Nixon's Gamble Lib/E: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration

After being sworn in as president, Richard Nixon told the assembled crowd that government will listen ... Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in. But that same day, he obliterated those pledges of greater citizen control of government by signing National Security Decision Memorandum 2, a document that made sweeping changes to the national security power structure. Nixon's signature erased the influence that the Departments of State and Defense, as well as the CIA, had over Vietnam and the course of the Cold War. The new structure put Nixon at the center, surrounded by loyal aides and a new national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, who coordinated policy through the National Security Council under Nixon's command. Using years of research and revelations from newly released documents, USA Today reporter Ray Locker upends much of the conventional wisdom about the Nixon administration and its impact and shows how the creation of this secret, unprecedented, extraconstitutional government undermined US policy and values. In doing so, Nixon sowed the seeds of his own destruction by creating a climate of secrecy, paranoia, and reprisal that still affects Washington today.

About the Author :
Ray Locker is the Washington enterprise editor for USA Today, where he supervises investigative reporting in the Washington bureau, as well as the White House, military and money in politics reporters. His work as a reporter and editor has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes. He covered the final years of George Wallace's political career at the Montgomery Advertiser in Alabama; spent thirteen years as a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Tampa Tribune; worked for the Los Angeles Times; and ran the Associated Press bureau in Sacramento, where he coordinated coverage of California government and politics. Locker is married to Margaret Talev, a White House correspondent for Bloomberg News. They have two daughters and live in Rockville, Maryland. Kevin Stillwell is an actor, voice talent, and Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator. His film and television credits include Looper and Drop Dead Diva.

Review :
In a tour de force of historical research, Ray Locker reveals a mind-boggling web of lies and half-truths. A gripping read and an important book. -- "Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author" Locker, a USA Today investigative reporter focusing on politics and Congress, reconstructs the rise and fall of Richard Nixon. His well-conceived thesis is that Nixon believed the entrenched, self-interested forces of Washington-the national press corps, Congress, and the CIA, FBI, and Pentagon-were making it impossible for him to achieve his goals...In Locker's view, Nixon's successes place him high in the pantheon of effective presidents, but his perfidy makes an equally compelling narrative of failure. -- "Publishers Weekly" Locker, an investigative reporter for USA Today, applies his ample research skills to exploring Nixon's penchant for secrecy and deception during his six years as president...The author utilizes a wide range of primary and secondary resources to spin his tale, and at times the facts are indeed stranger than fiction as he lists the consequences of the National Security Decision Memoranda and concludes that Nixon's 'climate of secrecy' continues to impact politics today. A well-told, detailed account that will satisfy even the most dedicated Nixon scholar. -- "Library Journal" Ray Locker has assembled a masterful study that asks a question no one else has-was the Nixon White House flawed by design? -- "Luke A. Nichter, coauthor of The Nixon Tapes: 1971-1972" Reads like a taut Washington political thriller...Thoroughly researched...Dramatically engaging. -- "Tampa Bay Times"