Review 45: President Nixon: Alone in the White House (Richard Reeves)

A chronological (chapters are marked by dates, not titles) retelling of Nixon's time as president. The chronological format is frustrating at times, but this is a good resource for serious students of Nixon. 

This book highlights the madness of the Nixon administration (suspicision, arrogance, loneliness, injustice) that led up to Watergate. Nixon's own lonely bitterness is really the theme that holds the book together, and this serves as a warning to all leaders: accountability and community are necessary for us all. The interconnection of Watergate, Nixon's bitterness, and the Vietnam War are a fascinating study of how character faults are exacerbated by circumstances; final verdict: no Vietnam, likely no Watergate.

On the madness of Nixon: 

For the riddle of sin is the same as the essence of sin, with its antinormative character and illegality. It is the same as the senselessness of sin. Therefore, since every “unriddling” of sin implies a discovery of “sense” where no sense can possibly be found, the very notion of “unriddling” is impossible. One cannot find sense in the senseless and meaning in the meaningless (Berkouwer, Sin, Studies in Dogmatics, 1971, pg. 134).