One man against the world
Subtitle: the tragedy of Richard Nixon
By: Tim Weiner
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 369
ISBN-13: 9781627790833
Subjects: Politics and government; Presidents; Biography
Description: Draws on recently declassified documents to chronicle one of the most disastrous presidencies in U.S. history, presenting a portrait of a brilliant man overcome by his deep insecurities and his distrust of his cabinet, Congress, and the American people.

Here is the first history of President Richard Nixon covering all of his secret tapes and documents, many declassified in the past two years. Award-winning journalist Tim Weiner presents a devastating portrait of a tortured and tormented man, showing how, in Nixon's mind, the conflict in Vietnam and the crimes of Watergate were one war, fought on two fronts. He trusted no one--not his Cabinet, not his closest advisers, not the American people. Elected to unite a nation as discordant as it was at the close of the Civil War, Nixon disdained domestic policies and programs. He wanted above all to create what he called "a generation of peace"--by asking the world's leading Communist dictators to help him end the Vietnam War. He saw antiwar American citizens as opponents no less dangerous than the enemy in Vietnam. Gripped by rage and insomnia, he fought his foes without mercy. Abroad, his best weapons were B-52 bombers. At home, he used undercover agents, warrantless wiretaps, break-ins, and burglaries. Almost all his presidency is recorded on tape or preserved on paper, creating a remarkable record of the most intimate and damning conversations. Only recently, after forty years of struggle, has much of this jaw-dropping information been made public. Nixon saw himself not only as the leader of the free world but "the world leader"--yet he was addicted to the gutter politics that ruined him. His political suicide has no equal in American history. --Adapted from book jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: "A great, bad man"; title: "This is treason"; title: "He was surrounded by enemies"; title: "He will let them know who is boss around here"; title: "The center cannot hold"; title: "Madman"; title: "Don't strike a king unless you intend to kill him"; title: "A pitiful, helpless giant"; title: "An unmitigated disaster"; title: "Only we have the power"; title: "We're not going to lose this war"; title: "It's a conspiracy"; title: "I can see the whole thing unravel"; title: "It is illegal, but ..."; title: "Night and fog"; title: "From one extreme to another"; title: "This is the supreme test"; title: "Palace intrigue"; title: "We have produced a horrible tragedy"; title: "A hell of a way to end the goddamn war"; title: "You could get a million dollars"; title: "Vietnam had found its successor"; title: "The President of the United States can never admit that"; title: "The same enemies"; title: United States v. Richard Milhous Nixon.