More than 20 years after the Watergate scandal that brought down his presidency, the character of Richard M. Nixon continues to fascinate us. Many books have been written about Nixon, and about Watergate, but perhaps none sheds so revealing a light on the late president as Stanley I. Kutler's Abuse of Power. In the years following Watergate, as Nixon fought to rebuild his reputation from the ruins of his shattered presidency, he fought fiercely to suppress publication of most of the secret tapes that led to his downfall. During his lifetime, only about 60 hours of the almost 4,000 that exist were ever made public, and even after his death his estate continued to obstruct further releases. Then, in 1996, Kutler, along with the advocacy group Public Citizen, won a landmark decision to release the tapes. Among other things, Abuse of Power definitively answers the question of whether Nixon was directly involved in raising hush money (he was) and suggests a reason for the burglary attempt at the Watergate Hotel (financial documents that might have linked the Democratic Party chairman to Howard Hughes). The tapes also reveal the vindictive and bigoted side to Nixon's personality, particularly as he discusses "killing" the Washington Post, and blames rich Jews for Billy Graham's tax problems. Abuse of Power only covers an additional 201 hours of tape of the near 4,000 that remain unreleased. It seems that the final chapter on Watergate has yet to be written.


From Library Journal
Nixon: "I can't believe that they can tie [Watergate] to me. What's your feeling?" H.R. Haldeman: "It'll be messy." Right. Twenty-five years after the existence of Nixon's secret White House tape recordings became known, Kutler sued for and won their release. The excerpts provided in this excellent production are a fine example of oral history at its most dramatic (see also Michael Beschloss's Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, Audio Reviews LJ 2/1/98). Actor William Windom captures the vocal expressions listeners associate with Nixon. The voices of Haldeman, John Erlichman, Henry Kissinger, John Dean, Alexander Haig, and Rose Mary Woods are rendered realistically by an ensemble company. The effect is riveting and brings the listener into the Oval Office with Nixon and the White House staff as they try to distance themselves from the firestorm of allegation being leveled at them from outside. By the end, even Nixon is referring to himself in the third person to separate himself from the inevitability of the official investigation. All libraries will want at least one copy of this production, especially those with a focus on 20th-century political history.?Barbara Valle, El Paso P.L., Tex.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Wall Street Journal, Daniel Casse
This book remains fascinating, however, because, coupled with Haldeman's posthumously published diaries, it provides a full portrait of what was actually going on inside the White House during a tumultuous era. Although Abuse of Power represents but a fraction of Nixon material in the National Archives, readers will be awed by the sheer amount of time Nixon and his aides spend chattering about Watergate and the adversary culture that surrounded them. When did they have time to run the country?


The New York Times Book Review, Joseph Finder
After a quarter-century of Watergate interpretation, it's oddly refreshing to get the undiluted, unmediated sense of huggermugger that this new cache of transcripts gives us. It makes for spellbinding reading, and plunges us back into that sordid, astonishing world like nothing else.... Kutler has done a skilled job of annotation.… As is perhaps inevitable in transcribing such poor-quality tapes, a number of errors have crept in--though turning a "wire service reporter" into a "water service" reporter is hardly significant....


Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Robert Sheer
Richard Milhous Nixon has been the subject of countless portraits, but none is more compelling than the one that emerges from these grotesque and riveting pages: Nixon raw, in his own words, a president unmasked. Here is a man who was popular as a leader, successful in his politics, facing only imagined enemies, with no objective basis for his fears and mistrusts, no real justification for the pornography of his words and deeds. You are forced to conclude that what we are confronted with is a fundamentally flawed human being whose obsessions began to eat away at all that was decent and responsible. Unfortunately, his tragedy was not merely personal. It was ours as well.


From AudioFile
A journalist who worked for many years to gain access to the Nixon White House tapes, Kutler has chosen selections from the famed tapes that help one know what Nixon knew about Watergate and when he knew it. Kutler also provides excellent commentary by explaining the context and the importance of the selections. Unlike the recordings of the Johnson presidency that were recently released, this audio program has seasoned actors performing the roles of Nixon, Haldeman, Mitchell and the others involved in the Watergate scandal. The actors clearly communicate the emotions of the central players in this political drama. Windom's performance of Nixon is so good that, by the end, the listener believes that this is how the real Nixon sounded. M.L.C. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
Joseph Finder The New York Times Book Review It's oddly refreshing to get the undiluted, unmediated sense of hugger-mugger....It makes for spellbinding reading, and plunges us back into that sordid, astonishing world like nothing else.

Daniel Casse The Wall Street Journal Just when you thought we didn't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore...these new tapes show a president deeply immersed in the mechanics of a cover-up, giving full voice to the earthy language that, twenty-five years ago, made "expletive deleted" a household phrase.

Robert Scheer Los Angeles Times Book Review Richard Nixon has been the subject of countless portraits, but none is more compelling than the one that emerges from these grotesque and riveting pages: Nixon raw, in his own words, a president unmasked.


Review
Robert Scheer Los Angeles Times Book Review Richard Nixon has been the subject of countless portraits, but none is more compelling than the one that emerges from these grotesque and riveting pages: Nixon raw, in his own words, a president unmasked.


Review
Robert Scheer Los Angeles Times Book Review Richard Nixon has been the subject of countless portraits, but none is more compelling than the one that emerges from these grotesque and riveting pages: Nixon raw, in his own words, a president unmasked.


Book Description
PRESIDENT NIXON: Here we go. What in the name of God are we doing on this one? What are we doing about the financial contributors? Now, those lists there, are we looking over McGovern's financial contributors? Are we looking over the financial contributors to the Democratic National Committee? Are we running their income tax returns? Is the Justice Department checking to see whether or not there is any antitrust suits? Do we have anything going on any of these things? HALDEMAN: Not as far as I know. PRESIDENT NIXON: We better forget the Goddamn campaign right this minute, not tomorrow, no. That's what concerns me. We have all this power and we aren't using it.


Download Description
The release of over 200 hours of secret Nixon tapes to the public last year captured media attention across the country. Here are the Oval Office conversations that exposed Nixon's abuses of power--masterfully edited by the man who helped bring them to light.


From the Publisher, Simon & Schuster
Richard Nixon said he wanted his administration to be "the best chronicled in history." But when Alexander Butterfield disclosed the existence of a voice-activated taping system to a Senate committee in July 1973, Nixon's White House and its recordings quickly became the most infamous in American history. The tapes dominated the final two years of Nixon's presidency, and almost single-handedly forced his resignation. But only 60 hours were actually made public in the 1970s. Many thousands of hours remained secret and in Nixon's hands, and he fought fiercely to keep them that way right up to his death. Finally, thanks to a lawsuit brought by historian Stanley I. Kutler with the advocacy group Public Citizen, a landmark 1996 settlement with the Nixon estate and the National Archives is bringing over 3,000 hours of tapes to light. The initial release in November 1996 of over 200 hours of material comprised all those conversations concerning abuse of power -- every Watergate-related tape, as well as those concerning many other campaign misdeeds and some Pentagon Papers discussions. Finally, the full story of Nixon's downfall can be told. From Ehrlichman's saying, "Dean's been admonished not to contrive a story that's liable not to succeed" to Nixon's asking, "Is the line pretty well set now on, when asked about Watergate, as to what everybody says and does, to stonewall?" Abuse of Power reveals a much more extensive cover-up than ever realized. From Colson's announcing, "Well, we did a little dirty trick this morning" to Nixon's ordering a McGovern watch "around the clock" to the planting of a spy in Ted Kennedy's Secret Service detail, Abuse of Power redefines the meaning of campaign tactics. And from a worried discussion of Dwayne Andreas's "bag man" to Nixon's stating that the burglars "have to be paid. That's all there is to that," to a quiet conversation with Rose Mary Woods to see if there remained $100,000 in his safe for "a campaign thing that we're talking about," here is a money trail that anyone can follow. Packed with revelations on almost every page, the Abuse of Power tapes offer a spellbinding portrait of raw power and a Shakespearean depiction of a king and his court. Never have the personalities of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Colson, Haig, Kissinger, Dean, and Mitchell been so vividly captured with the spoken word. And never has an American President offered such a revealing record of his darkest self.


About the Author
Stanley I. Kutler is the E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions at the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon, the editor of The Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American History, the historical advisor for the Emmy-winning television documentary Watergate, and the founding editor of Reviews in American History.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Richard Nixon said he wanted his administration to be "the best chronicled in history." But when Alexander Butterfield disclosed the existence of a voice-activated taping system to a Senate committee in July 1973, Nixon's White House and its recordings quickly became the most infamous in American history. The tapes dominated the final two years of Nixon's presidency, and almost single-handedly forced his resignation. But only 60 hours were actually made public in the 1970s. Many thousands of hours remained secret and in Nixon's hands, and he fought fiercely to keep them that way right up to his death. Finally, thanks to a lawsuit brought by historian Stanley I. Kutler with the advocacy group Public Citizen, a landmark 1996 settlement with the Nixon estate and the National Archives is bringing over 3,000 hours of tapes to light. The initial release in November 1996 of over 200 hours of material comprised all those conversations concerning abuse of power -- every Watergate-related tape, as well as those concerning many other campaign misdeeds and some Pentagon Papers discussions. Finally, the full story of Nixon's downfall can be told.

Packed with revelations on almost every page, the Abuse of Power tapes offer a spellbinding portrait of raw power and a Shakespearean depiction of a king and his court. Never have the personalities of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Colson, Haig, Kissinger, Dean, and Mitchell been so vividly captured with the spoken word. And never has an American President offered such a revealing record of his darkest self.

FROM THE CRITICS

Joseph Finder

It makes for spellbinding reading, and plunges us back into that sordid, astonishing world like nothing else. —The New York Times Book Review

Library Journal

Nixon: "I can't believe that they can tie [Watergate] to me. What's your feeling?" H.R. Haldeman: "It'll be messy." Right. Twenty-five years after the existence of Nixon's secret White House tape recordings became known, Kutler sued for and won their release. The excerpts provided in this excellent production are a fine example of oral history at its most dramatic (see also Michael Beschloss's Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes. Actor William Windom captures the vocal expressions listeners associate with Nixon. The voices of Haldeman, John Erlichman, Henry Kissinger, John Dean, Alexander Haig, and Rose Mary Woods are rendered realistically by an ensemble company. The effect is riveting and brings the listener into the Oval Office with Nixon and the White House staff as they try to distance themselves from the firestorm of allegation being leveled at them from outside. By the end, even Nixon is referring to himself in the third person to separate himself from the inevitability of the official investigation. All libraries will want at least one copy of this production, especially those with a focus on 20th-century political history.
-- Barbara Valle, El Paso Public Library, Texas

Russell Baker

[It] contains hundreds of entertaining glimpses of life in the Oval Office as a president feels his power crumbling away.
-- New York Review of Books

Joseph Finder