King Richard: Nixon and Watergate — An American Tragedy

I've known middle school cliques to plan capers better than that scurry of idiots who goofed Watergate. Listening to this audiobook detailing the escapades of those hotel robbers and the men pulling the strings behind the curtain only confirmed that men are some of the worst planners and secret keepers. Somehow men are still convinced that they're political geniuses. Nixon really took - don't leave a paper trail - too literally and instead left the world's biggest audio trail, check trail, and records trail. Someone should have told him that a paper trail wasn't a path littered with Hammermill 28lb. 

My second complaint about Watergate is that for such a big failure it was, it also happened to be considerably boring. Honestly the highlight was Martha Mitchell who ratted them out and the only solution they could think up to discredit her was false imprisonment and calling her crazy. Someone should have given her a medal for her trouble. I wonder if she divorced the man after.

jeopardy song while I google to find out

....Well at least they separated. She really got the raw end of the deal. In this decade, the public would have loved her to pieces. On another occasion separate from Watergate, she refused to curtsy for the Queen. You have to love a dame with a backbone who speaks her mind. 

I will give this book a few points in its favor. It is wonderfully detailed and does lead the writer along the timeline of Watergate in a methodical manner. The audiobook is further enhanced with clips from the actual audio tapes. (The narrator also does a delightful Kissinger accent) It is not the author's fault that Nixon had a big head and also happened to be boring and surrounded by a cadre of ego feeders. 

Haig on Day 178 is probably my favorite part of this whole book. It was refreshing to see someone so clearly appalled that a sitting president was such a dumkhof who thought installing an automatic recording system in the White House, a brilliant idea. “Boss you've got to have a bonfire” was also somewhat amusing but Haig's clear “are you an idiot” thoughts reflected how I felt as an outside observer. 

Would I recommend this book to anyone? As casual reading? no. For those seeking a blow by blow without having to dig through transcripts and news articles? Yes.

Have I been influenced to have some cottage cheese with pineapple? No. 

Do I commend Michael Dobbs? Yes, I am sure that this book was a massive and tedious undertaking. I will also note that Dobbs does not appear to use this book as an opportunity to teach us political parables. 

I will however disagree with him on one important note - I do not have any empathy for Nixon in this whole affair. I do not think he is solely and wholly culpable for what happened. However the success of your presidency is determined by those you decided to surround yourself with. And at the end of the day...the buck stops with the man at the top.