Leon Friedman

William F. Levantrosser

This volume brings together a distinguished group of scholars, journalists, and former Nixon Administration officials to examine the Watergate controversy and its legacy. Particular attention is paid to Nixon's misuse of government power for political ends, his administration's obsession with secrecy and the control of information, and the impeachment proceedings in Congress. This is the second in a trilogy of titles based on the Hofstra Presidential Conference on Richard M. Nixon (the first, Richard M. Nixon: Politician, President, Administrator [Greenwood, 1991], was also edited by Friedman and Levantrosser). Watergate and Afterward includes a final assessment of the Nixon Presidency by a group of biographers who have written extensively about the man and his politics, as well as appraisals of Nixon's accomplishments and failures by both administration figures and outside historians. Special effort was made throughout to incorporate opposing points of view on the various issues under discussion, making this one of the most comprehensive and balanced assessments of the Watergate scandal and its aftermath available in print. The book begins with essays that describe the political reactions to Watergate and Nixon's attempt to remove the first special prosecutor on the case. In the discussion section that follows, new insight into what the break-in was supposed to accomplish is provided by Reverend Jeb Stuart Magruder, speaking for the first time in a public forum. Subsequent papers discuss the different efforts by the Nixon Administration to uncover information about political opponents, the politicization of the Justice Department, the constitutional confrontation in the Supreme Court over the Nixon tapes, and the Pentagon Papers case. Discussants include Charles Colson, who was in the White House at the time, Tom Brokaw of NBC, and Ron Ziegler and Gerald Warren of the White House press office. Finally, the impeachment proceedings are reexamined in chapters that explore the specific charges against the president and the political coalitions that formed in Congress around them. Ideal as supplemental reading for courses on the presidency and modern American politics, Watergate and Afterward is an important contribution to our understanding of this critical period in postwar history.

The Legacy of Richard M. Nixon

Watergate and Afterward

Hofstra University

The only apparent consensus about the Nixon Presidency is that his accomplishments in the foreign policy area far outshadowed those in the domestic arena. The advances for which he was responsible--in particular, the opening to China--brought the most significant improvement in foreign relations among the great powers in decades. This volume of essays and observations from scholars and participants alike examines the major areas of the Nixon diplomacy and its impact.

Cold War Patriot and Statesman, Richard M. Nixon

This volume examines the Watergate controversy and its legacy, focusing particular attention on Nixon's alleged misuse of government power for political ends, his administration's obsession with secrecy and the control of information, and the impeachment proceedings. Based upon the Hofstra Presidential Conference on Richard M. Nixon, the collection includes a final assessment of the Nixon presidency by a group of biographers who have written extensively about the man and his politics as well as appraisals of Nixon's accomplishments and failures by administration figures, outside historians, and journalists.

"A lively section on Nixon the man is followed by scholarly articles on all aspects of the domestic agenda. Notable contributions include David Caputo's analysis of revenue sharing and Michael Balzano's study of the adrift Democrats who emerged as Nixon's silent majority and ultimately as the Reagan coalition. . . . " Library Journal

William F. Levantrosser

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