The Nixon Presidency: Power and Politics in Turbulent Times

Although much material concerning the Nixon presidency remains unavailable to scholars, Michael A. Genovese has successfully pieced together the many puzzles that make up Richard Nixon and his presidency. A study of the Nixon presidency, it is also a study of the nature of the presidency broadly defined that is informed by the concerns of both traditional political biography and of contemporary presidential scholarship. As such, the volume raises many vital issues and questions relating to the office of president. Focusing on Nixon as a political leader and on his style of decision-making and management, The Nixon Presidency is the first book to bring together all the key elements of Nixon’s presidency into an integrated and interrelated whole, tracing Nixon’s rise and fall and the how and why of Watergate.

The first four chapters present a biographical sketch of Nixon’s early years and rise in politics; assess Nixon’s personality and how he approached and organized his administration; and document his domestic, economic, and foreign policies. Chapter five examines the events that led to Watergate and the collapse of the Nixon presidency. Balanced yet critical, the study concludes with an analysis of the impact and legacy of Richard Nixon on the presidency and the U.S. and an assessment of Nixon within the broader comparative perspective of other United States presidents. A most readable book for the informed generalist and a valuable addition to college-level courses in the Presidency, U.S. Government, and Modern U.S. History.

MICHAEL A. GENOVESE is Associate Professor of Political Science at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He is the author of The Supreme Court, the Constitution, and Presidential Power. and Politics and the Cinema, as well as many journal articles.