reviews
Aug 05, 2011
I love stories about very intelligent people with a fatal flaw. Nixon fits this to a T. I am fascinated by Nixon’s trip to China. Though it resulted in a foreign relations coup and ultimately opening China provided a huge benefit for the average Chinese citizen, how could Nixon shake hands with one of the worst monsters in world history -- Mao Zedong? He did not seem phased by this, proving he was an adherent of realpolitik.
RN offers an indispensible perspective of a troubled and potentially More...
RN offers an indispensible perspective of a troubled and potentially More...
Sep 12, 2008
Chris
rated it: 
The memoirs of a very talented, complex and conflicted man. Every time he seemed to be down for the count, he managed to pick himself back up. I can't help but admire that.
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Mar 27, 2011
Scott
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Nixon's style is both complex and readable, the Memoirs are a page turner to me because his era in American politics spans such a long time and such a fascinating time. Odd is this may seem, and even though he provides very little as Pat is concerned, I came away with a much deeper respect for her...she was never out front as some of the later Presidential wives have become, and she placed a personal integrity above all else. RN was complex and fascinating...and I have read the memiors twice,
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Jan 19, 2012
Sputnik
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This was a great book. It gave me a sense of the scale of RN's historical achievements and his personality. The last 350 pages were almost painful to read as he goes into intense detail on Watergate and the reader sees how an Administration accomplishes historic goals (opening with China, end of Vetnam, return of POW's, arms agreements with USSR, stabilizing Mid East, opening relations with Sadat's Egypt while helping Golda Meir keep Israel alive in two wars) against a looming scandal which gr
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Dec 17, 2009
David
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You seldom find an autobiography that expresses criticism of the subject. That is especially true in this case, although one wouldn't expect to find Richard Nixon criticizing anything he did as president. This book was far too lengthy, and if you read it expecting to find a confession by Nixon, you are in for a disappointment. Nixon is, as he was in life, on the defensive much of the time.
It's not a problem that only Nixon had. Almost everyone who ever wrote a memoir did so as a mean More...
It's not a problem that only Nixon had. Almost everyone who ever wrote a memoir did so as a mean More...
Oct 03, 2009
Terry
rated it: 
Nixon was witness to many leaders and events. The only man aside from FDR to be nominated to a national ticket of a major party FIVE times. His recounting of events and leaders is very interesting. When we get to the Watergate period, it bogs down in legal tit-for-tat, where we already know the outcome.
Aug 24, 2011
Kat
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I'm always drawn to the flawed and misunderstood hero. Nixon fascinates me as one of the greatest foreign diplomats in US history. And extremely talented and intelligent man plagued by paranoia and and a misguided sense of loyalty.
Aug 06, 2011
Jussi
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You don't have to like Tricky Dick, but this is a far better written presidential memoir than most. Nixon is not exactly forthcoming about Watergate but the book gives a good glimpse of the thinking and philosophy of the man.
Aug 01, 2010
Christine
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Easily the loooongest book I've ever read! Interesting, though...especially the account of normalizing relations with China.
Nov 05, 2009
Bud
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I loved this book, it was very enlightening and a look back in history
Great read
Great read
Jan 28, 2009
It's really long, but worth it. That said, Six Crises is a better memoir, but this one does cover more of his life. Hard to argue against a book written after Watergate, but this is still Nixon memoir #2 in my rankings. The other books are interesting too, but the aforementioned two strike me as the essential Nixon.
Jul 18, 2009
Ed
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This book was quite interesting when I began reading it but as I progressed and Nixon "got more into" his own "story" I got the sense that the man was bizzar. At every turn he was "enunciating" some other "doctrine" which description always included his name. He was indeed a complex man, very intelligent and would have ended up being quite an effective president had it not been for his Waterloo: Watergate.
Jun 26, 2008
Joe
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More than anything, I enjoyed Nixon's account of how hard he worked to get through college and law school. It inspired me coming out of high school when I found myself in similar circumstances; and it has helped me appreciate Nixon with a bit more humanity than most - faults and all - ever since.
Jan 22, 2008
Shawn
rated it: 
I am still stuggling through this 1000 pager. If it wasn't part of a larger reading goal, I would have put it down a long time ago.
Oct 30, 2007
I only reading this in my quest to read all preisdential autobiographies I can get my hands on.
Apr 21, 2008
Monty
rated it:
He wines a little - but at least you get a first-person perspective of his failed presidency.
Feb 20, 2012
Feb 16, 2012
Jan 23, 2012
