Reviews for Being Nixon : a man divided
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A sympatheticunusually soportrait of the disgraced president by accomplished biographer and historian Thomas (Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World, 2012, etc.). Richard Nixon is so often the villain that it's sometimes surprising to be reminded of his real accomplishments, no matter how politically calculating or unwilling, from dtente with the Soviet Union to the establishment of the environmental regulations current Republicans are trying to demolish. By the author's account, Nixon "wanted to be upbeat, to be an optimist," and some of his struggle can be seen in the Manichaean construct of that optimism versus the brooding darkness and essential solitariness that he embodied. Indeed, as Thomas' biographicaland sometimes psychobiographicalstudy builds, it becomes ever more unlikely that Nixon, a loner in the constituency-pleasing game of politics, could ever have succeeded. Score one for Nixon, as Thomas awards him full points for dogged determination. And score sympathy points for Nixon's ability to rise above constant rejection and native moroseness to get as much done as he did, from amassing a small fortune at playing cards to opening the gates of the Forbidden City. Even so, like H.W. Brands' recent Reagan, Thomas' account is by no means uncritical. Though even paranoiacs have enemies, Nixon specialized in being "ever alert to put-downs," whether from the media or from those born into wealth and power. Though evenhanded throughout, Thomas sometimes risks being taken for one of the Pat Buchanan school of apologists: "The facts of Watergate, as they dribbled out, were bad enough, but an inflamed press corps did not stop at the facts"; "He was not paranoid; the press and the Georgetown set' really were out to get him." Even allowing for a little politicking, this is one of the better books on Nixon in the recent crop, worth reading alongside Rick Perlstein's decidedly less sympathetic Nixonland (2008) and Tim Weiner's One Man Against the World (2015). Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal
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For better or worse, argues Thomas (Ike's Bluff) in this fascinating and impressively researched biography, President -Richard Nixon (1913-94) was motivated by fears and insecurities that created a drive to succeed, which resulted in monumental political achievements and also sowed the seeds for his downfall. The author draws heavily on recently available White House tapes as well as interviews conducted with former Nixon staffers. Driven by childhood poverty to mistrust the wealthy, who slighted him in college and his early career, Nixon was sensitive to the needs of the poor and supported legislation that promoted desegregation, voting rights, and welfare reform, while opposing integration when currying votes from Southerners. Thomas presents Nixon as neither conservative nor liberal but rather as an optimist, much like most mid-20th-century politicians, regardless of party, who believed government's mission was to offer creative solutions to economic and social problems. Although Nixon was ruthless to his enemies, Thomas reminds us of the president's generosity as a loving husband and father who was wellliked by White House staff. VERDICT This compulsively readable account will find a wide audience among general readers, historians, and Watergate buffs who seek a fuller understanding of this controversial man. It is finely complemented by Tim Weiner's One Man Against the World (see review below), which focuses on Nixon's foreign policies. [See Prepub Alert, 3/30/15.]-Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
