Watergate:: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon

A fantastic book...an in-depth look at Watergate and how it happened...step-by-step. This is by far the most in-depth book ever published on what really happened. While it is the best book ever written about the Watergate scandal and subsequent convictions of high-level white house staff...not to mention the resignation of a President; it may be a bit too detailed for younger readers who did not live through it. Never-the-less, it is a great read. With what is going on now with our current President, I do wonder if Nixon could have gotten away with it if he were President today.

If you're not a Watergate junkie but are in the market for a detailed overview which puts events and participants into perspective, this is the book to get. There are still some folks out there who are wondering what all the fuss was about. There are still books out there making excuses for Nixon and his cohorts, slanting their law-breaking to the positive side - after all, aren't all politicians crooks? - but this one offers a convincing and realistic argument to the contrary. This book also adds credence to Fawn Brodie's study in Nixon: The Shaping of His Character which I also recommend. Read these two books together then you'll know what all the fuss was about.

If you want excruciating detail about the Watergate scandal, and a well researched, well-defined book that educates and doesn't necessarily take the position, then you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I was extremely pleased with the flow, I enjoyed reading it, and I really have no complaints. Does it get bogged down with facts every once in a while? Yes. Candidly, that is exactly why I read this book. I wanted the facts. This book isn't about fluff. If you are interested in learning about what really happened at Watergate, and the subsequent cover-up, then this will be the book for you.

Living through this event was confusing, we got that he was lying, but in the period it was hard to see how the entire thing fit together. Emery's book is a good chronological narrative of an abuse of power that spun out of control and the cover up that eventually destroyed Nixon.

This was a good book with great detail. However some of the trivial details could have been condensed. It dragged a bit.

This is THE best survey of the Watergate crisis available. It should be read together with Michael Schudson's Watergate in American Memory. Watergate in American Memory: How We Remember, Forget, and Reconstruct the Past

This is a great book that became the basis for the Discovery Channel's 5-part documentary on Watergate. It is an extensive examination of the entire Watergate episode based on interviews with the relevant participants (excluding Nixon and Mitchell). In fact, Emery was one of the last people to interview Bob Haldeman before he died in 1993. If you don't believe what Emery writes or what Nixon's men said, I'd suggest viewing the Discovery Channel's documentary and you can see Haldeman, Erlichman, Colson, Magruder, LaRue, Dean, Liddy, etc... admit to what was going on in and around the White House.If you're looking for a very readable and historically accurate account of Watergate, this is an excellent choice. No preposterous theories are advanced here, such as those in presented in Silent Coup. Instead, this book is based on interviews with the participants, the actual Watergate tapes, and tedious documentation of White House memos from the Nixon years. Emery also points out and attempts to resolve the many contradictions that exist among the published accounts of many of the Watergate players. While those that know all the secrets of Watergate are becoming fewer and fewer each year, this account is fairly difficult to dispute.Finally, ignore the review written by True_Blue. Every one of his/her points are addressed in the first 100 pages of Emery's book. Based on the criticisms in that review, it is obvious that he/she never read this book.

I didn't need a rehash. My mistake.

This book is absolutely epic! It is very well written, extremely well researched - the detail is astonishing - and more than worth the £22.50 that I paid for it. It also has an updated afterword.A well-rounded unbiased detailed account of what happened during Nixon's two terms as president concentrating on Watergate.Recommended

Bought as a gift and delivered to recipient so no information yet.

Good read but not very compelling writing given the story at hand.

This book is an absolutely fabulous read, it is comprehensive, clear and incredibly well written. The author goes to great lengths to ensure that the evidence is properly considered and set out in a way, that while not necessarily easy to follow (it was a political cover-up after all) but is logical and with proper concentration gives the reader the full picture.I absolutely love this book. It reveals what lengths the Nixon Administration went to spy on its opponents and the depths of the cover up. While I was aware of Watergate, I hadn't fully realised how paranoid Nixon was and how stupid the original burglars had been. The whole incident is riddled with actions which can only be described as utterly moronic. I think what I found most concerning was the approach to Nixon and his subordinates to all of this. I now understand why some people believe that Watergate marked the beginning of the end of trusting politicians. The greatest shame of this whole incident is that Nixon did not have to do any of this as he was by far and away the clear winner, and he had been so successful in international politics with the Soviets and the Chinese that Watergate blew all that away.This book certainly gives credence to the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. I would heartily recommend this book and hope other readers enjoy it as much as I did.