Book Description
This revelatory biography from the author of "Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of Edgar J. Hoover" will destroy the image of Nixon as a tarnished statesman, presenting a stark portrait of a man whose personal torments had a major impact on American history. A full examination of a personality that embraced political brilliance and vindictive, criminal behavior. 32 illustrations.
Amazon.com
Anthony Summers is the past master of scandal, the man who brought you Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe and that unforgettable (alleged) eyewitness account of J. Edgar Hoover in a flouncy black dress. Greater experts than I must rule on Summers's exhaustively researched portrait of Richard Nixon, The Arrogance of Power, but it sure is one racy read. Summers depicts a Nixon stoned out of his mind on Seconal, single-malt Scotch, Dilantin, speed, and clinical paranoia, pummeling his wife, Pat (who was rumored to have once been rescued by the Secret Service from drunkenly drowning in a bathtub). Summers's Nixon apparently took Mickey Cohen Mob money to fund his anti-Semitic, salacious smear campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas to get his Senate start; framed Alger Hiss with a fake typewriter; traded gold for POWs with Vietcong; and issued orders to bomb Damascus and Jordan and nuke Vietnam and Korea (orders that were ignored until Nixon sobered up in the morning). His favorite limo was the SS100X that JFK died in. Nixon's shrink reportedly also treated Rita Hayworth, spoke like Dr. Strangelove, and used "Pavlovian technique" to "brainwash Nixon into becoming a better person." No luck.
Summers's Nixon favored the Greek generals who tortured pro-democracy types, and took a bribe from G?ring's pal Nicolae Malaxa, who, thanks to Nixon, traded his Romanian mansion (in which thousands of Jews were tortured and killed) for a posh Manhattan apartment. Summers's most fascinating stuff concerns the Howard Hughes/Castro/Watergate connection. Did Nixon order CIA/Mafia plots to kill Castro? Did Robert Maheu (said to have inspired Mission: Impossible) arrange "sex services" and "assassination planning" for the CIA, and spy on Jean Peters and Ava Gardner for Howard Hughes? Did Hughes give big money to Nixon under the guise of saving the fast-food "Nixonburger" franchise of Richard's brother Donald Nixon (whom Richard had the FBI spy on)? Did the Castro plot get JFK killed, as Haldeman suspected? Was the Watergate break-in (one of perhaps 100 Nixon break-ins) intended to seize information about Nixon's Hughes loans and Castro plots?
Summers tries to assess his massive data while he's presenting it, and he doesn't credit every wild tale equally. Still, without him, I would never have heard about Castro's alleged ex-girlfriend, "the Mata Hari of the Caribbean," hired by future Watergate burglars to re-seduce Castro and slip two poison pills in his coffee. But she hid the pills in her cold-cream jar, and when she took them out in their Havana Hilton bathroom, they'd melted. Besides, her close encounter with the leader left her "torn by feelings of love." The Arrogance of Power won't give you this feeling.
--Tim Appelo
From Publishers Weekly
Summers's hefty, well-researched and unrelentingly negative biography seeks to make one thing perfectly clear: something was wrong with Tricky Dick all along, and the misdeeds that marked his presidency flowed naturally from his flawed character. Nixon, he argues, became a captive of his own pride and ambition, driven to demonstrate "guts" and keep his power, no matter whom he hurt. Summers paints the Nixon of the '50s as racketeer-influenced: he supports his claims with material on early adviser Murray Chotiner, presidential pal Bebe Rebozo, crime boss Meyer Lansky, eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes and other shady affiliates. Nixon's outwardly tranquil marriage to Pat drove her to secret chain-smoking, Summers writes, and nearly to alcoholism. In the Oval Office, Summers notes, Nixon was sometimes "rendered unstable by fatigue, alcohol and medication," such as the psychoactive drug Dilantin. His White House cabal pulled off more and stranger dirty tricks than the public record has shown; and flights of irrational belligerence led him to order off-the-cuff "acts of war"Dorders his aides had to scramble to intercept. After news of Watergate broke, Nixon's incoherence grew worse; top aides shielded him even while questioning his sanity. Summers (Official & Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover, etc.) talked to hundreds of sources, some previously untappedDamong them Nixon's sometime confidant and psychotherapist, Dr. Arnold Hutschnecker. Though he sometimes construes as nefarious schemes what others might call normal politics, Summers's impressive research largely backs up his condemnatory attitude. With almost 150 pages of carefully spelled-out documentation and notes, the volume is no hit-and-run job; it's the most thorough case against Nixon yet, reminding us both how complex our 37th president was and how much damage he ultimately did. 32 pages b&w photos. First serial to Vanity Fair (Aug. 28)
About Author
Anthony Summers formerly covered wars and other world news events for the BBC. He lives in Ireland with his wife and principle colleague, Robbyn Swan.
Book Dimension:
length: (cm)23.6 width:(cm)15.7
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我迫不及待地翻开了第一页,就被作者那精准而富有感染力的语言所吸引。他对于人物内心世界的描摹,简直是入木三分,那些隐藏在言语之下、行为之上的暗流涌动,都被他捕捉得淋漓尽致。我常常在阅读中停顿下来,反复咀嚼那些精彩的段落,细细品味作者如何通过细微的动作、微妙的表情,甚至是人物内心的独白,来展现他们的性格特质和内心挣扎。尤其是那些关于权力如何扭曲人心、如何让人迷失自我的描写,简直让我不寒而栗,却又无法自拔地想要继续读下去。作者对于叙事节奏的把握也堪称一绝,他懂得何时加快脚步,制造紧张氛围,也懂得何时放慢节奏,让读者有时间去消化和思考。我特别欣赏他在处理复杂情节时的清晰度和条理性,即使故事线索繁多,人物关系错综,我也能始终跟上作者的思路,不会感到混乱。这本书给我带来的最大惊喜,莫过于作者对于人性阴暗面的深刻挖掘,他毫不避讳地展现了人们内心深处的欲望、嫉妒、贪婪,以及当这些负面情绪与权力相结合时所产生的可怕后果。然而,他并非一味地渲染黑暗,而是在这种黑暗中,也穿插着人性的光辉,例如在绝境中的坚持、在诱惑前的挣扎,这些都让人物更加立体,也让故事更加引人入胜。
评分我从这本书中获得的,远不止是情节上的满足,更是一种智识上的洗礼。作者的博学和深邃的洞察力,在字里行间得到了充分的体现。他能够将复杂的概念,以一种清晰易懂的方式呈现出来,并且能够巧妙地运用各种生动的例子,来佐证自己的观点。我特别喜欢他在探讨“权力”对人性影响时,所展现出的那种细致入微的分析,他能够剖析到最微小的心理活动,以及那些隐藏在表面之下的深层原因。这本书让我重新审视了许多我之前习以为常的社会现象,也让我对“傲慢”这一概念有了更深层次的理解。我尤其对书中关于权力一旦与傲慢结合,便容易导致灾难性的后果的论述印象深刻。这种深刻的洞察,让我对那些手握重权的人物,有了更多的警惕和思考。作者的文字,没有浮夸,没有矫揉造作,只有一种沉静的力量,足以穿透人心的迷雾。
评分这本书的结构设计非常巧妙,它不像许多线性叙事的书籍那样平铺直叙,而是通过多角度、多层次的叙事,将一个宏大的主题展现得淋漓尽致。我非常欣赏作者在叙事中对人物心理的深入挖掘,他能够将人物内心深处的挣扎、矛盾和渴望,描绘得栩栩如生,让我能够感同身受。这本书让我深刻地体会到,“权力”并非总是显而易见的,它可能隐藏在最细微的互动之中,也可能体现在最隐秘的决策背后。我尤其被书中关于“傲慢”如何成为权力腐蚀人性的催化剂的论述所吸引。这是一种深刻的洞察,它揭示了人类社会中一个普遍存在的危险信号。作者的语言,简洁而有力,他能够用最少的文字,传达最丰富的信息,这是一种极高的艺术造诣。这本书,让我对“权力”这一概念,以及它对人性可能产生的深远影响,有了更深刻的认识。
评分这本书的封面设计就透露出一种不容忽视的气场,那种深邃的蓝色搭配着沉甸甸的金色字体,仿佛预示着接下来要面对的,并非寻常的叙事,而是一场关于人性深处欲望与野心的探险。我拿到这本书的时候,就有一种莫名的冲动,想要立刻沉浸其中,去一探究竟。作者在开篇的遣词造句上就展现了他老练的叙事功底,那种不动声色的铺陈,却能轻易勾起读者的好奇心,让我不禁猜测,究竟是什么样的“傲慢”,又是什么样的“权力”,能够成为贯穿全书的主题。我最期待的是,作者如何将抽象的“权力”具象化,它可能体现在一个个鲜活的人物身上,也可能隐藏在错综复杂的社会结构之中。这本书能否深入剖析权力对人性的腐蚀,抑或是在揭示其诱惑力的同时,也展现出抵抗它的力量?这些都是我在阅读前,心中盘旋的无数疑问,也正是这份未知,让我对这本书充满了期待。我尤其喜欢作者在字里行间透露出的那种对现实世界的洞察力,似乎他笔下的人物和事件,并非凭空捏造,而是有着现实生活中的投射,这让阅读体验更加具有共鸣感,也更发人深省。这本书的标题本身就充满了张力,它不像那些温吞的、讨好读者的名字,而是直截了当地抛出了一个极具挑战性的概念,这足以吸引那些不甘于浅尝辄止、渴望深度思考的读者。
评分这本书的书写风格非常独特,它不像许多学术著作那样枯燥乏味,也不像通俗读物那样缺乏深度。作者巧妙地将严谨的分析与引人入胜的故事相结合,使得阅读过程既能带来智识上的满足,也能享受到艺术上的愉悦。我特别喜欢他在描述人物心理活动时所使用的细腻笔触,那种对情绪的精准捕捉和对动机的深入剖析,让我感觉自己仿佛置身于角色的内心世界,与他们一同经历着喜怒哀乐。书中关于权力运作机制的描述,也让我大开眼界,我之前从未从这样一个角度去理解这些现象。作者能够将如此宏大的主题,拆解成一个个易于理解的组成部分,并通过生动的例子加以阐释,这无疑是一项巨大的成就。我尤其赞赏他在探讨“傲慢”与“权力”之间关系时,所展现出的深刻洞察力。他并没有简单地将两者划等号,而是细致地分析了傲慢是如何滋生权力,权力又如何反过来加剧傲慢的恶性循环。这让我对人类的许多行为模式有了更清晰的认识,也让我开始警惕自己身上可能存在的“傲慢”的影子。
评分这本书的书名本身就充满了哲学意味,它不仅仅是对某种现象的简单描述,更是一种对人类社会深层问题的拷问。我在阅读过程中,常常会因为作者提出的某个观点而陷入沉思,他总能在最不经意的地方,抛出能够引发深度思考的金句。我特别喜欢作者在叙事中对细节的精妙运用,那些看似不起眼的小事,却往往是推动情节发展、揭示人物内心深处的关键。他对环境的描绘也同样出色,他能够通过对场景的细致刻画,来烘托人物的情绪,营造出一种独特的氛围。这本书让我看到了权力在不同维度上的表现形式,以及它如何潜移默化地影响着我们的生活。我尤其被书中关于权力如何滋生傲慢,以及傲慢又如何反过来加速权力失控的论述所吸引。这是一种深刻的洞察,它揭示了人类社会中一个普遍存在的恶性循环。作者的写作风格并非那种华丽的辞藻堆砌,而是以一种沉静而有力的语言,缓缓道出深刻的道理。
评分这本书的吸引力在于其深刻的思想内涵和精湛的艺术表现力。作者以一种冷静而富有洞察力的笔触,剖析了“权力”这一复杂而又普遍存在的社会现象。我尤其被书中关于“傲慢”如何成为权力腐蚀人性的温床的论述所吸引。这是一种深刻的洞察,它揭示了人类社会中一个普遍存在的危险信号。作者的语言,精准而有力量,他能够用最少的文字,传达最丰富的信息,这是一种极高的艺术造诣。这本书让我对“权力”这一概念,以及它对人性可能产生的深远影响,有了更深刻的认识。它不仅仅是一本关于权力的书,更是一本关于人性的书,一本关于如何在权力面前保持清醒和自我的书。
评分我必须承认,这本书比我最初预期的要更加震撼。作者的笔锋犀利,直指人心,他毫不留情地揭示了权力可能带来的腐蚀作用,以及在这种腐蚀下,人性可能发生的扭曲和异化。我被书中那些生动鲜活的人物形象所吸引,他们并非简单的善恶二元对立,而是充满了人性的复杂性和多面性。作者在塑造这些人物时,展现出了非凡的技巧,他能够将人物的动机、情感和行为巧妙地结合起来,让读者既能理解他们的选择,又能对其产生思考。我尤其对书中那些关于权力如何在不知不觉中侵蚀个体道德底线的情节印象深刻,这让我开始反思,在追求权力的过程中,我们是否也可能在一步步地失去自我?这本书并非一本轻松读物,它需要读者投入大量的思考和精力,但正是这种挑战,让阅读的收获更加丰厚。我非常欣赏作者在书中展现出的那种批判性思维,他鼓励读者独立思考,而不是盲目接受既定的观点。这本书让我对“权力”这一概念有了全新的认识,也让我更加警惕那些打着“为人民服务”旗号,却暗中攫取和滥用权力的人。
评分我不得不说,这本书在某种程度上改变了我看待世界的方式。作者对“权力”的解读,远超出了我之前的想象。他不仅探讨了显性的权力,更深入地挖掘了那些隐藏在社会结构、人际关系和个人意识中的隐性权力。我尤其被书中关于“傲慢”如何成为权力滥用的根源的论述所吸引。这是一种深刻的洞察,它揭示了人类社会中一个普遍存在的危险信号。作者的写作风格,朴实而有力量,他没有使用华丽的辞藻,而是以一种沉静而有力的语言,缓缓道出深刻的道理。这本书让我对“权力”这一概念,以及它对人性可能产生的深远影响,有了更深刻的认识。它鼓励我更加审慎地对待权力,无论是来自外界的,还是来自内心的。
评分阅读这本书的过程,更像是一场与作者思维的深度对话。他提出的每一个观点,每一个论断,都经过了深思熟虑,并辅以大量精辟的论据和生动的案例,这使得他的论证过程极具说服力。我常常在阅读时,会不由自主地将书中的情节与现实生活中的事件进行对比和联系,从中获得许多新的启示。作者对于“权力”的解读,绝非单一维度,他深入浅出地探讨了政治权力、经济权力、社会权力,以及它们之间相互作用、相互制约的复杂关系。我尤其被他对于权力如何渗透到个人生活、影响个体决策的描写所震撼,这让我开始反思自己在日常生活中,是否也受到了某种“权力”的规训和影响。这本书不仅让我看到了权力可能带来的腐蚀性,更让我对如何审慎地运用和制约权力,有了更深刻的认识。它提供了一种独特的视角,让我能够以一种更宏观、更批判性的态度去审视我们所处的社会环境。我欣喜于作者在保持学术严谨性的同时,也能够将内容写得如此生动有趣,让即使是对这类话题不太熟悉的读者,也能轻松地进入故事,并从中获得知识和启发。
评分尼克松有这么坏吗
评分尼克松有这么坏吗
评分尼克松有这么坏吗
评分尼克松有这么坏吗
评分尼克松有这么坏吗
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