Being Nixon

A Man Divided

By: Evan Thomas

Narrated by: Bob Walter

Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The landmark New York Times best-selling 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 37th 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’ 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)

©2015 Evan Thomas (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

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

“How self-aware are the great men of history? That’s the fascinating question at the heart of Evan Thomas’s new book on Richard Nixon.... Here in one sharp and briskly written volume is what you really want to know about the great and horrible thirty-seventh President: How could someone so wise about the world be so utterly clueless about himself?... [Nixon] is revealed in Thomas’s hands as awkward, striving, victimized and alone - strange habits for a man who opted for such a public life, and traits that carried the seeds of his destruction.” (Time)

“Ambitious... Thomas’s book is filled with anecdotes that humanize Nixon. There are pages suggesting real insight and, especially, how the president was seen by those around him.... There are well-crafted word-pictures of Nixon throughout the narrative, from his legendary awkwardness to his catastrophic frustration and vindictive rage.” (Carl Bernstein, The Washington Post)

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.

Gave me a deeper perspective on Nixon & Watergate

I was in high school during Watergate and watched most of the Senate hearings. This book helped me to see Nixon as a person and to revisit that era through the eyes of an adult. At the time, I saw all of people in the Nixon administration as one monolithic block, but now I see that they were competing individuals with various motives, rivalries, and animosities. And I learned that Nixon foes such as Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee had personal animosities toward Nixon, whereas before I had seen them purely as altruistic heroes.

I was able to empathize with the early Nixon, in that I am also clumsy and sometimes feel uncertain in social situations. So having come to empathize with him, I was disappointed to learn how vindictive he became and how much he lost his moral compass as president. Yet I had always thought of him as villain, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

The book also helped me to appreciative Nixon's accomplishments as president, especially in foreign policy.

Bob Walter did an excellent job of capturing Nixon's cadence.

There were some funny parts that had me laughing out loud.

Very interesting perspective

I was very surprised as to how much I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in politics and political figures.

Very baritone voice over

After listening to Ray Porter talk, Bob walter was difficult to listen to. 10/10 though.

Loved this book!

Perhaps are most underrated president. For all his faults, I still can't help but think of him as a great man.

Sweeping and masterful

Absolutely loved this book, very insightful about the complicated life and legacy of Richard Nixon. It shows a tender side to the usually grim and opportunistic side of Nixon. It is a fair book pointing out the bad but also the important good that Nixon did on the world stage. Mr Thomas seems to have a nice grasp on the public and private Nixon. The book has a nice flow and I enjoyed immensely.

Well written, insightful

I have read about five Nixon biographies and this is among my one or two favorites. It has the essential detail and is objective (no mean feat with Nixon bios) but also real character insight and unusually well crafted prose for the genre.