audiobook The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII; the Playboy Prince by Jane Ridley in History

Description

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“A biography of eloquence and breadth . . . No single volume about Nixon’s long and interesting life could be so comprehensive.”—Chicago Tribune “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 “Thomas proves an amiable and fair-minded tour guide.”—The Boston Globe “A measured; concise; and important American biography.”—Michael Beschloss; author of Presidential Courage