(Originally published 2010, Paperback edition 368 pages)
Nuance is not a word to describe Mr. Feldstein's depiction of President Nixon.
Holy criminy, Nixon comes across as simply a paranoid, vengeful, foul-mouthed
scumbag. Granted, our Thirty-seventh President's time in office oozed improper
and illegal behavior, but the author avoids talking about any of Nixon's policy
achievements. The book focuses on the twenty-five-year antagonistic relationship
between muckraking reporter Jack Anderson and Tricky Dick. President Nixon
unethically used the IRS, CIA, FBI, tax audits, government lawsuits, criminal
prosecutions, illegal wiretaps, burglary, forgery, and sabotage in his attempts
to destroy his enemies. It truly is a great example of the abuse of
power.
Both Jack Anderson and Richard Nixon were driven by personal, reckless ambition and ultimately undone by their hubris. Neither man comes out of this book smelling like roses. Mr. Anderson's tactics in his efforts to get the inside scoop, his carnival-like showmanship, and glaring conflicts-of-interest showed him to be just as much a hypocrite as President Nixon. Misbehaviors of other notables such as Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan, Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes and the notorious Nixon Plumbers are also given their due. Mr. Anderson repeatedly undercovered and published classified government information that had an impact on Nixon's policies. It is easy to see why the President was infuriated and obsessed with taking down Anderson. Both men felt they were on the right side of what was good for our nation and were willing to do highly unethical and illegal things during their lifetime personal crusades.
Mr. Feldstein depicts Anderson as a more complex, troubled individual who did the public a great service, but in a very sloppy, hypocritical manner. However, the author clearly shows he's no fan of President Nixon. Though the information in this book is truly entertaining and informative, Mr. Feldstein's heavy-handed depiction of the President gives his work the patina of a tabloid newspaper. It would be best for the reader to keep in mind the author focused on President Nixon's relationship with Jack Anderson. Nixon is shown as the major wrongdoer and the carnival columnist is viewed as the lesser of two evils. The book is well worth reading, but not a work that will go down well with Nixon apologists such as G. Gordon Liddy.
Both Jack Anderson and Richard Nixon were driven by personal, reckless ambition and ultimately undone by their hubris. Neither man comes out of this book smelling like roses. Mr. Anderson's tactics in his efforts to get the inside scoop, his carnival-like showmanship, and glaring conflicts-of-interest showed him to be just as much a hypocrite as President Nixon. Misbehaviors of other notables such as Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan, Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes and the notorious Nixon Plumbers are also given their due. Mr. Anderson repeatedly undercovered and published classified government information that had an impact on Nixon's policies. It is easy to see why the President was infuriated and obsessed with taking down Anderson. Both men felt they were on the right side of what was good for our nation and were willing to do highly unethical and illegal things during their lifetime personal crusades.
Mr. Feldstein depicts Anderson as a more complex, troubled individual who did the public a great service, but in a very sloppy, hypocritical manner. However, the author clearly shows he's no fan of President Nixon. Though the information in this book is truly entertaining and informative, Mr. Feldstein's heavy-handed depiction of the President gives his work the patina of a tabloid newspaper. It would be best for the reader to keep in mind the author focused on President Nixon's relationship with Jack Anderson. Nixon is shown as the major wrongdoer and the carnival columnist is viewed as the lesser of two evils. The book is well worth reading, but not a work that will go down well with Nixon apologists such as G. Gordon Liddy.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #344)
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