Being Nixon

Starred review from June 29, 2015
In this surprisingly sympathetic investigation of President Nixon's psyche, Thomas (Ike's Bluff) depicts the infamous president as a man torn between optimism and anxiety, whose "strengths were his weaknesses, and vice versa." Beginning with a 16-year-old Nixon overcoming his first crisis (a disastrous school play), Thomas understands Nixon as introverted, insecure, solitary, and self-conscious of his humble origins, but able to bear humiliation and defeat in the pursuit of his goals. Fundamental to Nixon's tenacity were the women in his lifeâfirst his mother, and later his wife and two daughtersâwho saw the fundamental goodness in a man often maligned by the media and whose unyielding support quietly sustained Nixon across the many defeats of his political career. In Thomas's view, the long path to Nixon's fall began with anti-war protests and the publication of the Pentagon Papers, which upset the delicate balance of Nixon's warring selves and led him to give in to his worst impulses. Thomas doesn't shy away from showing Nixon at his worst, acknowledging Nixon's penchant for the "maudlin," his "self-pity," his fear of confrontation, and his often poisonous rivalry with Henry Kissinger. Thomas is generous to his subject, contextualizing Nixon and often teasing out his well-concealed desire to do the right thing. Agent: Amanda Urban, ICM.

A sympathetic-unusually so-portrait 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 detente 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' biographical-and sometimes psychobiographical-study 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(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 1, 2015

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 Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015

Currently an editor at large at Newsweek, New York Times best-selling author Thomas (e.g., Ike's Bluff) presents a portrait of Richard Nixon that aims to encompass his contradictions as schemer and sentimentalist, silent-majority defender and seeming liberal who desegregated Southern schools and founded the Environmental Protection Agency. With a 40,000-copy first printing and a five-city tour.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015

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 Journal, LLC Used with permission.