Abuse of Power - by Stanley Kutler (Paperback)

About the Book

The release of over 200 hours of secret Nixon tapes to the public last year captured media attention across the country. Here are the Oval Office conversations that exposed Nixon's abuses of power--masterfully edited by the man who helped bring them to light.

Book Synopsis

Using thousands of hours of previously concealed tapes, a stunning revelation into the infamous Nixon White House and how far the administration went to cover up the abuse of power.

Richard Nixon said he wanted his administration to be "the best chronicled in history." But when Alexander Butterfield disclosed the existence of a voice-activated taping system to a Senate committee in July 1973, Nixon's White House and its recordings quickly became the most infamous in American history. But only sixty hours were actually made public in the 1970s. Thousands of hours remained secret and in Nixon's hands, and he fought fiercely to keep them that way right up to his death. Finally, thanks to a lawsuit brought by historian Stanley I. Kutler, the Nixon estate and the National Archives have brought over three thousand hours of tapes to light.

The tapes reveal an extensive cover-up beyond what was previously understood. The recordings, ranging from campaign tactics to controversial discussions, redefine the meaning of power abuse within Nixon's administration and his ultimate demise. A spy planted in Ted Kennedy's Secret Service detail, Nixon's continual insistence on paying the burglars, and talks about a substantial campaign fund showcase the true depth of the cover-up efforts.

Packed with revelations on almost every page, Abuse of Power offers a spellbinding portrait of raw power and a Shakespearean depiction of a king and his court. Never have the personalities of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Colson, Haig, Kissinger, Dean, and Mitchell been so vividly captured. And never has an American President offered such a revealing record of his darkest self.

Review Quotes

Daniel Casse The Wall Street Journal Just when you thought we didn't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore...these new tapes show a president deeply immersed in the mechanics of a cover-up, giving full voice to the earthy language that, twenty-five years ago, made "expletive deleted" a household phrase.

Joseph Finder The New York Times Book Review It's oddly refreshing to get the undiluted, unmediated sense of hugger-mugger....It makes for spellbinding reading, and plunges us back into that sordid, astonishing world like nothing else.

Robert Scheer Los Angeles Times Book Review Richard Nixon has been the subject of countless portraits, but none is more compelling than the one that emerges from these grotesque and riveting pages: Nixon raw, in his own words, a president unmasked.

About the Author

Stanley I. Kutler is the E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions at the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon, the editor of The Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American History, the historical advisor for the Emmy-winning television documentary Watergate, and the founding editor of Reviews in American History.