Nixon and Watergate: An American Tragedy

Michael Dobbs, the best-selling author of One Minute to Midnight, presents a riveting account of the pivotal days, hours, and moments that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon in his book King Richard, named one of USA Today's best books of the year.

In January 1973, Richard Nixon began his second term as president with a historic landslide victory and an almost 70 percent approval rating. However, by April of the same year, his presidency was in shambles as the Watergate scandal spread like "a full-blown cancer," as described by White House counsel John Dean.

Drawing on thousands of hours of newly-released taped recordings, Dobbs delves into the heart of the conspiracy, providing cinematic detail and creating an intimate and utterly absorbing narrative. The tension-packed hundred days unfold as the burglars and their handlers start turning on each other, ultimately exposing the crimes of a vengeful president.

The book captures the growing paranoia of the principal players and their desperate attempts to deflect blame as the pressure mounts. Readers are given an unprecedentedly vivid, close-up portrait of a president facing his greatest crisis, including Nixon's plotting with aides, raging at his enemies, and tender moments with his family.

Central to the drama is the tortured personality of Nixon himself, whose strengths, particularly his determination to win at all costs, ultimately become his fatal flaws. Rising from poverty to become the most powerful man in the world, he makes terrible errors of judgment that lead to his public disgrace and downfall.

Structured like a classical tragedy with a uniquely American twist, King Richard is an epic, deeply human story of ambition, power, and betrayal. Dobbs provides a compelling narrative that examines the ambitious rise and devastating fall of one of America's most infamous presidents.

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