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The Crisis That Gave Us the Government We Have Today
Nan A. Talese
April 2006
Featuring: Gerald Ford; Richard Cheney; Donald Rumsfeld
416 pages
ISBN: 0385513801
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography | Non-Fiction Political
In 31 Days, Barry Werth takes readers inside the White House during the tumultuous days following NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s resignation and the swearing-in of AmericaΓ―ΒΏΒ½s "accidental president," Gerald Ford. The congressional hearings, NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s increasing paranoia, and, finally, the devastating revelations of the White House tapes had torn the country apart. Within the White House and the Republican Party, NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s resignation produced new fissures and battle lines--and new opportunities for political advancement.
Ford had to reassure the nation and the world that he would attend to the pressing issues of the day, from resolving the legal questions surrounding NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s role in Watergate, to dealing with the wind down of the Vietnam War, the precarious state of dΓ―ΒΏΒ½tente with the Soviet Union, and the ongoing attempts to stabilize the Middle East. Within hours of NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s departure from Washington, Ford began the all-important task of forming an inner circle of trusted advisers.
In richly detailed scenes, Werth describes the often vicious sparring among two mutually distrustful staffs--NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s and FordΓ―ΒΏΒ½s vice presidential holdovers--and a transition team that included Donald Rumsfeld (then NixonΓ―ΒΏΒ½s ambassador to NATO) and RumsfeldΓ―ΒΏΒ½s former deputy, the thirty-three-year-old coolly efficient Richard Cheney. The first detailed account of the ruthless maneuvering and day-to-day politicking behind everything from the pardon of Nixon to why George H. W. Bush was passed over for the vice presidency, to the rise of a new cadre of Republican movers and shakers, 31 Days offers a compelling perspective on a fascinating but relatively unexamined period in American history and its impact on the present.
 Media BuzzMorning Edition - August 18, 2014
Fresh Air - NPR - January 5, 2007
Diane Rehm Show - NPR - May 9, 2006
Fresh Air - NPR - April 13, 2006
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