Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full

1164 Pages·2007·2.52 MB·English

by  Conrad Black

Richard M. Nixon
a life in full
—
also by conrad black
Render unto Caesar: The Life and Legacy of Maurice Duplessis
A Life in Progress
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom
conrad black
RICHARD
M. NIXON
A Life in Full
publicaffairs
New York
Copyright © 2007by Conrad Black.
The author regrets the suggestion on pages 408, 536, and 732 that the journalist
Sander Vanocur was a “supporter” of the Kennedy family or that he was “intermit-
tently” paid by them. Mr. Vanocur has assured me that was not the case.
Originally published in 2007in Canada by McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
Published in 2007in the United States by PublicAffairs™,
a member of the Perseus Books Group.
Paperback edition published in 2008.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews. For information, address PublicAffairs,
250West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107.PublicAffairs
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email [email protected].
Typeset in Electra by M&S, Toronto
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black, Conrad.
Richard M. Nixon : a life in full / Conrad Black. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
HC ISBN: 978-1-58648-519-1
PB ISBN: 978-1-58648-674-7
1. Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913–1994. 2. Presidents—
United States—Biography. I. Title.
E856.B53 2007
973.924092—dc22
[B]
2007034530
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Barbara.
Through good and bad times, she has been magnificent.
No man could ask more and few could have received so much.
She is beyond praise and criticism.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
part i The Meteoric Rise: 1913–1953 1
1.One of the Common People: 1913–1945 3
2.Into the Arena: 1945–1950 75
3. Vertical Ascent: 1950–1952 145
4.The Travails of the Fox: 1952–1953 209
part ii The Ordeal of Ambition: 1953–1968 269
5.The Chief Apprentice: 1953–1956 271
6.The Regent and the Striver: 1956–1959 321
7.Defeat and Endurance: 1959–1963 376
8.The Triumph of Survival: 1963–1968 444
part iii The Pursuit of Peace: 1968–1972 509
9. Tumult and Victory: 1968–1969 511
10.The Silent Majority: 1969–1970 577
11. Calming the Nation: 1970–1971 642
12. Waging Peace: 1971–1972 703
part iv The Indestructible Man and Myth: 1972– 773
13.The Pinnacle: 1972 775
14.The Precipice: 1972–1973 846
15.The Inferno: 1973–1974 913
16.The Transfiguration: 1974–1994 987
Notes 1061
Bibliography 1095
Index 1108
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Acknowledgments
My wife, Barbara, has been a constant and patient encouragement in this
book, from the first occasions when we both met with Richard Nixon
through the composition of it in very distracting circumstances, as I pre-
pared at the same time to deal with serious judicial problems. Without her
encouragement, it could not have been written. My agent, Michael Levine,
has performed prodigies well beyond what an author has any right to expect
from an agent. Doug Pepper of McClelland & Stewart, Anthony Cheetham,
(of Quercus), Peter Osnos and Clive Priddle of Public Affairs, and my old
friends George (Lord) Weidenfeld and Morton L. Janklow have been indis-
pensable and often tireless in advancing it to publication. Bill Whitworth, an
editor of astounding virtuosity, diplomacy, patience, and stamina, has done
as much to make this book publishable as he did for my life of Franklin D.
Roosevelt, in a much shorter time. Elizabeth Kribs and her team at M&S,
including Heather Sangster, Alex Schultz, and Trena White, have made a
great further contribution to polish the manuscript and remove or soften
some of my less felicitous tendencies as a writer. Thank you also to Terra
Page (typesetter), Scott Richardson (designer), and Scott Sellers (publicist)
of M&S. Robert Nedelkoff of the Nixon Presidential Materials Project in
College Park, Maryland, has been selfless, tireless, and invaluable in pro-
viding access to original documents and arranging photographs. He has
shown Job-like patience in receiving telephone calls at home at odd
hours, and Samaritanly goodwill in assisting in many vital areas. My very
valued and resourceful colleague, Joan Maida, who has worked with me in
many things with unfailing ingenuity and good humor for more than fifteen
years, has been, yet again, a tremendously efficient and thoughtful collabo-
rator. Adam Daifallah and Edward Saatchi carried out extensive and vital
research for me in the latest available material in the vast Nixon and related
ix