First published 1999
J. Anthony Lukas takes readers inside the final act of Richard Nixon's presidency through his exhaustive reporting on the Watergate scandal. Originally published across two full issues of the New York Times Magazine in 1973, this account captures Nixon's administration as it crumbles under investigation. Lukas provides detailed portraits of the major figures who shaped this constitutional crisis, from the president himself to the operatives, prosecutors, and politicians who brought down his government. The book includes Lukas's unpublished third installment on the impeachment proceedings that Nixon's resignation cut short. Through meticulous journalism, Lukas reconstructs how a break-in at Democratic headquarters escalated into a national trauma that tested American democracy. The narrative reveals both the mechanics of political corruption and the human cost of power's abuse, showing how one scandal transformed a nation's relationship with its leaders.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, crime, biography-memoir, journalism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: abuse-of-power, political-intrigue
Setting: New York, United States
Period: 1970s
648 pages · Paperback · Ohio University Press
Content warnings: abuse