NIXON AGONISTES: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man

by Garry Wills ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 19, 1970

Wills, an Esquire writer, draws us into this multifaceted study with legwork: reportage of Nixon's 1968 Wisconsin campaign, investigations of Whittier family and landmarks, the Republican and Democratic conventions. His style combines Kemptonian tough-sensibility with an extensive acquaintance with Mencken and decorative polysyllables; he can be very amusing, as in his comparisons of American liberals to Dostoevsky's Verkhovensky and David Eisenhower to Howdy Doody. The book alternates selective biography with state-of-the-republic impressions and political flashbacks. Wills sketches advisers and allies; a sharp fresh review of early campaigns; Nixon's vexed relationship with Eisenhower (the latter very bright indeed); the rise of Agnew; Nixon's character--""People forget that he is Irish"". . . ""He has gone through most of his career knowing that he is better, brighter, more profound than he lets himself appear"". . . ""Neither the Depression nor the New Deal had any discernible effect on him."" Wills' more ambitious attempts to relate Nixon to his idol Wilson, to Calvinism, and competitive liberalism, are stimulating and/or tiresome, depending on the reader's prior exposure to such ventures. The same is true of Wills' editorials against the Vietnam war and ""participatory"" rhetoric. The ""undeserving rich"" theme--Nixon's support from those who find their hardwon success devalued--is well-executed but no substitute for hard analysis of Nixon's smaller-businessman-boondoggler base: Wills. provides meager ground for policy projection or explanation. In this connection a fuller Mitchell profile would have been desirable. But the backstage richness sufficiently compensates from the point of view of the large general readership this will undoubtedly command.

Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION