31 Days
Gerald Ford, the Nixon Pardon and a Government in Crisis
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Descripción editorial
In 31 Days, acclaimed historian Barry Werth takes readers inside the White House during the tumultuous days of August 1974, following Richard Nixon's resignation and the swearing-in of America's "accidental president," Gerald Ford. The Watergate scandal had torn the country apart. In a dramatic, day-by-day account of the new administration’s inner workings, Werth shows how Ford, caught between political expedience, the country’s demands for justice, and his own moral compass, struggled valiantly to restore the nation’s tarnished faith in its leadership. With deft and refreshing analysis Werth illuminates how this unprecedented political upheaval produced new fissures and battle lines, as well as new opportunities for political advancement for ambitious young men such as Donald Rumsfeld, who had been Nixon’s ambassador to NATO, and Dick Cheney, already coolly efficient as Rumsfeld’s former deputy. A superbly crafted presidential history with all of the twists and turns of a thriller, 31 Days sheds new light on the key players and political dilemmas that reverberate in today’s headlines.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two heavy hitters in the current administration Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney played roles of minor importance in the vital 31 days separating Richard Nixon's resignation and Gerald Ford's decision to pardon the disgraced leader. Rumsfeld served as ambassador to NATO and worked on the transition; Cheney was his deputy. Both were already well positioned for stellar careers, so it's hard to buy the argument proposed by Werth, author of the acclaimed The Scarlet Professor, that Ford's first month in office was the tumultuous staging area for power for these two power players. This quibble aside, Werth provides a balanced fly-on-the-wall account of the byzantine intrigues that defined the first weeks of Ford's accidental presidency. Such Nixon partisans as Al Haig, Ron Ziegler and Henry Kissinger engage in petty turf battles with Ford press secretary Jerry terHorst, Nelson Rockefeller and other Ford loyalists. Meanwhile, Bush Sr. then chair of the National Republican Committee shuttles in and out of the picture, somewhat confused as to which side of the fight he should join. Werth has talked to many of the players to build a well-crafted book. It's a story that has been told more than once but rarely so well or in such depth as it is here. (On sale Apr. 11)
