Nixon's Gamble: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration, by Ray Locker
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Nixon's Gamble: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration, by Ray Locker
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After being sworn in as president, Richard Nixon told the assembled crowd that “government will listen. ... Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in.” But that same day, he obliterated those pledges of greater citizen control of government by signing National Security Decision Memorandum 2, a document that made sweeping changes to the national security power structure. Nixon’s signature erased the influence that the departments of State and Defense, as well as the CIA, had over Vietnam and the course of the Cold War. The new structure put Nixon at the center, surrounded by loyal aides and a new national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, who coordinated policy through the National Security Council under Nixon’s command. Using years of research and revelations from newly released documents, USA Today reporter Ray Locker upends much of the conventional wisdom about the Nixon administration and its impact and shows how the creation of this secret, unprecedented, extra-constitutional government undermined U.S. policy and values. In doing so, Nixon sowed the seeds of his own destruction by creating a climate of secrecy, paranoia, and reprisal that still affects Washington today.
Nixon's Gamble: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration, by Ray Locker - Amazon Sales Rank: #442063 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.30" h x 1.16" w x 6.35" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 352 pages
Nixon's Gamble: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration, by Ray Locker Review "The story we only thought we knew. Ray Locker gives us back our lost perspective on Richard Nixon and the governance we inherited from his tragedy. This courageous, graceful book is a major achievement and lasting public service.”--Roger Morris, author of Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician“Richard Nixon accomplished a great deal--opening up China, arms control with Russia, ending the Vietnam War--but he did this, in no small measure, by deceit. In a tour de force of historical research, Ray Locker reveals a mind-boggling web of lies and half-truths. A gripping read and an important book.”--Evan Thomas,New York Times bestselling author of Being Nixon: A Man Divided and Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Battle to Save the World“Ray Locker has assembled a masterful study that asks a question no one else has – was the Nixon White House flawed by design? A deep dive of government documents and primary sources, Locker examines the very foundations of the Nixon administration and finds something very troubling. A must read for anyone wanting a better understanding of the time period.”--Luke A. Nichter, co-author of New York Times bestselling series The Nixon Tapes: 1971-1972 and The Nixon Tapes: 1973Even more impressive, that’s not the most important part of this richly illuminating history of Richard Nixon’s many layered attempt to govern by secret. In uncovering the huge hidden wager that Nixon took, playing for his place in world history and going all in with nothing less than the presidency itself, Ray Locker shows us Nixon’s hole cards and how badly he misplayed them. We’re all still trying to recoup the loss.”--Ed Gray, co-author with his father L. Patrick Gray III of In Nixon’s Web: A Year in the Crosshairs of Watergate"’Why did he do it?’ has long been one of the great questions of the Nixon presidency. Ray Locker provides a set of fascinating new answers, based on dogged investigative research and a keen instinct for making sense of Richard Nixon's strange secret world.”—Beverly Gage, professor of American history at Yale University“Ray Locker establishes Nixon gambled to achieve foreign policy achievements and lasting structural government changes only ultimately to be brought down by his secret modus operandi. He also convincingly documents that John Dean, Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, and the FBI’s top intelligence officer William C. Sullivan aided in Nixon’s demise with the duplicitous roles they played by giving misleading information to the press and Congress.”--Joan Hoff, author of Nixon ReconsideredRichard Nixon (1913–94) remains a fascinating subject for historians of all stripes. Locker, an investigative reporter for USA Today, applies his ample research skills to exploring Nixon’s penchant for secrecy and deception during his six years as president. The focus centers on Nixon’s three primary foreign policy goals: ending the Vietnam War, restoring diplomatic relations with China, and reducing Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union. In order to accomplish these disparate objectives, Locker maintains, Nixon created a complex secretive network so extensive that even his closest advisors, such as Henry Kissinger, didn’t know the whole truth behind his actions. The author utilizes a wide range of primary and secondary resources to spin his tale, and at times the facts are indeed stranger than fiction as he lists the consequences of the National Security Decision Memoranda and concludes that Nixon’s 'climate of secrecy' continues to impact politics today. VERDICTA well-told, detailed account that will satisfy even the most dedicated Nixon scholar. (Library Journal)“Ray Locker manages to deliver a book about Nixon and Watergate that seems remarkably fresh. Locker, whose research is prodigious and writing sublime, provides a page turner that gives important new insights into why Nixon made the critical decisions that brought down his presidency. "Nixon's Gamble" is a persuasive and absorbing addition to the best books about the most complex modern President.”--Gerald Posner, author of God’s Bankers and Case ClosedLocker, a USA Today investigative reporter focusing on the politics and Congress, reconstructs the rise and fall of Richard Nixon. His well-constructed thesis is that Nixon believed the entrenched, self-interested forces of Washington--the national press corps, Congress, and the CIA, FBI, and Pentagon--were making it impossible for him to achieve his goals: reaching an arms agreement with the Soviets, establishing a detente with China, and ending the Vietnam War. Determined to succeed at any cost, Nixon stealthily created a shadow government adept at secret foreign policy initiatives. According to Locker, Nixon's commitment to secrecy generated a culture of domestic spying, fostering the infamous break-ins, until 'cover-up beget cover-up' and led to Nixon's demise. Locker describes Nixon's machinations in minute detail, and readers. . . .will marvel at Nixon's drive, paranoia, duplicity, and accomplishments. . . .In Locker's view, Nixon's successes place him high in the pantheon of effective presidents, but his perfidy makes an equally compelling narrative of failure. (Publishers Weekly)“Fascinating… Locker’s book is more than just gripping political narrative; it is a critical examination of one of the most pivotal and flawed leaders in modern American history, one whose story still reverberates today almost a half-century later.”—James Scott, The Post and Courier, CharlestonLocker’s book is more than just gripping political narrative: it is a critical examination of one of the most pivotal and flawed leaders in modern American history, one whose story still reverberates today almost a half-century later. (The Post and Courier)“For book authors, Richard Nixon is a former U.S. president who just keeps on giving. Every time I believe nothing new is left to be written about Nixon's demise, another professional historian or another skilled journalist surprises me. Ray Locker, a Washington correspondent for USA Today, is one of those skilled journalists. His sophisticated theory about how Nixon's instincts for secrecy sabotaged some admirable foreign policy initiatives got me thinking along new pathways.” --Steve Weinberg, author of Armand Hammer and a forthcoming biography of Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau“Reads like a taught Washington thriller…thoroughly researched…dramatically engaging” (Tampa Bay Times)
About the Author Ray Locker is the Washington enterprise editor for USA Today, where he supervises investigative reporting in the Washington bureau, as well as the White House, military and money in politics reporters. His work as a reporter and editor has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes. He covered the final years of George Wallace’s political career at the Montgomery Advertiser in Alabama; spent 13 years as a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Tampa Tribune; worked for the Los Angeles Times; and ran the Associated Press bureau in Sacramento, where he coordinated coverage of California government and politics. Locker is married to Margaret Talev, a White House correspondent for Bloomberg News. They have two daughters and live in Rockville, Maryland.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Another Watergate Book? By Andy in Washington Another Watergate book? Seriously, do we really need another one?Well, yes, we do. Ray Locker takes a wide angle view of Nixon’s Presidency. He doesn’t take us back to his childhood, but he does examine his political career and offers some explanations, or rationalizations, of why Nixon may have acted the way he did.=== The Good Stuff ===* Locker writes in an easy-to-read style, and the pages seemed to fly by. He looks at various aspects of the Nixon administration, including foreign affairs, election campaigns and dirty tricks, his seeming inability to avoid conspiracies, obstruction of justice and finally his fall from power. While I suspect the author admires some of Nixon’s qualities, the book is a reasonably balanced look at the man and his struggles.* Without giving away too much of the details, Locker postulates that Nixon’s success in foreign affairs (opening China to the West, SALT, Détente) could have only happened in an environment where the US Government could keep secrets. It was impossible for Nixon to make the progress he did if his every action and bargaining strategy was leaked to the press by those who did not agree with the initiatives.* I was amazed at how “amateurish” various characters in the book seemed to be. No matter what, I always assumed that Nixon was shrewd, the CRP operatives were seasoned operators, Woodward and Bernstein were above reproach and Nixon’s key advisors (Haldeman, Erlichman, Dean, Kissinger, Mitchell) were seasoned Washington veterans. Locker provides examples that ruins this illusion.=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===* To enjoy the book, the reader has to approach it with an open mind. Locker’s hypothesis requires you to believe that Nixon, at least at first, had commendable motives and legitimate security concerns. Personally, I somewhat believe that, although Nixon’s inability to get through a day without a conspiracy, obstruction of justice and a secret agenda caused him serious troubles. Still, Locker’s analysis offers a glimpse of how Nixon started down the road to disgrace.v* I have read many summaries of the events of “Watergate”, and I must confess I still don’t have a clear understanding of everything that happened. This book helped some, but especially toward the end, it just became too much a task for a summer reader to keep all the players, their motives, interests and legal liabilities separate. I will take the blame, and just assume that if I read this as a more “serious” reader, it would be clearer. In any event, to explain the events clearly, the book would probably need to be 1500 pages and borderline unreadable.=== Summary ===The book is an excellent look at how the Nixon administration went off the rails. What were originally admirable goals soon turned in to one of the most abusive governments the US has ever had. No matter what your opinion of Nixon, it is certainly enlightening to see how the best of motives can turn into the worst of actions, and all by people who should have, and probably did, know better.The book would probably not "stand alone", so maybe not a good choice if you don’t have at least some knowledge of 1970’s US politics. It will mostly appeal to political junkies, or just those of us who find the “Watergate” saga worthy of further study.I am not sure I agree with all of Locker’s analysis of the key players, but he certainly has a valid viewpoint and is able to make his case based on known and accepted facts.=== Disclaimer ===I was able to read an advance copy through the courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. "Nixon's Gamble" - a powerful bet By Amazon Customer We count on journalists in a democracy to hold accountable those people we’ve chosen to lead us. We count on leaders to wield the power we give them responsibly, because they’re wielding our power, not theirs. And we count on historians to tell us who among all of those people handled power responsibly and who really screwed things up. Nearly everyone with the most power in this book screwed things up.In “Nixon’s Gamble,” Ray Locker pulls off an Olympian feat. He’s more than a journalist, he’s a scholar, and as much as he’s a sum greater than those parts, he also shows tremendous leadership here. With undaunted courage and enormous research, bordering on the how-could-he-do-all-this-and-still-have-a-job-and-a-family impossible, Locker fearlessly shows us power run amok. And not just the power American voters invested in Richard Nixon, but the power American media consumers invested in those responsible for holding Nixon and his cronies accountable.Locker digs deeper into Nixoniana than just about anyone, thanks to a huge trove of newly declassified documents. In “Nixon’s Gamble,” he works even harder to get beyond the too-established “theories” of Nixon’s downfall. And he shows us a systemic failure, from the White House to the Fourth Estate, that continues to fail us.In fact, Locker’s much-needed book made me angry. Furious. After reading Geoffrey Kabaservice’s “Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party,” and then reading “Nixon’s Gamble,” I couldn’t help but cry for a country my grandfather and father, both military men, fought for. While Kabaservice’s book could rightly be called a partisan assault on an arguably ungovernable party that fails to govern, “Nixon’s Gamble” is objective and scholarly journalism at its best: clear-eyed and straightforward. He sets out to tell the truth, looking under long-buried historical stones that only one or two others have looked under before. Some few who have tried to pierce the Nixon veil have been dismissed as conspiracy-theorist nut jobs; Locker should win a Pulitzer.Locker’s writing is sharp and focused. My only trouble with “Nixon’s Gamble” is its density, but Locker can’t and won’t waste words on writing that serves no purpose; every sentence is required to do so much historical heavy lifting. Likewise, Locker handles an enormous cast of characters. The book could use a Dramatis Personae listing at the beginning and perhaps even an organizational chart to see how everyone fits in with everyone else. Anyone older than 40, anyone who watched Nixon’s resignation speech, knows the names: Haldeman, Erlichman, Hunt, Liddy. Locker gives us more: Wild Billy Sullivan, Pat Gray, and a name we know but know for the first time now we can’t really trust: Bob Woodward. Yes, Locker tells us that even Woodward and the Washington Post got a little carried away with their growing power in this enduring tragedy, too.Locker tells the truth. Truth to power. Power that should be held accountable. Now and always.Thank you for that, Mr Locker. Thank you for a cautionary tale that everyone with any power or anyone who ever seeks power should read. America wins its long bet on democracy with “Nixon’s Gamble.”
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great book from a great journalist By David In Tampa Ray Locker is one of the finest journalists I know. I had the privilege of working with him at the Tampa Tribune, and I've watched his career with great pride (and a bit of jealousy). I know there have been many books about Watergate, but Ray manages to find a way to bring those days back into focus. He really engages the reader and brings new perspective to the scandal. I don't think we'll ever come close to knowing what went through Nixon's mind, but with this book we get a little closer. Great job, Ray!
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Nixon's Gamble: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration, by Ray Locker
