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Watergate: The Hidden History: Nixon, The Mafia, and The CIA
While Richard Nixon's culpability for Watergate has long been established—most recently by PBS in 2003—what's truly remarkable that after almost forty years, conventional accounts of the scandal still don't address Nixon’s motive. Why was President Nixon willing to risk his reelection with so many repeated burglaries at the Watergate—and other Washington offices—in just a few weeks? What motivated Nixon to jeopardize his presidency by ordering the wide range of criminal operations that resulted in Watergate? What was Nixon so desperate to get at the Watergate, and how does it explain the deeper context surrounding his crimes?
For the first time, the groundbreaking investigative research in The Hidden History provides documented answers to all of those questions. It adds crucial missing pieces to the Watergate story—information that President Nixon wanted, but couldn’t get, and that wasn’t available to the Senate Watergate Committee or to Woodward and Bernstein. This new information not only reveals remarkable insights into Nixon’s motivation for Watergate, but also answers the two most important remaining What were the Watergate burglars after? And why was Nixon willing to risk his Presidency to get it?
The Hidden History reexamines the historical record, including new material only available in recent years. This includes thousands of recently declassified CIA and FBI files, newly released Nixon tapes, and exclusive interviews with those involved in the events surrounding Watergate—ranging from former Nixon officials to key aides for John and Robert Kennedy. This book also builds on decades of investigations by noted journalists and historians, as well as long-overlooked investigative articles from publications like Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times , and the New York Times .
For the first time, the groundbreaking investigative research in The Hidden History provides documented answers to all of those questions. It adds crucial missing pieces to the Watergate story—information that President Nixon wanted, but couldn’t get, and that wasn’t available to the Senate Watergate Committee or to Woodward and Bernstein. This new information not only reveals remarkable insights into Nixon’s motivation for Watergate, but also answers the two most important remaining What were the Watergate burglars after? And why was Nixon willing to risk his Presidency to get it?
The Hidden History reexamines the historical record, including new material only available in recent years. This includes thousands of recently declassified CIA and FBI files, newly released Nixon tapes, and exclusive interviews with those involved in the events surrounding Watergate—ranging from former Nixon officials to key aides for John and Robert Kennedy. This book also builds on decades of investigations by noted journalists and historians, as well as long-overlooked investigative articles from publications like Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times , and the New York Times .
816 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
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233 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 15, 2020
Readers hoping from the title to learn about the Watergate scandal will be deeply disappointed. Waldron, a veteran conspiracy author, instead devotes the vast majority of this tedious, speculative tome to the assorted CIA-Mafia plots to murder Fidel Castro, asserting predictably that they led to the JFK Assassination and triggered Richard Nixon's own downfall through his own involvement. The book is copiously footnoted, yet offers little new evidence that hasn't been hashed out in a million other conspiracy volumes, several by the author himself, making bold, speculative leaps about the CIA's assorted misdeeds (based largely on hearsay journalism, supposed deathbed confessions by assorted shady figures and assiduous dot connecting of the Alex Jones sort), while also rehashing the long-discredited Watergate theories of Jim Houghton and Len Colodny (eg., that Al Haig and Bob Woodward were Deep State plants to destroy Nixon). I give the book a second token star because Waldron's more convincing when detailing Nixon's ties to organized crime, a topic still ignored in most conventional histories of Nixon, and corrupt campaign dealings with the Teamsters, Cuban exile groups. But the rest of this book, like most conspiracy lore, is built on a foundation of sand.
May 27, 2013
Interesting book. It never made sense to me why Nixon went to such great lengths to cover-up his involvement in a politically motivated break-in that everybody knew about anyway. And how it could lead to a possible impeachment and resignation. Always thought there had to be more to it. Learning of the existence of the CIA-Mafia dossier was a real eye-opener. And, this is the first book I've read that went into such detail about Nixon's ties to the Mafia. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a lot of details about Nixon's history that led to Watergate...not for the mildly curious.
Want to read
March 13, 2014AKA "Consider the Mobster".
July 12, 2021
Extremely long and detailed. You really have to love the subject
May 23, 2013
If you are interested in history and US politics during this era (1950’s, 60’s and 70’s), then this book may be for you, but you are going to need a lot of patience to read it word for word. For a book where the lead title is Watergate, there are huge stretches where Watergate and Richard Nixon are not even mentioned. The structure of the book is well summarized in a review (A Strange New Watergate Book) by James DiEugenio, as follows:
1. Richard Nixon is not elected president until page 403.
2. The Watergate burglars do not get caught until page 638.
3. More space is spent on the JFK assassination than on the Watergate trials.
4. Jimmy Hoffa is presented as a more prominent figure in the scandal than John Dean.
(This is an 816 page book and I read it in e-book format, so when the reviewer gives page numbers, they are multiplied by 3 and it made it seem like forever to get to the actual Watergate activities!).
The author would probably argue that he is setting the background and context for what eventually happened in the Watergate burglaries and subsequent investigations. But so much of the detail is tedious, and the trail of connected dots is so long and involved that the importance and relevance to the overall case is lost. The book could have benefited from some severe editing to highlight the author’s main arguments, and maybe cover some of the supporting information in a notes section for those who want that level of detail. There is a long list of characters, mainly in government, politics, the CIA, organized crime, and most of the names will be familiar to anyone who either lived during that era or has read about Cuba, the JFK assassination or Watergate. However, most of the book is taken up with the seemingly endless interactions they all had with each other.
I am not in a position to judge the credibility of Mr. Waldron’s conclusions, but others (including James DiEugenio and Publishers Weekly) have stated they think his case is pretty thin. (There are also favourable reviews of this book, supporting Mr. Waldron’s conclusions.) Mr. Waldron devotes a lot of space to John Kennedy’s assassination, and he has written about this in another book (Ultimate Sacrifice). His conclusion is that Kennedy was killed by the Mafia, possibly with an assist (intentional or otherwise) from the CIA, and the link to Watergate is that some of the same players are involved and Cuba may have been a motivating factor in both cases. If you accept everything Mr. Waldron writes, and can sort it all out, then he might have a case. I have read other books on alternate/conspiracy theories of the JFK assassination, and they are all seductive and convincing at the time of reading, so I tend to believe that last one I have read! And then I try to balance my opinion by reading critical commentary from people who have studied the topic more that I have. Mr Waldron’s theory of the motivation for the Watergate burglaries is that Richard Nixon was concerned that the Democratic Party had incriminating information (in a mysterious Cuban Dossier) about his involvement with various CIA/Mafia plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, which were initiated when Nixon was Vice President.
Anyway, if like me, this is your era, then this might be a good read for you. But I found it too long, and impossible to keep track of the relationships between all the players and the implications of all their dealings with each other.
1. Richard Nixon is not elected president until page 403.
2. The Watergate burglars do not get caught until page 638.
3. More space is spent on the JFK assassination than on the Watergate trials.
4. Jimmy Hoffa is presented as a more prominent figure in the scandal than John Dean.
(This is an 816 page book and I read it in e-book format, so when the reviewer gives page numbers, they are multiplied by 3 and it made it seem like forever to get to the actual Watergate activities!).
The author would probably argue that he is setting the background and context for what eventually happened in the Watergate burglaries and subsequent investigations. But so much of the detail is tedious, and the trail of connected dots is so long and involved that the importance and relevance to the overall case is lost. The book could have benefited from some severe editing to highlight the author’s main arguments, and maybe cover some of the supporting information in a notes section for those who want that level of detail. There is a long list of characters, mainly in government, politics, the CIA, organized crime, and most of the names will be familiar to anyone who either lived during that era or has read about Cuba, the JFK assassination or Watergate. However, most of the book is taken up with the seemingly endless interactions they all had with each other.
I am not in a position to judge the credibility of Mr. Waldron’s conclusions, but others (including James DiEugenio and Publishers Weekly) have stated they think his case is pretty thin. (There are also favourable reviews of this book, supporting Mr. Waldron’s conclusions.) Mr. Waldron devotes a lot of space to John Kennedy’s assassination, and he has written about this in another book (Ultimate Sacrifice). His conclusion is that Kennedy was killed by the Mafia, possibly with an assist (intentional or otherwise) from the CIA, and the link to Watergate is that some of the same players are involved and Cuba may have been a motivating factor in both cases. If you accept everything Mr. Waldron writes, and can sort it all out, then he might have a case. I have read other books on alternate/conspiracy theories of the JFK assassination, and they are all seductive and convincing at the time of reading, so I tend to believe that last one I have read! And then I try to balance my opinion by reading critical commentary from people who have studied the topic more that I have. Mr Waldron’s theory of the motivation for the Watergate burglaries is that Richard Nixon was concerned that the Democratic Party had incriminating information (in a mysterious Cuban Dossier) about his involvement with various CIA/Mafia plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, which were initiated when Nixon was Vice President.
Anyway, if like me, this is your era, then this might be a good read for you. But I found it too long, and impossible to keep track of the relationships between all the players and the implications of all their dealings with each other.
September 2, 2014
If you think you know all there is to know about Richard Nixon and Watergate from Woodward and Bernstein, think again. Written in 2012, this book shows that everything that was reported about Watergate and the whitewashing of Nixon, post-Gerald Ford, pretty much missed the mark all the way around.
What I've read about Nixon's character - or lack of it - over the years, since I was too young to really understand when he was President, has really repulsed me, but this book shows just how degenerate and repugnant his character was and how thoroughly unethical, hypocritical, manipulating, and dishonest Nixon was. Every intent of this man's heart was evil continually.
There is nothing redeeming about who Nixon was at the very core of his being, because from the very beginning of his life, he was driven by blind ambition, by a win-at-any-cost mindset, and by resentment and vengefulness.
And the people surrounding him were just as thoroughly unethical, hypocritical, manipulating, and dishonest.
An example from the book is Joseph Califano, Jr. who at the time of Watergate was legal counsel for BOTH the Democrat party and the "Washington Post." Califano recommended Alexander Haig to the White House to take over as Chief of Staff and then advised Haig to tell Nixon to destroy all the tapes that he had recorded (Barry Sussman, who was a "Washington Post" editor during Watergate, wrote about this in 1997 in "Watergate: 25 Years Later).
Talk about a tangled web. Is it any wonder then that Woodward and Bernstein made the focus of their first book themselves and Deep Throat (FBI agent Mark Felt, who was among the FBI agents that J. Edgar Hoover used to give Nixon FBI information to run public search-and-destroy campaigns against individuals and groups from as early as 1950) instead of what was actually the latest instance of Nixon's criminal activities to achieve a political end?
For any serious historian, this is a must-read book.
What I've read about Nixon's character - or lack of it - over the years, since I was too young to really understand when he was President, has really repulsed me, but this book shows just how degenerate and repugnant his character was and how thoroughly unethical, hypocritical, manipulating, and dishonest Nixon was. Every intent of this man's heart was evil continually.
There is nothing redeeming about who Nixon was at the very core of his being, because from the very beginning of his life, he was driven by blind ambition, by a win-at-any-cost mindset, and by resentment and vengefulness.
And the people surrounding him were just as thoroughly unethical, hypocritical, manipulating, and dishonest.
An example from the book is Joseph Califano, Jr. who at the time of Watergate was legal counsel for BOTH the Democrat party and the "Washington Post." Califano recommended Alexander Haig to the White House to take over as Chief of Staff and then advised Haig to tell Nixon to destroy all the tapes that he had recorded (Barry Sussman, who was a "Washington Post" editor during Watergate, wrote about this in 1997 in "Watergate: 25 Years Later).
Talk about a tangled web. Is it any wonder then that Woodward and Bernstein made the focus of their first book themselves and Deep Throat (FBI agent Mark Felt, who was among the FBI agents that J. Edgar Hoover used to give Nixon FBI information to run public search-and-destroy campaigns against individuals and groups from as early as 1950) instead of what was actually the latest instance of Nixon's criminal activities to achieve a political end?
For any serious historian, this is a must-read book.
October 26, 2012
A thourough detailed look at multiple intertwined plots involving Richard Nixon throughout his long political career. The author makes a convincing case about what triggered the various Watergate burglaries. The book documents the unethical,illegal and criminal acts commtted by Nixon. He was the only sitting President who had to resign and many of his subordinates became convicted felons. Most Presidents have to deal with illegal acts committed under their administration, most being done with a political objective linked to US interests. What sets Nixon apart is that in a final analysis he was not a President who instigated criminal acts, he was a criminal who became President of the US, that in itself is still a staggering thought. But his impact on US politics did not cease with his resignation, some of his younger subordinates had long and controversial careers like Rumsfeld, Rove and Cheney. All became known for dirty tricks, unethical, illegal acts and would be considered potential war criminal against US criteria applied at the Nuremberg trials. For some the end always justifies the means; the Nixon legacy lives on...
August 5, 2014
Conspiracy theorists, take note: Lamar Waldron, who has made a veritable career out of his well-researched and well-footnoted books about various American assassinations and political events, has written a doorstop book on his theories about the Watergate scandal.
Waldron takes great pains to “prove” these theories with copious detail and sometimes endless back story. And that’s the problem with the book. While much of the material is fascinating–whether you believe it or not–a lot of the tale gets lost in digressions-within-digressions. Waldron brings in so many prior scandals that you begin to wonder whether he forgot what the main scandal was all about. Waldron’s main contention is that the Mafia was behind the Watergate scandal and he uses a lot of speculation to make his case. But then, speculation is the heart of any good conspiracy theory.
If you love reference and annotation, this is the conspiracy book of all conspiracy books, Mafia or not.
March 19, 2013
This intense book put meat to the skeleton of Watergate. The official version is so radically different. This version is more plausible. As the decades pass, as more relevant data is revealed, the more complete is the portrait of this US President and his contributions to the political culture. He was so crooked, from the beginning to the end. The American people are given such incomplete renderings of these people who lead us, and the people whom they influence. It's amazing what Nixon did, and more amazing is the people he influenced, many are living, working and continuing the corrupt policies that create the underbelly of US policy. The underbelly is more potent and more real than the rendering most people live and think by. This book is an important contribution to finding and teaching the truth about political life in the US. Thank you.
Currently reading
June 30, 2012I am only about a third of the way through the book and it is amazing how involved Nixon was with the Mafia early in his political career. Makes you wonder who Obama has been working with / for???
November 28, 2022
This book sheds a different look at the Watergate scandal of Richard Nixon. The author contends that the reason Nixon had the Watergate burglarized because of Nixon’s fear that the Democrats had information that incriminated him in plots to assassinate Fidel Castro. Nixon thought Democrats had a document called the Cuban Dossier. This was compiled by Castro documenting all the CIA attempts to kill him. These attempts began in the 1960’s when Nixon was Vice President. Nixon was instrumental in orchestrating these attempts. The plans for these attempts involved the use of Mafia figures.
The author traces Nixon’s political career and his use of dirty tricks and ties to organized crime. The ties to organized crime included his ties to Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters. He accepted money from the Teamsters to enlist Nixon’s help in keeping Hoffa out of prison and later to get Hoffa out of prison.
Most of the book details the career of Nixon and his illegal activities to get elected.
The author details how the Plumbers were made up of CIA people from the plots to kill Castro in the 60’s. The book weaves all the Mafia,Teamster and Rebozzo threads into a credible case for his theory on Watergate.
The author traces Nixon’s political career and his use of dirty tricks and ties to organized crime. The ties to organized crime included his ties to Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters. He accepted money from the Teamsters to enlist Nixon’s help in keeping Hoffa out of prison and later to get Hoffa out of prison.
Most of the book details the career of Nixon and his illegal activities to get elected.
The author details how the Plumbers were made up of CIA people from the plots to kill Castro in the 60’s. The book weaves all the Mafia,Teamster and Rebozzo threads into a credible case for his theory on Watergate.
April 11, 2022
For a thousand-page book on Watergate, there is very little about Watergate in here. Most of it is about Nixon's ties with the mob from the late 1940s onward. Watergate doesn't happen until approximately 3/4 of the way into the book, and even then, the book focuses on possible mob involvement to the virtual exclusion of any other possible motive. The other problem I had with the book is that it is in rough chronological order, so events that occured in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s are described early in the book and involve a bazillion people, whose names and roles my poor befuddled brain couldn't retain for the next 900 pages. When the author then connects those events and people to Watergate, he refers the reader back to earlier chapters for the details. It would have helped to read a quick refresher paragraph about who this person was and what he/she had done in 1947 that impacted Watergate in the 1970s. I spent a lot of time googling references but in the end I didn't feel that I learned a whole lot about Watergate.
September 6, 2017
This book is obviously well researched and well sourced. But at 650 pages or so, and just tons of micro detail of all kinds of events, it is tough sledding. Lot of good evidence of Nixon's ties to the mafia and his various slush funds.
May 30, 2019
If you really want to find out about Watergate.
Find another book.
Find another book.
October 20, 2021
I read and watched All The President's Men. This book givers a much more detailed and fuller picture of what occurred. Great book for research and / or term paper on the topic. Enjoy!
July 4, 2023
This book was basically an investigative book of JFK assignation. Very little about Nixon. Don’t waste your money on this book
August 31, 2012
Very few of the actors in this real-life melodrama are still living but as an inveterate newspaper reader during the 60's and 70's (being a newspaper delivery person for both the Star and the Post)their public personalities are very much alive to me. Though sympathetic to some of the ideas he expressed, I couldn't bring myself to vote for President Nixon in 1972, suspecting him to be more of a careerist than a public servant. Jack Anderson, who figures prominently in the story, taught the 14 year old Sunday School class which I attended and I must say I'm proud of what he did as a journalist to shed light on what was going on - though he made his share of mistakes too. This is a long book with numerous typographical errors which seem to evidence a rush to get it into print. Was the fact that this is another election year a factor in the haste? Now that it is clear that President Kennedy's assassination was a mob hit and that Lee Harvey Oswald, John Rosselli and Bernard Barker were CIA assets mostly because of Vice President Nixon's election-year effort to have Fidel Castro assassinated(1960) the Watergate Burglaries begin to make sense. The disastrous result of Nixon's career-long willingness to use Mafia money and force, thinking it would help him advance his career, should be a morality tale to all young careerists of today.
August 17, 2020
I thought I was well versed in the Nixon and Watergate conspiracy. I was wrong. I had no idea how much the Bay of Pigs drove many of his decisions and strategies through the years including, and especially, during his presidency.
Lama Waldron is an excellent researcher and investigative writer with several books to his credit about the Kennedy assassination. His scholarly approach is so meticulous it can occasionally feel like the reader is taking a college course, but it is worth the effort. This book adds to his already impressive record.
Lama Waldron is an excellent researcher and investigative writer with several books to his credit about the Kennedy assassination. His scholarly approach is so meticulous it can occasionally feel like the reader is taking a college course, but it is worth the effort. This book adds to his already impressive record.
December 18, 2016
I picked up this book after listening to an interview with the author and it did not disappoint. The stories are so well documented and the secrets of the CIA and Mafia kept so long; I was amazed at the influence the Mafia had on our government. The downside of this book was the repetition; it definitely could have benefited by a little more editing, but much of the information was so startling and the big link between the Kennedy assassinations made this book an interesting read.
December 19, 2014
Could not finish.
April 14, 2016
Well documented new material Held my interest
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews