The Greatest Comeback
How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority
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The Greatest Comeback
Narrated by:
Arthur Morey
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
About this listen
After suffering stinging defeats in the 1960 presidential election against John F. Kennedy, and in the 1962 California gubernatorial election, Nixon's career was declared dead by Washington press and politicians alike. Yet on January 20, 1969, just six years after he had said his political life was over, Nixon would stand taking the oath of office as 37th President of the United States. How did Richard Nixon resurrect a ruined career and reunite a shattered and fractured Republican Party to capture the White House?
In The Greatest Comeback, Patrick J. Buchanan--who, beginning in January 1966, served as one of two staff members to Nixon, and would become a senior advisor in the White House after 1968--gives a firsthand account of those crucial years in which Nixon reversed his political fortunes during a decade marked by civil rights protests, social revolution, The Vietnam War, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King, urban riots, campus anarchy, and the rise of the New Left. Using over 1,000 of his own personal memos to Nixon, with Nixon’s scribbled replies back, Buchanan gives readers an insider’s view as Nixon gathers the warring factions of the Republican party--from the conservative base of Barry Goldwater to the liberal wing of Nelson Rockefeller and George Romney, to the New Right legions of an ascendant Ronald Reagan--into the victorious coalition that won him the White House. How Richard Nixon united the party behind him may offer insights into how the Republican Party today can bring together its warring factions.
The Greatest Comeback is an intimate portrayal of the 37th President and a fascinating fly on-the-wall account of one of the most remarkable American political stories of the 20th century.
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Critic reviews
“An evenhanded insider take on Nixon's storied political rebirth…Buchanan deals the story with a great deal of humility…Much more a balanced history than a me-me-me memoir.” –Chicago Tribune
"Should be required reading for RNC staff and everyone across the country trying to help the GOP win the Senate… A fun read not only for the opportunity to see Nixon in such a personal, behind-the-scenes way, but also for the lessons it offers us today.” -Newsmax
“A fast-moving account of those comeback years, written in strong, clear prose…An upbeat portrait of Nixon as a surprisingly compassionate man, but a tough politician, energetic and well-informed, with a deep knowledge of world affairs and ideas about how to reset the balance of power and restore America’s international standing.” –Washington Times
“Buchanan’s book performs the useful service of describing a populist triumph from the inside.” –The Economist
“A conveniently incisive study guide to the 1968 presidential election… In his own unsparing way, Buchanan sums up the political tumult of the era—tumult signaling that the long reign of the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society were coming to an end.” -Breitbart
“Offers memories and insights on the meetings, memos, stump speeches, and conversations Nixon waded through to get to the White House. Details and factoids abound for politics junkies…Buchanan is a capable writer and skilled at providing succinct summary of the complex politics of the era.” –Publishers Weekly
"Should be required reading for RNC staff and everyone across the country trying to help the GOP win the Senate… A fun read not only for the opportunity to see Nixon in such a personal, behind-the-scenes way, but also for the lessons it offers us today.” -Newsmax
“A fast-moving account of those comeback years, written in strong, clear prose…An upbeat portrait of Nixon as a surprisingly compassionate man, but a tough politician, energetic and well-informed, with a deep knowledge of world affairs and ideas about how to reset the balance of power and restore America’s international standing.” –Washington Times
“Buchanan’s book performs the useful service of describing a populist triumph from the inside.” –The Economist
“A conveniently incisive study guide to the 1968 presidential election… In his own unsparing way, Buchanan sums up the political tumult of the era—tumult signaling that the long reign of the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society were coming to an end.” -Breitbart
“Offers memories and insights on the meetings, memos, stump speeches, and conversations Nixon waded through to get to the White House. Details and factoids abound for politics junkies…Buchanan is a capable writer and skilled at providing succinct summary of the complex politics of the era.” –Publishers Weekly
However avoid this book. As a story of Nixon's rise... Okay so being one sided is FINE but to go through almost this entire story with no criticism of the man? No juicy revelations on character or the political operation that led to Watergate. No insights on Mitchell, Haldeman or Erlichman who were on staff at the time. Failed to tell the story of Nixon's pre-inaugural appointments. No mention of Kissinger who he met after the election, nor Iran which Nixon did visit during the period this book supposedly covers. I think the only value I got from this was 1)understanding Pat Buchanan's domestic policy ideology, and, 2) I did enjoy hearing his thoughts on the '68 Democratic convention.
Pat Buchanan' book serves better as a view on the Southern Strategy and ideological battles in the Republican party of the 60s than what the title suggests.
Mr Buchanan if you ever read this please edit the book to include foreshadowing of the crises and personalities, that will make the Nixon presidency so interesting to study. Why no mention of Iran? Hiding something?
In conclusion - this is the 8th Nixon book I've listened to on Audible and the last I would recommend. It's utterly partisan I could hardly believe a word of this although it did contain some fresh anecdotes I haven't heard elsewhere. Rather than this book, I would recommend Dalek's 'Nixon and Kissinger' or even John Dean's 'The Nixon Defense' both available on Audible.
Avoid. Very partisan.
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