages of Nixon's previously sealed private documents. The results of Aitken's interviews and research shed new light on a presidency that is just now beginning to be understood by serious students of history. Among the questions Aitken answers with fresh insight are: . Why didn't Nixon burn the Watergate tapes? How did he achieve his astonishing comebacks after being defeated by Kennedy in 1960 and resigning from the presidency in 1974? What were his relationships with political figures such as Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, and personal friends such as Bebe Rebozo and Robert Abplanalp? What caused him to overcome his doubts and pursue the Alger Hiss spy case in Congress? What are Nixon's innermost spiritual beliefs and intellectual influences? What drives him now? Previously published in Great Britain to rave reviews, Nixon: A Life is the first Nixon biography written by a non-American author. Aitken's refreshingly unencumbered positions on Watergate and Vietnam provide a unique perspective on Nixon's life and his presidency. Nixon: A Life breaks important new ground as a major work of political biography. It is a work that will inspire historiansto recognize the outstanding diplomatic achievements of a man whose journey from tainted politician to respected foreign policy expert and elder statesman has been nothing short of remarkable. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)973.924History and Geography North America United States 1901- Eisenhower Through Clinton Administrations Richard NixonLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.44)
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I'm afraid Aitken does come across as an apologist and seems too defensive about Nixon's faults (some would say crimes). On the other hand, there's something to be said about a biographer that does feel some empathy for his subject, and this is a thick tome, thoroughly covering Nixon's life from cradle to grave. My professor's comment after my report on Nixon based on what I had read is that I had slighted Kissinger's role in the administration. And it's true, this book puts Nixon firmly in the driver's seat and gives him complete credit for the opening up of relations with China. I do remember this book as a corrective--I just wouldn't recommend it as the only biography of Nixon to read. Someday I'd like to seek out one that is more critical. (