Nixon's Secrets: The Rise, Fall, and Untold Truth about the President, Watergate, and the Pardon

by Roger Stone, Mike Colapietro (Contributor)

Learn the inside scoop on Watergate, the Ford Pardon, and the 18 1/2 minute Gap.
Roger Stone, the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Man Who Killed Kennedy," gives us the inside scoop on how Nixon avoided prosecution after the Watergate scandal. Using Gen Al Haig as his agent, Nixon let Vice President Ford know that he would expose the CIA's involvement in the JFK assassination and Ford's role in altering autopsy records for the Warren Commission if he went to trial in the Watergate scandal. "Tell them if Dick Nixon's going down I'm taking everyone down with me, that prick [CIA Director Richard] Helms, Lyndon, and Jerry Ford are going down with me" was the way Haig phrased it.
Thus Nixon would use this information to avoid prosecution and jail to blackmail Gerald Ford for a full, free and unconditional pardon. Nixon's secret would not only destroy his presidency--it would save him from prison.
Stone examines the bungled Watergate break-in to determine what exactly Nixon's agents were looking for and how the CIA infiltrated the burglar team and sabotaged the break-in to gain leverage over Nixon who was demanding the CIA turn over the records of the Bay of Pigs and Kennedy Assassination. He also explains the 18 1/2 minute gap in the White House Tapes, although the point is moot as the government has still redacted all references to the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy Assassination, and the CIA from the publicly released Nixon tapes and the Obama Administration's fighting in Federal Court to keep the CIA's Bay of Pigs records sealed.

Genres: History, Politics, Biography, Nonfiction

803 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

Roger Stone is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ. He is a legendary political operative who served as a senior campaign aide to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Senator Bob Dole. Stone would parlay being the youngest staff member of the Committee to Re-Elect the President in 1972 into being a conduit of secret memos from Ex-President Nixon to President Ronald Reagan throughout the 80s. A veteran of eight national presidential campaigns, Stone would spend hours talking politics with Nixon as confidant and adviser in his post-presidential years. Stone is known for his hardball tactics, deep opposition research, biting candor, and love of English custom tailoring. Stone serves as mens fashion correspondent for the Daily Caller.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting political bio that goes where most bios don't dare to go. This is due to Stone being a political operative (Republican) and not an historian. He has no problem, for example, telling you that Jeb Stuart Macgruder was a "dick." When it comes to Nixon, Stone is a fan who Nixon stayed in touch with after Watergate. He even has a tattoo of Nixon on his back. That said, Stone doesn't avoid Nixon's dark side (the paranoia, the temper, the drinking, the Chinese mistress (that's a new one for me), etc.), which really makes for a refreshing read from a true insider. It's as close to Nixon as you can get. On top of that, the book is a gold mine for other titles on Nixon. Stone has read just about everything.

The book also has a number of great gossipy stories, and one huge accusation. That accusation is that LBJ had Kennedy killed (Stone has a separate book devoted to that charge). Not sure what to think about that, but when you read it within the context of Stone's book and voice, it does seem possible, and more probable than Prouty's vague "power elite." Stone's voice seems trustworthy. But the book does have problems and is in bad need of a re-do. I'm no typo Nazi, but there are a quite a few in the book. More troubling are the language repetitions. I often found myself reading portions of paragraphs that had appeared earlier. These were not exactly in error, since I would page back and re-read the previous language, and see (usually) a different emphasis, but it's the kind of thing you smooth out in the drafting phase. I hope Stone (and his co-writer) make the effort, because this is an important book on Nixon.

[Diana Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I LOVE Nixon, but this was the most poorly written book I've ever read. One or more typos appeared on just about every page, and the information was totally disjointed. The numerous errors and organizational chaos was too distracting to get much out of it.

[Wilson Trivino · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the 40 year mark since the resignation of Richard Nixon, a new generation is reexamining the life and times of this very complex politico.
Roger Stone, who was a friend and advisor to Nixon, has penned a book, Nixon’s Secrets, that shares a personal side to Richard Nixon. This work showcases a better portrait of this remarkable leader.
Stone notes how Nixon was ahead of his time in understanding the changing world and his public image did not reflect the private man. Nixon was an introvert working in an extrovert business.
Nixon was a fighter and his Quaker roots gave him the foundation needed to withstand some hard times. Nixon was able to revive from the political wilderness many times.
Stone makes the case that Nixon’s comeback to the Presidency was made possible by the assassination of JFK, even though Kennedy stole the election. How Eisenhower used Nixon as a political attack dog and made him do the dirty work. Nixon also campaigned harder for Goldwater than Goldwater did for himself. This 600 plus page book is a valuable resource and fascinating read on the perspective on the first true comeback kid.
I loved the behind the scenes portraits of some of the early political days before my time with the showcase of the true nature of the complexity of using political power and getting things done. Roger Stone has done a great service in preserving these ideas for the ages. Read this book.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nixon reconsidered

I loved this book. Written from a perspective I hadn't heard before. This could only be achieved by someone who was actually there. I found the first half of the book slow moving. These were largely accounts of his earlier political career. The second half of the book went very quickly. Highly entertaining. Made me reconsider my opinion on watergate, JFK assassination and the bay of pigs. Nixon's political comeback also in the second half of the book was very interesting. I think Nixon is an American hero.

[Spencer Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a pretty interesting book with a cool insider take on things. it was sooo poorly written, there was no cohesion or organization, and there were multiple passages repeated verbatim over and over, and some things just weren't true... so 2/5 🤷‍♂️

[Jared Komoroski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nixon is still an enigma to me.

[Gwen Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

An nindepth and detailed depiction of Richard M. Nixon.

I believe that the man was very complicated and very intelligent. He was very ill advised at times and misunderstood. He was the definition of perseverance.

[Glenn Meinhardt]

For Sale (I mean, you can have it unless I throw it away before you come and get it): A book about Nixon: "Nixon's Secrets" by Roger Stone (with Mike Colapietro), published by Skyhorse Publishing and, I am assuming, there was no editor. It is horrible. It is plagued with distracting typos, which evolve into questionable facts, and then into blatant falsehoods. They don't seem intentional, just extremely sloppy research (or editing I suppose), which of course makes the book useless as a work of nonfiction. A prime example is the last paragraph I read that refers to a show called "Roland and Martin's Laugh-In". (It was Rowan and Martin). This was the last straw, and it occurred on page 306 of a nearly 700 page book. Other examples are quotes that are attributed to different sources, (one in the text and another in a photo). My first clue that the book was questionable was when I came across references for parts of the text that are mundane or even irrelevant to the message (that Nixon invited guests to a party), yet no references for stunning claims (LBJ is responsible for killing Kennedy). There must be a name for this ploy - using a generous number references attached to meaningless facts to impart credibility on adjacent claims that don't have references. It is pretty obvious in this book. I want my money back.

[Mark Comer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish it. A book in desperate need of an editor as the writing was at times clumsy and repetitive. Frustrated that the author, who in the intro said he wanted balance, make this a very biased narrative that drops disparaging innuendos on those who opposed Richard Nixon like cigarette butts in the gutter (to use a visual back in the day). In my opinion, it makes it hard to claim credibility when that happens. That said, some of the first person perspectives of the time were interesting.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, the premise of the book is the key factor that caught my attention. Even though I normally do not go for conspiracy theory kind of books, I do like books about the US presidents so I had some hopes for this book. However, the my main critique of this book is the grammar and the editing. It has multiple GLARING grammatical issues to the point where it took away from the actual reading of the book. Further, I felt as if he used his opinion as fact. It was just a poorly written book filled with erroneous statements. UGH! I couldn't even FINISH the book...

[Chris Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the context of this book, especially from someone who was an insider. Some of the facts presented challenge common misperceptions. Only flaws were that the author was often repetitive as if he expected the reader to take chapters as stand alone, rather the whole book. Also, numerous references to the authors other works were distracting for me. Otherwise, a solid entry into the Nixon canon

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me a lot of insight into Nixon's life and political career. Nixon's prime was really before I was born so it was nice being able to get a lot more context on some of these things. The only issue is that some of the things brought up in the book would definitely require a bit more research before I completely believe them - since I did this on audiobook I didn't readily have any references available, and I am not sure if the physical book has citations.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book provides some additional info into the Nixon mystique. Unfortunately, the author tends to ramble and is clearly not an impartial observer.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator was uninspired.

With that said, after having read several books about Nixon, the author includes several references worth exploring.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is coming from a former aide to Nixon himself. He was the youngest aide, at 19, working for Nixon in 1968 campaign. He may have liked Nixon at one point, he has a tattoo if Nixon on his back, but now he lays his secrets bare.

[Justin Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Nixon was misunderstood man.

If you really want to understand Nixon you should definitely read this book, you want be disappointed. Make you see him in a different light.

[Scott Henry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book and say I enjoyed it. It was informative and interesting but this mans writing style or lack of it was very distracting. Repetitive and lots of references to the other books he’s written. If anyone was in need of an editor this man was definitely in need of one.

[Dale Stonehouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evidently the printed version was copied from the ebook and it didn't work properly. There are so many errors it was difficult to make sense of it at times. Otherwise it was OK.

[Graeme Collie]

Love history on 60's american but this is so dry and repetitive it is almost unreadable.

[M Pye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impossible to read. Typos and grammatical errors abound! I will avoid Roger Stone and Mike Colapietro from now on.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of The Man Who Killed Kennedy, gives us the inside scoop on how Nixon avoided prosecution after the Watergate scandal. Using Gen Al Haig as his agent, Nixon let Vice President Ford know that he would expose the CIA's involvement in the JFK assassination and Ford's role in altering autopsy records for the Warren Commission if he went to trial in the Watergate scandal. “Tell them if Dick Nixon's going down I'm taking everyone down with me, that prick [CIA Director Richard] Helms, Lyndon, and Jerry Ford are going down with me” was the way Haig phrased it.

Thus Nixon would use this information to avoid prosecution and jail to blackmail Gerald Ford for a full, free and unconditional pardon. Nixon's secret would not only destroy his presidency—it would save him from prison.

Stone examines the bungled Watergate break-in to determine what exactly Nixon's agents were looking for and how the CIA infiltrated the burglar team and sabotaged the break-in to gain leverage over Nixon who was demanding the CIA turn over the records of the Bay of Pigs and Kennedy Assassination. He also explains the 18 1/2 minute gap in the White House Tapes, although the point is moot as the government has still redacted all references to the Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy Assassination, and the CIA from the publicly released Nixon tapes and the Obama Administration's fighting in Federal Court to keep the CIA's Bay of Pigs records sealed.

[Jeremiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, there was information here that I hadn't heard before, but it was presented in a completely disjointed and shoddy way. Information would be given, and then a few pages later during a followup, they would present all the same information again!

Did this book have an editor? There were names spelled differently a few pages apart. There were typos. There were numerous chapters that made no sense at all.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Roger Stone and I really enjoyed it. I have been doing some research on some big events that occurred early in my life, namely between the early 60s and 70s. Watergate was a huge event. This book filled in the gaps. I really enjoyed your book, Roger. Thanks for the painstaking detail in this terrific read!

[Sam McCabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Averagely written, frequently repeating information and deriving most of it’s entertainment from a gossip-like narrative. Interesting perspective from a guy with a literal tattoo of Nixon on his back and who would, 5 years after publishing, go on to peddle QAnon conspiracy theories in order to subvert the results of the 2020 US election, ultimately culminating in the Jan 6 Capitol Riots.

[Sandy Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of the Roger Stone books I’ve read. Part of it might be because, even though the author’s goal was to provide the unvarnished truth, his obvious admiration of Nixon still shows in his writing. And the book devotes too many pages to the elections for my tastes—the campaign, the strategies, the polling, the rivalries, etc. With a title like Nixon’s Secrets, I was expecting something different. The elections, especially the ones in the past that we already know the outcomes, just aren’t interesting to me. I wish I had passed on this one.

[Corey J. Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable, but sprinkled with lazy errors and over the top sensationalism.

[Judith Snider · Rating 2 out of 5]

learn a lot, but it was all over the place

[Steve Royalty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time!!! It doesn't even deserve 1 star!!

[Randall Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and informative.

[Pete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost a third of the book seemed to be a repeat of topics covered earlier in book; many repeats. Seemed to be filled with conjecture.