Summers, Anthony (Nixon, Richard)

The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon

ISBN: 0670871516
New York, NY: Viking Press, 2000. First Printing. Hardcover. "More than two decades after he resigned from the presidency, Richard Nixon has lost none of his fascination. From the ongoing debates about his record in office to the contentious struggles over the White House tapes, we as a nation seem obsessed with the need to understand our most infamous political figure. In The Arrogance of Power, award-winning investigative journalist Anthony Summers offers an unprecedented examination of a president whose personality embraced both political brilliance and criminal vindictiveness. Drawing on more than a thousand interviews and five years of research, Summers traces Nixon’s career from his youth in California through his controversial terms in Congress and the vice presidency to his turbulent days in the Oval Office. The pattern that emerges is of a man driven by a lifelong addiction to intrigue and power. […] Summers documents previously undisclosed facts about Nixon’s role in plotting to topple Fidel Castro and in the attempted sabotage of the Vietnam peace talks; his unscrupulous acceptance of funds from dubious sources; his difficulties with alcohol and his use of unprescribed medication; [and] his mental and emotional instability. […] The Arrogance of Power will destroy forever the image Nixon sought to make his legacy, presenting in its place a stark portrait of a man whose personal torments came to impact fifty years of American history." (Abridged Qtn. from Front & Back Cover flaps). Readers of history, especially those with a specialization in American politics, have worked to learn something about Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) — and this work is made easier because the life is so prismatic. It’s actually “fun” to learn about Nixon. Did you know, for instance, that Nixon played six instruments, including the saxophone? How could that emblem of all that the Jazzmen defined for us as “cool” hang from the neck of a notorious toady? There is also the fact of Nixon’s service (in the Second World War): the story of his massively successful burger stand, and the fact that he once was socially celebrated. The fact of Nixon’s “acceptance,” by peers, as — to lift a phrase from F. Scott Fitzgerald — “one among stags and tippling Princetonians”? Whatever the case, his image, life & legacy haunt the 20th century: and doubly so in the American-political context. Anthony Summers’ (b. 1942) book delightfully & resoundingly attests to this claim, and — despite the attack-dog tonality that the flap copy deploys, — the work is far more balanced than its copy might infer. The result is a must-read for anyone interested in Nixon. From the collection of Barbara (1935-2023) & Irving (1933-2018) Nusbaum - world travelers, connoisseurs, eminent collectors of art & books, and the dearly beloved late parents of our esteemed founder, Arthur S. Nusbaum. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket: First Edition, though not explicated as such on copyright page; First Printing, as indicated by number sequence thereon. Book in very fine condition with only slightest shelf-wear & some light bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; other than this, we find only a lone instance of mutely enunciated horizontal creasing present at bottommost fine-edge of spine. Dust jacket also in very fine condition, with only corresponding light shelf-wear & mutely enunciated instances of bumping to front, back covers & spine-edge in correspondence with those noted above. A worthy copy of this surprisingly nuanced Nixon collectible. An extra handling fee of $1.50 will be added for shipping due to the size and weight of this item. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #6926]

Price: $35.00