Being Nixon

A Man Divided

By: Evan Thomas

Narrated by: Bob Walter

The landmark New York Times bestselling biography of Richard M. Nixon, a political savant whose gaping character flaws would drive him from the presidency and forever taint his legacy. 

“A biography of eloquence and breadth . . . No single volume about Nixon’s long and interesting life could be so comprehensive.”—Chicago Tribune

One of Time’s Top 10 Nonfiction Books of the Year

In this revelatory biography, Evan Thomas delivers a radical, unique portrait of America’s thirty-seventh president, Richard Nixon, a contradictory figure who was both determinedly optimistic and tragically flawed. One of the principal architects of the modern Republican Party and its “silent majority” of disaffected whites and conservative ex-Dixiecrats, Nixon was also deemed a liberal in some quarters for his efforts to desegregate Southern schools, create the Environmental Protection Agency, and end the draft.

The son of devout Quakers, Richard Nixon (not unlike his rival John F. Kennedy) grew up in the shadow of an older, favored brother and thrived on conflict and opposition. Through high school and college, in the navy and in politics, Nixon was constantly leading crusades and fighting off enemies real and imagined. He possessed the plainspoken eloquence to reduce American television audiences to tears with his career-saving “Checkers” speech; meanwhile, Nixon’s darker half hatched schemes designed to take down his political foes, earning him the notorious nickname “Tricky Dick.” Drawing on a wide range of historical accounts, Thomas’s biography reveals the contradictions of a leader whose vision and foresight led him to achieve détente with the Soviet Union and reestablish relations with communist China, but whose underhanded political tactics tainted his reputation long before the Watergate scandal.

A deeply insightful character study as well as a brilliant political biography, Being Nixon offers a surprising look at a man capable of great bravery and extraordinary deviousness—a balanced portrait of a president too often reduced to caricature.

Praise for Being Nixon

“Terrifically engaging . . . a fair, insightful and highly entertaining portrait.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Thomas has a fine eye for the telling quote and the funny vignette, and his style is eminently readable.”—The New York Times Book Review

Excellent and Well Balanced

Maybe the best biography of its type that I have read. As with most persons who achieve great power, Nixon was a very complex personality. The author manages to present a fair analysis without taking political sides.

A mind changing book

This is an honest well researched account of Nixon that wipes away the character depicted in the press and shows the agony and bafflement of a man who really did not understand himself.

Well written-worth listening to

Like all new books on a subject covered many times before, this book relies on those previous works. However, there is enough new stories, tidbits and insights to make it worth listening too. Overall, it casts Nixon in a rather sympathetic light, which is nice considering many similar works don't.

Intimate and revealing.

Richard Nixon's Watergate presidency was a remote news event on radio and television in New Zealand when I was seven years old, but for reasons not properly understood until years later, my interest in United States politics was sparked. What was all the fuss about secret tapes8 Why was he (Nixon) pardoned,and why did the name of Richard Nixon generate heated discussion? Along with other books I have read, this work kept me fascinated throughout the narration. `Thomas writes as someone who researches his subject, strives to depict a human who has strengths and weaknesses. Nixon could at times be brilliant, and then awful. He could be aggressive and gentle, sad and happy. He failed, only to succeed through dogged determination. I learnt enough from this book to appreciate the many positive components of a robust constitutional form of Government - the republic is far greater than the questionable actions of Norman. Nixon is analysed respectfully and empathetic lay, and this book USA must read for anyoneinterestedin the man who was Richard Nixonand the times in which he lived.

That Narrator though!

the narrator was simply amazing. he reminded me of Robert Stack from Unsolved Mysteries and it made the book impossible to stop listening to. The author also did a fantastic job of writing something that, in my opinion, was less biased than other works that I've read about Nixon. It was refreshing to have a more factual perspective about his achievements and shortfalls as a person and politician