Nixon: A Presidency Revealed

The rise and fall of Richard Nixon's presidency is traced in Peabody award-winning director David C. Taylor's excellent documentary—originally broadcast on the History Channel—which draws on previously unseen footage and recently released audio tapes. Elected in 1968 with a mandate to unite a severely divided country, Nixon obliquely achieved precisely that when he earned the widespread approbation of the American people in the wake of the Watergate scandal, which resulted in his August 1974 resignation. Nixon: A Presidency Revealed reminds viewers that there were essentially two Nixons: the brilliant politician willing to embark on unprecedented endeavors (including the opening of relations with Mao's China) and the wildly paranoid man whose deep-seated resentments and fears ended up taking over his better judgment, sending him down the road to ruin. Several of the surviving members of the Nixon White House are interviewed—including Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, and two of the Watergate co-conspirators, John Dean and Charles Colson—as well as Ben Bradlee, the Washington Post editor (but not Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein). Of course, Nixon's excesses seem fairly tame today when compared to the scandals dogging the current Bush administration. DVD extras include the bonus documentary “Inside the Presidency: Eisenhower vs. Nixon.” Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall)