The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate Summary and Reviews

The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate
by James Rosen

The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate
List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $5.02
You Save: $29.98 (86%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: James Rosen
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-20
ISBN: 0385508646
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Doubleday

Book Reviews of The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate

Book Review: A SUPERB BOOK AND A MUST READ!!
Summary: 5 Stars

James Rosen has written a superb book, The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate. I note the full title because Rosen's book has two great stories. The first is a rich biography of Mitchell, a man who has long been viewed as a cold, heartless, and corrupt villain. Rosen rejects the conventional wisdom to present a vivid portrait of a man who reaches the pinnacle of the legal profession, both in private practice and in government, only to fall in total disgrace. It's a heartbreaking story. Rosen is fair and does not shy away from Mitchell's flaws and mistakes, including his criminal conduct, and helps answer the question of why this man, who did not need Richard Nixon (it was the other way around, in fact), stayed loyal to him even after Nixon had thrown him overboard. And in that answer, Rosen helps explain John Mitchell's motives and his fall from grace. Rosen also takes you into the very sad (and harrowing) world of his marriage to the very disturbed Martha Mitchell.

The second story woven into Rosen's book is about the secrets of Watergate, and this story bears further attention by historians and the press. Rosen demolishes the long-accepted view that Mitchell ordered the break in and led the cover up. Rosen has thoroughly and exhaustively reviewed vast amounts of material and pieced together an astonishing story -- a true whodunit. Rosen conducted many interviews, reviewed depositions, executive session interviews, transcripts, books and many primary documents that have not been previously reviewed (or at least publicly disclosed). Rosen spent 17 years researching and writing this book - he has left no stone unturned and has performed exacting analysis of the conflicting testimony (and ever-changing accounts by many witnesses) to demonstrate that many of the accepted story lines in the Watergate saga do not add up. In obtaining new information (including the notes from the Watergate Special Prosecutors Force) and looking at the evidence in the cool light of day, Rosen has some astonishing discoveries and conclusions. You will have to read this book to learn the specifics, but Rosen has added vastly to our understanding of Watergate and guaranteed that the final verdict on Watergate has yet to be written.

The Strong Man is filled with facts and detailed analysis, but amazingly, it reads like an exciting novel, and makes that tumultuous period come alive. For example, Rosen captures the surreal moment when John Mitchell walks out on his balcony at the DOJ, looks down at the student protesters, who are descending on the DOJ hurling things and cursing Mitchell's name, and gives them the finger. Could you imagine that happening today? It also captures the outrageous schemes and crazy characters who inhabited the Nixon White House. I served in a White House for 4 years (and most of that in the White House Counsel's office) and I also served 10 years as a Chief Investigative Counsel for a Congressional Committee, and I believe Rosen captures in perfect relief the palace intrigue, turf battles, and betrayals that go on in an Administration and a White House, and also the frenetic pace of Congressional investigations, which many times are moving too fast to discover the complete truth. That said, I can honestly say that my jaw dropped many times when I read about some of the goings-on in the Nixon White House. I am certain that that White House stands alone.

This is a must read for any student of American history, and particularly for those brave enough to challenge their own understanding of Watergate. For those involved who gave sworn statements, and for those who took those statements and ran the Congressional hearings or directed the prosecutions of Mitchell and others, I would like to hear what they have to say when confronted with this wealth of evidence and analysis.

Political Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Political Books
Peter the Great ImagePeter the Great
by Robert K. Massie
Ballantine Books; Published: 1986-01-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $45.31
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance ImageDreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama
Crown; Published: 2007-01-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.78
Price in other shops: $25.95
Mussolini's Shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano ImageMussolini's Shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano
by Mr. Ray Moseley
Yale University Press; Published: 2000-02-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Price in other shops: $52.00
Theodore Roosevelt: A Biography ImageTheodore Roosevelt: A Biography
by Henry F. Pringle
Mariner Books; Published: 1956-02-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.20
Price in other shops: $17.00
Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism ImageGodfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism
by Paul Klebnikov
Mariner Books; Published: 2001-09-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.92
Price in other shops: $23.95
Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World ImageChasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World
by Samantha Power
Penguin Books; Published: 2008-12-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.44
Price in other shops: $17.00
Autobiography (Penguin Classics) ImageAutobiography (Penguin Classics)
by John Stuart Mill
Penguin Classics; Published: 1990-04-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.88
Price in other shops: $16.00
Going Rogue ImageGoing Rogue
by Sarah Palin
HarperAudio; Published: 2009-11-24; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $3.83
Price in other shops: $29.99
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) ImageFirst They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)
by Loung Ung
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-04-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops: $13.99
Trusted Mole ImageTrusted Mole
by Milos Stankovic
Harpercollins Pub Ltd; Published: 2001-03; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $35.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Abuse of Power: The New Nixon Tapes ImageAbuse of Power: The New Nixon Tapes
by Stanley Kutler
Touchstone; Published: 1998-09-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops: $41.95
Watergate ImageWatergate
by Fred Emery
Touchstone; Published: 1995-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops: $18.00
The Ends of Power ImageThe Ends of Power
by H. R. Haldeman
Times Books; Published: 1978-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $13.45
Blind Ambition: The End of the Story ImageBlind Ambition: The End of the Story
by John W. Dean
Polimedia; Published: 2009-07-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.93
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Great Coverup: Nixon and the Scandal of Watergate ImageThe Great Coverup: Nixon and the Scandal of Watergate
by Barry Sussman
Catapulter Books; Published: 2010-12-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.89
Price in other shops: $17.95
Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy ImageWill: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy
by G. Gordon Liddy
St. Martin's Press; Published: 1996-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $42.10
The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon ImageThe Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon
by Stanley I. Kutler
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1992-03-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.33
Price in other shops: $19.95
Secret Agenda: Watergate, Deep Throat, and the CIA ImageSecret Agenda: Watergate, Deep Throat, and the CIA
by Jim Hougan
Random House Inc (T); Published: 1984-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.49
American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond ImageAmerican Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate and Beyond
by E. Howard Hunt, Greg Aunapu
Wiley; Published: 2007-02-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.23
Price in other shops: $28.95
In Nixon's Web: A Year in the Crosshairs of Watergate ImageIn Nixon's Web: A Year in the Crosshairs of Watergate
by L. Patrick Gray III, Ed Gray
Times Books; Published: 2008-03-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.64
Price in other shops: $26.00