The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews by James Reston Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jon Stewart has made the argument in the past that he shares a legacy of satirist who over the years have had the unique position to ask the question that others can’t.
This is the thought that continued to creep up time and time again while I read this marvelous tale of an event that I knew hardly about but that meant so much to the American people in a time when answers were scarce from their former Commander and Chief.
James Reston Jr.’s recollection of the months prior to this interview of disgraced former President Richard Nixon is ripe with intrigue, drama and a retelling of the perils of underestimating an opponent.
Time and again I wished that today’s best satirist (like Stewart)would take on the challenge that current members of the journalistic community seem unable to take. To ask the hard hitting questions, to draw out truths with wit and seek candor from political figures who make a career from obscuring it.
I marvel at the height from with President Nixon fell but understand that he is not alone in sharing disgrace. The better story is how Frost and his team helped the President realize truths that perhaps he had never seen before.
A terrific read for our time.