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Silent Coup: The Removal of a President
by
This important political history throws out all previously accepted views of Watergate and reveals the personal motives and secret political goals that combined to cause the downfall of Richard Nixon. "A careful, meticulously sourced and reported exhumation of some of this country's foulest secrets."--Village Voice. HC: St. Martin's.
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Paperback, 580 pages
Published
January 1st 1992
by St Martins Mass Market Paper
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Start your review of Silent Coup: The Removal of a President
A fascinating book that changed my understanding of Watergate, its instigation, its aftermath, and the journalism that produced All the President's Men, The Final Days, and one of my favorite movies.
Obsessively researched and written like a legal brief (hence 4 stars instead of 5: it's a challenge to read with attention), this revisionist history is both compelling and persuasive. Also fascinating is its publishing history, an important part of the story that is detailed in two afterwords to the ...more
Obsessively researched and written like a legal brief (hence 4 stars instead of 5: it's a challenge to read with attention), this revisionist history is both compelling and persuasive. Also fascinating is its publishing history, an important part of the story that is detailed in two afterwords to the ...more
It is surprising that anyone even remembers this book from 1991, which passed off the authors' fringe-conspiracy theory on Watergate as mainstream history. The authors endeavored to deflect any blame for Watergate away from Nixon or his top aides, and instead argued that White House counsel John Dean was the "mastermind" behind the 1972 break-in due to Dean's own paranoia about possibly being implicated in some prostitution scandal brewing at the Democratic National HQ. As the kids say, "lol wut
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Jun 02, 2010
Erik Graff
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Americans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
history
This is a rather unusual take on the removal of Richard Nixon. The authors assign primary responsibility to the Joint Chiefs of Staff who were cut out of the normal decision-making loop by Nixon and Henry Kissinger as regards a number of policies, most notably the secret dealings with Peoples' China. The implications of this hypothesis are interesting as Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter substantially responsible for breaking the Watergate story, a navy intelligence officer during his t
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OK, John Dean ordered the break in at the Watergate because his girlfriend, soon to be wife, was part of a call girl ring being run out of the DNC and he wanted to hear what was going on. Al Haig was Deep Throat and worked in his own best interest to get President Nixon removed. I never heard all of that before and although the other books I read (Haldeman's, Erlichman's, Sirica's, Jaworski's etc.) mentioned nothing about those items, they all did hate Dean and Magruder and weren't real thrilled
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Buried in details. Not easy to follow the trail, and I lived through this stuff. Frankly, the thesis is a stretch and reads more like neo-con sour grapes. It simply cannot be supported that the Nixon removal was a coup, unless you suspend all reason. The coup might have been by his own inner circle if at all.
Never finished reading. Not too interesting. Wasn't worth finishing.
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This book is scary good. A lot about the whole Watergate situation just never made a lot of sense to me. Always felt that there were some pieces missing. This is the book that makes it make sense. A truly great read.
Different perspective on why the break in was orchestrated, and more on the cover up then what I've read to this point.
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Excellent Book. I really enjoyed it, but it also shows just how dangerous and deceptive the government is. Thomas Pain was right. The less government we have the better.
This book is very difficult to follow, but also very interesting. It sounds too fantastic to believe, yet I find myself believing it. I was only 8 years old when President Nixon resigned, so I don't have any real memories of what went on, but the Watergate scandal has always fascinated me and as strange as this account is, I find it the most believable of the books I have read about Watergate.
The main points of the book are as follows:
1. During the early part of Nixon's first term, the military ...more
The main points of the book are as follows:
1. During the early part of Nixon's first term, the military ...more
An interesting book, that perhaps assumes the reader is more conversant with the events leading up to Nixon's resignation 45 years ago. Also a bit of a conspiracy theory romp, so should be taken with a grain of salt.
The book was fairly convincing that John Dean was the prime malefactor in the conspiracy and the coverup. If it wasn't him, it would have been someone else, because the Nixon administration was completely dysfunctional. For example, the JCS were actively spying on the NSC, so as not ...more
The book was fairly convincing that John Dean was the prime malefactor in the conspiracy and the coverup. If it wasn't him, it would have been someone else, because the Nixon administration was completely dysfunctional. For example, the JCS were actively spying on the NSC, so as not ...more
It makes sense that Haig would act as a spy for the Pentagon given Nixon and Kissinger's overtures to China and the Soviet Union, and it also logical to assume that Woodward, a writer of fictitious reports as FBI reports indicate, a naval intelligence officer would brief Haig on related matters. One gets the impression that Felt was angry that Nixon didn't pick him as FBI director after Grey recommended him, and given that Woodward indicated that "deep throat" was a gossiper, it is not improbabl
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Just not that good.
NF - Fall of Richard Nixon, written by people around him
good book
I can't give this contrived piece of trash zero stars, or I would. Amazed that the publisher didn't get sued out existence for slander...
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Detailed, entertaining, factual, and in depth. All of the characteristics you want from investigative reporting. The amount of detail and evidence presented in this book is stunning. Hard to put the book down. Would have finished it in a few days if my schedule wasn’t so hectic.
A very well-researched, sourced, and articulated revisionist history of the Pentagon Papers/Watergate scandals of the Nixon administration. Colodny and Gettlin spare no one, not only within the administration, but even among its detractors, in particular, Bob Woodward. Their telling of the narrative tends toward relieving Nixon and John Mitchell, while especially blaming John Dean and Alexander Haig.
The weakest part of the authors' argument is the Woodward-Haig connection; specifically, the part ...more
The weakest part of the authors' argument is the Woodward-Haig connection; specifically, the part ...more
This is a well researched book, they interviewed over 150 involved participants in Watergate, compared testimony to the Senate at the time, and reviewed countless documents.
It is hard for me to re-live Watergate, even painful. However, the authors clearly proved that John Dean was the initiator of Watergate and the key person in the coverup, although at the time he was portrayed as a whistleblower. He comes across as a liar who made up meetings, and made up conversations, as well as invoking the ...more
It is hard for me to re-live Watergate, even painful. However, the authors clearly proved that John Dean was the initiator of Watergate and the key person in the coverup, although at the time he was portrayed as a whistleblower. He comes across as a liar who made up meetings, and made up conversations, as well as invoking the ...more
I thought I had read just about every book on Watergate ever printed. I certainly missed this one. Enjoyed it thourouly. Woodward and Bernstein touched on a lot of this, but this goes into more depth. Although they deducted that Al Haig was Deep Throat, it was really W. Mark Felt, 2nd in command of the FBI. Dean only admitted to doing little stuff, not being in charge of anything. Totally blaming Mitchell for everything. Then he conned Nixon into starting the cover-up. Getting everyone else into
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Not everything turned out as this book predicted (e.g., Al Haig wasn't Deep Throat), but some of the background information is still fascinating--like owlish John Dean of the Watergate hearings actually being the administration's playboy, his gorgeous wife having a friend who appears to have been a call girl, and the possibility that John Dean himself may have planted the idea for the Watergate break-in in Nixon's mind, as a way to get information on a call girl ring based there that may have se
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I finished this audio cassette investigative book by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin on 4/11/2007. It was hard for me to follow because it was complex and there are a lot of characters as anyone that lived through Watergate will attest. If you are an avid history buff, then yes, this is your book. It did help me to understand that Nixon had many chances to survive Watergate because he really did not know anything about the break-in until well after it occurred, and he made some poor crucial choic
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Sep 21, 2007
Lonnie
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Watergate buffs
The book presents a thorough and sometimes tedious case against Watergate snitch John Dean. It was Dean who orchestrated the break-ins in order to get the files in the DNC offices that would reveal his girlfriend, later wife, as a high-priced call girl. Considering the confusion as to why the Plumbers went into the DNC offices twice rather than go after McGovern or Muskie offices, the authors make an interesting case. Also fun for conspiracy theorists.
To me this was a fascinating book. It outlines much what happened in the watergate scandal without regards to politics. It does not make show Nixon as innocent, but does make revelations that make his actions more understandable.
It also effective shows the sleazy (in some cases very literaly) actions both parties used to gain and maintain power.
It also effective shows the sleazy (in some cases very literaly) actions both parties used to gain and maintain power.
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