One Man Against the World

The Tragedy of Richard Nixon

By: Tim Weiner

Narrated by: Holter Graham

A shocking and riveting look at one of the most dramatic and disastrous presidencies in US history, from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Tim Weiner

Based largely on documents declassified in only the last few years, One Man Against the World paints a devastating portrait of a tortured yet brilliant man who led the country largely according to a deep-seated insecurity and distrust of not only his cabinet and Congress but the American population at large. In riveting, tick-tock prose, Weiner illuminates how the Vietnam War and the Watergate controversy that brought about Nixon's demise were inextricably linked. From the hail of garbage and curses that awaited Nixon upon his arrival at the White House, when he became the president of a nation as deeply divided as it had been since the end of the Civil War, to the unprecedented action Nixon took against American citizens, whom he considered as traitorous as the army of North Vietnam, to the infamous break-in and the tapes that bear remarkable record of the most intimate and damning conversations between the president and his confidantes, Weiner narrates the history of Nixon's anguished presidency in fascinating and fresh detail. A crucial new look at the greatest political suicide in history, One Man Against the World leaves us with new insight not only into this tumultuous period but also into the motivations and demons of an American president who saw enemies everywhere and, thinking the world was against him, undermined the foundations of the country he had hoped to lead.

©2015 Tim Weiner (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

A Reviewer Too Young To Have Understood The Nixon Era

I enjoyed this book in contrast to previous accounts of the Nixon presidency. the author is able to add President Nixon's narrative to the historical landscape of the time. This access to real transcribed conversation made the sinister nature of Nixon that much darker yet created a palpable empathy for the struggles of the man.

Absolutely gripping narrative but...

Maybe I'm just getting old and crotchety, but this was narrated HORRIBLY. Every time this reader mispronounced a name (hint: consistently) it took me out of the story, and toward the end I was screaming at the narrator, "it's RuckELShaus, you moron!" Even worse was his botched Kissinger "accent." His delivery was overly dramatic, as though the story wasn't horrifying enough; his Nixon voice was like a cartoon villain.

Seriously, who gave the job to this reader? It can't have been the author. His story was beyond riveting, but the narrator nearly ruined it for me.

Most of the many books I've listened to had adequate to brilliant narration. But some I've had to stop listening to because of a bad narrator.

Okay, rant over!

Narration style is distracting, riveting book regardless

The story feels rushed, as though the author received access to the tape transcripts and wanted to be the first to publish a book with the tapes as a key device for story telling. So the outline jumps all over the place and it's hard to keep track of the story line.

The narrator "acts out" the voices of Nixon, Kissinger, all the presidents men, and it's such a distraction.

The facts of story as voiced by Nixon himself in the transcripts are as shocking as you might expect. Even if you lived through, or already are well informed on the story of Vietnam and Watergate, it's a worthwhile read.

I do appreciate learning more detail about how Nixon's trip to China changed the balance of power to reflect the world we live in now.

Nixon's legacy is all around us. He was brilliant, crazy, paranoid, dark, sick, and troubled. He groomed staffers who became leaders in our 20th and 21st century including Rumsfeld, George HW Bush, and Dick Cheney.

Very good account!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Highly recommendable to anyone remotely interested in modern history.

What was one of the most memorable moments of One Man Against the World?

The covert operations by US government against democratically elected leaders.

Which character – as performed by Holter Graham – was your favorite?

All were great.

Lots of behind the scenes information

I enjoyed this book and found it most frightening thinking about how paranoid Nixon was along with depression and high alcohol intake, while he had control of so much power.

With the release of the White House Tapes and other Documents since Richard Nixon’s death in 1994 has brought out more books about Nixon. Two new books have just been released this month, this book by Tim Weiner and the one by Evan Thomas’s “Being Nixon: A Man Divided.” Both authors are highly accomplished journalist.

Weiner is a former New York Times national security reporter, is decidedly hostile to Nixon. The author structured his account of the presidency around a litany of transgressions related to Watergate and the Vietnam War.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. Weiner states emphatically that Nixon “cared little about domestic affairs: least of all housing, health, education, welfare and civil rights.” He states the heart of Nixon’s domestic policy was “tearing down the structures of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.” Weiner’s book adds documented details and evidence to confirm Nixon’s desperate Vietnam gambits and his central role in directing the Watergate cover-up. He cites incriminating evidence he has uncovered throughout the book. The author goes into detail about the mental health of Nixon. The story Weiner stress is “The tragedy of a man destroying himself.” Holter Graham narrated the book.

Brought down by narrator

Appalling and unnecessary imitations of Nixon and Kissinger.
Biggest pet peeve though, when reading about real, historical people it takes very little effort to learn correct pronunciation of their names: SIGH-mington not SIMington. Strah-kin not Stray-chen., etc.

Interesting and Entertaining

Pronunciations of some names is annoying. The correct pronunciations are easily accessible from interviews online, etc.

An eye opener

This book grinds to light all the secret, and in scrupulous activities of the Nixon presidential years. He was a blight on the history of American for his untenable attitudes towards 'others' and his resulting actions. Nixon excuses all his actions in the name of America and American security while systemically tearing down every value held dear in America and in our Constitution. The reader is fantastic in his presentation of this important book.

Enthusiastic reading--marred by mispronunciations

Would you listen to One Man Against the World again? Why?

Yes. It covers the range of Nixon's actions--scandals and accomplishments--in sequence and in one volume. It helped me understand the full range of Nixon's attitudes, poor choices, and crimes.

What did you like best about this story?

The pace and clarity of the story. The author had to have read many thousands of pages, but gives us a clear narrative, without the "a claimed this" and "b claimed that" of so many other narratives.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Holter Graham?

Yes, if he is coached about the correct pronunciation of proper names. I like his style, but winced at his stumbles. It was clear to me that the first priority of the publisher was "speed to market" not "product quality." (Any person born in the 40's or 50's could have provided the proper pronunciations without hesitation. Was everyone involved in this book under 30?)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Nixon's interference in the Johnson White House peace talks. Nixon convinced the Vietnamese not to make a peace agreement, then prolonged the war--eventually agreeing to the same peace terms as Johnson offered. I wasn't aware of this crime before. I was also moved by Graham's reading of Nixon's complaint about how he (Nixon) suffered terribly (while allowing more soldiers and civilians to truly suffer in Viet Nam.)

Any additional comments?

The listener should look elsewhere for correct pronunciation of the following: Zhou Enlai (Chinese Foreign Minister), Andrei Kosygin (Soviet Premier), Nguyen Cao Ky (Vietnamese General and Prime Minister), Nikolai Podgorny (Soviet leader), William Ruckelshaus (US cabinet member), Gordon Strachan (White House official), Stuart Symington (US Senator), and Tony Ulasewicz (Watergate figure); and Vietnamese airbase Tan Son Nhut.

Informative and entertaining

Like many born in a time where Watergate was already long committed to history, I didn't know much past the Robert Redford movie. The book did a fantastic job of speaking to the watergate novice. The narration was okay. The narrator seemed to have great difficulty controlling the volume of his voice and that became distracting.