The Final Days

A riveting account of the Nixon presidency spiraling down the drain. I wouldn’t recommend it as your first Nixon book since the authors reasonably figured that anyone reading this book when it came out in 1976 would be familiar with the story so they don’t spend much time setting things up (you’d be better off starting with a more general Nixon bio)
But if you are already familiar with Watergate and the poor souls it ensnared this is compelling material and drama, even though you know how it will all shake down. The biggest surprise was the almost sympathetic portrayal of Tricky Dick himself, an awkward introvert under a tremendous strain of his own paranoid making. I’ve read many presidential bios but none of them featured as show more many commander-in-chief tears as this one. show less

I never stop being fascinated by this; it's absolutely gripping, and it really shouldn't be -- we know the ending. Most of these people don't matter in the long-term. And yet.

There's one part I keep coming back to; when the transcripts of the Oval Office tapes are released, in their shoddy, slipshod condition, one of the people who reads them makes an amazing remark (from my perspective), that releasing the tapes, with their revelations of personal ugliness, was the real crime. "A violation of the public's right not to know."

This has to be one of the definitive books on Nixon's last days, appears to be based on sound research, and deriving from the journalistic rock stars Woodward and Bernstein it will remain influential for some time. Nixon was a complex man and the journalistic pair may to harshly misunderstand him. For example, just before resigning the writers report he is suicidal, and yet, not long after and publicly he was composed and completely rational. The truth is elusive. Nonetheless, there are memorable scenes, Nixon down on his knees praying with Kissinger portrays an indelible image.

What a fascinating read. I was 16 years old when President Nixon resigned. I have vivid memories of my mother glued to the television screen during the Watergate hearings. Now, as an adult, reading this detailed a counting of Nixon's final months in office I am struck by the similarity between Nixon and Trump's personalities. This account bvb thing was riveting to read. The perpetual state of limbo in which Nixon's loyal staffers existed is hard to fathom. The differentiation between the man and the office, as well as a President's sense of being a person who will be assessed by historians was quite powerful. I do not envy anybody who works for a boss who lies. I also finish reading this book thinking that it seems next to impossible to show more be in politics and to maintain one's integrity. show less

As much as [All the President's Men] received the glory and the movie, this book is extraordinary in its own right. It is deep and full of detail of the (mostly men) who worked very hard to save Richard Nixon from himself. Many believed in the man as well as the office, but the hard work over years and the frustration they faced as their hard work yielded greater controversy.

There is a cast of characters at the beginning, an index at the end, and a chronology just before the index. I referred to these three sections repeatedly, as the first portion is divided into chapters that detail, through personal recollections and interviews, the meetings between lawyers, the discussions with Nixon, the drafts and the changes to the transcripts, show more the fight to release the transcript, and so much that went on to which the public was not privy at the time.

In discussions about Watergate and references to it, I feel much more knowledgeable about the impact and magnitude of the many events that covered those two years (was it only two years??). It was much more than the break-in, the reporting, then Nixon resigned; there were a lot of dedicated people who saw their president and presidency crumble, and they worked to serve their country as they saw best. show less

After finishing All the President's Men, it was natural to continue reading directly on into this sequel.
Written by these two men very early in their careers.
Rapid pace without stopping for analysis or reflection. For readers seeking those approaches, a different book would be necessary. But for what it seeks to achieve, this book definitely fits the bill. The observers were right there at all the hearings. Of course they were excluded from seeing what happened behind the scenes in Nixon's office, but so was the rest of the public. I feel that the American public and the world-wide audience of these two journalists were very well served by this account.
Many people are currently concerned about the state of journalism in the world, in show more light of the concentration of ownership of the news-producing media. But of course the two authors are still active, and I will need to check their more recent work to see if their styles have changed and what their viewpoints are about current events.
Definitely I recommend this book to all readers.
I did read comments on other reviews that the book may not be all true. Oh well, I still like the book. I will have to work as a fact checker and find out which parts are not true. No, just kidding, I will not check all the facts. But it still is an interesting book to read, purely for entertainment. Since every reported fact is possibly wrong, I will just go by the quote from Thomas Mann who said that books are not meant to be believed, but are to be subject to inquiry. show less

Loved it. Love anything by Bob Woodward. If you like presidential history, and maybe Nixon specifically, you will love this book. Amazing chapter in American history. And another insight into the culture of the times and individual immorality.