2014 marks the 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation from the White House, and no book has captured the extraordinary upheaval of America during the Watergate years better than Elizabeth Drew's Washington Journal. The book that established Drew's reputation as one of the shrewdest and sharpest writers on American politics, this book took in the emerging scandal with tremendous clarity and force. Unfolding over the course of a single year, from September 1973 to August 1974, this is the record of the near-dissolution of a nation's political conscience - told from within. Cool and understated - and all the more devastating for its understatement - this book was immediately hailed upon its publication in 1975 as a landmark work of journalism. With a new afterword that brings this all too relevant book squarely into the present and reflects on what has changed - and what hasn't - in the last forty years, this book is available again, ready for its place in the pantheon of great political writing.
Elizabeth Drew Books
Washington journalist Elizabeth Drew weaves a riveting tale of an energetic, brilliant, and flawed man taking on a job for which there is no training. This revealing and incisive analysis of President Clinton's first year is written by a distinguished reporter with inside knowledge of the issues and actions about which she writes.
The complex man at the center of America's most self-destructive presidency In this provocative and revelatory assessment of the only president ever forced out of office, the legendary Washington journalist Elizabeth Drew explains how Richard M. Nixon's troubled inner life offers the key to understanding his presidency. She shows how Nixon was surprisingly indecisive on domestic issues and often wasn't interested in them. Turning to international affairs, she reveals the inner workings of Nixon's complex relationship with Henry Kissinger, and their mutual rivalry and distrust. The Watergate scandal that ended his presidency was at once an overreach of executive power and the inevitable result of his paranoia and passion for vengeance. Even Nixon's post-presidential rehabilitation was motivated by a consuming desire for respectability, and he succeeded through his remarkable resilience. Through this book we finally understand this complicated man. While giving him credit for his achievements, Drew questions whether such a man--beleaguered, suspicious, and motivated by resentment and paranoia--was fit to hold America's highest office, and raises large doubts that he was.
An analysis of the role of big money in the legislative process and assesses their impact on congressional behavior