Richard Nixon Books

Memoirs

Rn : The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (Richard Nixon Library Editions) by Richard Nixon
Former President Richard Nixon's bestselling autobiography is an intensely personal examination of his life, public career, and White House years. With startling candor, Nixon reveals his beliefs, doubts, and behind-the-scenes decisions, and sheds new light on his landmark diplomatic initiatives, political campaigns, and historic decision to resign from the presidency.

Alone in the White House

President Nixon: Alone in the White House by Richard Reeves
Drawing on thousands of pages of archival material and on interviews with surviving associates, presidential biographer Reeves paints a complex, sometimes disturbing portrait of the man forever enshrined as Tricky Dick.

Final Days

The Final Days : The Classic, Behind-the-Scenes Account of Richard Nixon's Dramatic Last Days in the White House by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
This book is absolutely riveting. A clear-eyed inside account of a president under seige by a scandal that grew bigger and bigger every day. I highly recommend this pair of books to anyone looking for detailed, yet highly readable sources of information.

No Peace, No Honor

No Peace, No Honor : Nixon, Kissinger, and Betrayal in Vietnam by Larry Berman
In 1973, Henry Kissinger shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the secret negotiations that led to the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam. Nixon famously declared the 1973 agreement to be "peace with honor"; America was disengaging, yet South Vietnam still stood to fight its own war. Kissinger promptly moved to seal up his personal records of the negotiations, arguing that they are private, not government, records, and that he will only allow them to be unsealed after his death.

Arrogance of Power

The Arrogance of Power : The Secret World of Richard Nixon by Anthony Summers
Anthony Summers is the past master of scandal, the man who brought you Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe and that unforgettable (alleged) eyewitness account of J. Edgar Hoover in a flouncy black dress. Greater experts than I must rule on Summers's exhaustively researched portrait of Richard Nixon, The Arrogance of Power, but it sure is one racy read.

Nixon Reconsidered

Nixon Reconsidered by Joan Hoff
An eye-opening look at the man whose notoriety over Watergate and whose accomplishments in foreign policy have made us forget that he was one of our most innovative modern presidents on matters of domestic policy.