What do you think?
Rate this book
Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History
Gerald Ford came to the presidency at the time of one of our nation's greatest constitutional crises, the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon in the aftermath of the Watergate affair. His service as president concluded a distinguished career in the House of Representatives during which he served as leader of the Republican Party in the House. With unrestricted access to Gerald Ford's papers, James M. Cannon tells the story of Ford's rise and Nixon's ruin, providing new insights into this troubling period of our history and Ford's role in guiding the nation through it. Cannon tells the story of Ford's difficult early life and the beginnings of his career in politics in the period immediately after World War II. He tells the story of Ford's rise to prominence in the House of Representatives during the 1950s and 1960s, giving us a fascinating picture of the Congress. In addition, in telling us about the personal life of Gerald Ford, he gives us a sense of the price Ford paid for his success.
"James Cannon, formerly national affairs editor at Newsweek and Ford's domestic policy advisor, has written a superbly provocative and arresting biography that traces Ford's life from his July 4, 1913, birth in Omaha, Nebraska, to his September 8,1974, decision to pardon Nixon of the Watergate conspiracy." --Washington Post Book World
James M. Cannon is a journalist and was Domestic Policy Adviser to President Ford and Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.
"James Cannon, formerly national affairs editor at Newsweek and Ford's domestic policy advisor, has written a superbly provocative and arresting biography that traces Ford's life from his July 4, 1913, birth in Omaha, Nebraska, to his September 8,1974, decision to pardon Nixon of the Watergate conspiracy." --Washington Post Book World
James M. Cannon is a journalist and was Domestic Policy Adviser to President Ford and Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 1994
4 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Want to read
July 23, 2017
Donald Trump seems remarkably fond of this new ship, which is named after the man best known for pardoning Richard Nixon.
Just sayin'.
August 1, 2018
https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2018...
Published in 1994, “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History” is James Cannon’s first biography of the president he worked with as Domestic Policy Advisor for two years. Cannon was previously a journalist and war correspondent, a political adviser to Nelson Rockefeller and, later, chief of staff for Senator Howard Baker. Cannon died in 2011 at the age of 93.
This 416-page biography focuses on Ford’s life from his youth through the earliest months of his presidency. Originally intended as a more comprehensive examination of Ford’s political career, Cannon was sidetracked by his subject’s childhood and political ascent. Not until his posthumously-published follow-up biography (“Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life“) did Cannon focus more intently on Ford’s 895-day presidency.
Despite its ostensible focus on Ford’s early life, however, “Time and Chance” proceeds quite briskly through Ford’s first sixty years. Only about 100 pages are required to carry the reader from Ford’s birth to his vice presidency. And while no discussion of Ford’s life can escape a discussion of Nixon’s presidential sins, the Watergate era alone consumes about two-thirds of the book.
Probably unaware he would eventually revisit Ford’s life with a supplemental biography, Cannon concludes this book with a chapter briefly summarizing Ford’s presidency – but without mention of his retirement years – as well as an Epilogue which quickly reviews Ford’s character and political legacy.
Cannon’s literary style is never particularly keen or penetrating but, like Ford himself, always proves straightforward and comprehensible. There are occasional glimpses of the vivid narrative style of McCullough and Millard, but this book’s strength resides in its coherence not its color. And while Cannon is able to identify and admit his subject’s weaknesses, he does seem to posses an unmistakable fondness for his former boss.
Not only is “Time and Chance” an easy read, but it is also consistently interesting. Particularly engaging is the thirty-page chapter covering Ford’s confirmation as Vice President and the related investigation conducted to ensure his personal and political chastity. Cannon also provides an interesting glimpse into Ford’s efforts (while VP) to maintain his political independence during the height of the Watergate crisis.
Less meritorious is Cannon’s coverage of Ford’s personal life. His wife, Betty, is rarely mentioned and his children are only vaguely acknowledged. Far more critically, though, the author never attempts to address the stark inconsistency between Ford’s inherently compassionate and ethical nature and his lifelong attraction to (and embrace of) the sordid world of politics.
Overall, “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History” is generally good…but rarely great. This biography provides reasonable, but not deeply perceptive, insight into Ford’s character and career but fails to adequately dissect his persona or meaningfully explore his personal life. Only time will tell how – or whether – Cannon’s follow-up biography (“Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life”) will fill in the gaps. Stay tuned!
Overall rating: 3¼ stars
Published in 1994, “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History” is James Cannon’s first biography of the president he worked with as Domestic Policy Advisor for two years. Cannon was previously a journalist and war correspondent, a political adviser to Nelson Rockefeller and, later, chief of staff for Senator Howard Baker. Cannon died in 2011 at the age of 93.
This 416-page biography focuses on Ford’s life from his youth through the earliest months of his presidency. Originally intended as a more comprehensive examination of Ford’s political career, Cannon was sidetracked by his subject’s childhood and political ascent. Not until his posthumously-published follow-up biography (“Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life“) did Cannon focus more intently on Ford’s 895-day presidency.
Despite its ostensible focus on Ford’s early life, however, “Time and Chance” proceeds quite briskly through Ford’s first sixty years. Only about 100 pages are required to carry the reader from Ford’s birth to his vice presidency. And while no discussion of Ford’s life can escape a discussion of Nixon’s presidential sins, the Watergate era alone consumes about two-thirds of the book.
Probably unaware he would eventually revisit Ford’s life with a supplemental biography, Cannon concludes this book with a chapter briefly summarizing Ford’s presidency – but without mention of his retirement years – as well as an Epilogue which quickly reviews Ford’s character and political legacy.
Cannon’s literary style is never particularly keen or penetrating but, like Ford himself, always proves straightforward and comprehensible. There are occasional glimpses of the vivid narrative style of McCullough and Millard, but this book’s strength resides in its coherence not its color. And while Cannon is able to identify and admit his subject’s weaknesses, he does seem to posses an unmistakable fondness for his former boss.
Not only is “Time and Chance” an easy read, but it is also consistently interesting. Particularly engaging is the thirty-page chapter covering Ford’s confirmation as Vice President and the related investigation conducted to ensure his personal and political chastity. Cannon also provides an interesting glimpse into Ford’s efforts (while VP) to maintain his political independence during the height of the Watergate crisis.
Less meritorious is Cannon’s coverage of Ford’s personal life. His wife, Betty, is rarely mentioned and his children are only vaguely acknowledged. Far more critically, though, the author never attempts to address the stark inconsistency between Ford’s inherently compassionate and ethical nature and his lifelong attraction to (and embrace of) the sordid world of politics.
Overall, “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History” is generally good…but rarely great. This biography provides reasonable, but not deeply perceptive, insight into Ford’s character and career but fails to adequately dissect his persona or meaningfully explore his personal life. Only time will tell how – or whether – Cannon’s follow-up biography (“Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life”) will fill in the gaps. Stay tuned!
Overall rating: 3¼ stars
October 25, 2017
Gerald Ford may be considered by some to be one of our forgotten presidents although he managed to bring this country through a constitutional crisis and a national trauma. In that respect James Cannon's book is well written, expertly researched and surprisingly compelling. However, if readers are interested in only a biography of Gerald Ford they will be disappointed. Large sections of the work deal with Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. Of course no story of Gerald Ford would be complete without a fairly thorough treatment of Watergate, but sections of this book deal so extensively with Watergate, Ford almost gets lost. Cannon tries to make up for this by examining Ford's early life and experience in Congress at some length before delving into the Nixon years. The author's treatment of whether Ford agreed to pardon Nixon in exchange for his resignation is very well done and should convince most readers that no such agreement was ever reached.
All in all this is a very compelling biography that describes an honorable and capable president although at times it disappoints while educating us about this turbulent time in our history.
All in all this is a very compelling biography that describes an honorable and capable president although at times it disappoints while educating us about this turbulent time in our history.
April 7, 2019
This pro-Ford biography was well written and any easy read. As one would expect, it spends a lot of time on Watergate. It probably goes into too much detail about the specifics of the events for a Ford biography. But, because it was so well done, I don’t think it detracts from the quality of the read. This book makes me appreciate just how difficult a job Ford had when he became president. I look at him a bit like McKinley, a not well-know president that made some decisions that had a long and lasting impact on the future of the United States. The nation was a mess, and its spirit was broken. Ford made the decision to pardon Nixon, while extremely unpopular, allowed the nation to begin to heal.
Read
September 5, 2019This was a most compelling book and the author did such thorough research. His details on Watergate and Richard Nixon were very interesting. The story of Gerald Ford's life and his career in politics is what America was all about-someone from a middle class background making it all the way to the White House. Gerald Ford was an honest man and he loved his country and he worked with both parties. Our country now could certainly learn from someone like Gerald Ford.
Very good book. I highly recommend it.
Very good book. I highly recommend it.
July 31, 2011
This book primarily focuses on Watergate and gives some perspectives regarding Ford's role in the final days of Nixon's presidency that I haven't read elsewhere. Alexander Haig is depicted as being conniving and dictitorial, preying upon Ford's naivity to secure a pardon for Nixon. In 32 pages (out of almost 500) Cannon barely skims Ford's presidency and his failed run for election in 1976.
April 2, 2013
I thought it spent agreat deal more time on Nixon than on Ford. While I understand you can't read a Ford biography without going into a lot of detail about Nixon, I had just read a Nixon bio and would have preferred a more ford-centric approach
Read
April 12, 2010What a title?
May 2, 2017
This book traces the improbable but true story of how Gerald Ford became vice president and then president of the United States. While I wish the book had spent more time on Ford's presidency (and his post-presidency life), you could not find a better account of how Ford got there.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews