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White Knight: The Rise of Spiro Agnew
White The Rise of Spiro Agnew by Jules Witcover is a biography of the vice president under Richard Nixon who resigned from office over an income tax infraction. Published by Random House in 1972; 465 pages. ISBN-10 0394472160 ISBN-13 9780394472164 Biography, Political Classification LCCN 76-037425 LC Classification Number E840.8.A34W5 Dewey Decimal 973.924/0924 B
465 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 10, 2015
I selected this book semi-randomly, mostly out of an increasing interest in Jules Witcover after reading Timothy Crouse's Boys on the Bus. I could not have selected a better book. Witcover skillfully constructs a complete and in-depth, yet never over-the-top or unrestrained biography of Richard Nixon's first vice-president.
Despite Spiro Agnew's antagonistic view and treatment of the press, Witcover manages an extremely unbiased and straightforward portrait of Agnew. Witcover portrayed many different, important, and fascinating facets of Agnew, his personality, his methods, and his style. I enjoyed learning about Agnew's precise usage of language. With his skillful use of caveats, he was just about able to say two antithetical statements while claiming that there was just some misunderstanding.
Witcover reveals an Agnew that easily remains controversial; however, if one is able to step past the word-webs that Agnew weaves, one can begin to see an Agnew that was, if nothing else, flawed, but not all bad. Let us just hope that we never again have a "spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals." As Spiro would say.
Despite Spiro Agnew's antagonistic view and treatment of the press, Witcover manages an extremely unbiased and straightforward portrait of Agnew. Witcover portrayed many different, important, and fascinating facets of Agnew, his personality, his methods, and his style. I enjoyed learning about Agnew's precise usage of language. With his skillful use of caveats, he was just about able to say two antithetical statements while claiming that there was just some misunderstanding.
Witcover reveals an Agnew that easily remains controversial; however, if one is able to step past the word-webs that Agnew weaves, one can begin to see an Agnew that was, if nothing else, flawed, but not all bad. Let us just hope that we never again have a "spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals." As Spiro would say.
January 8, 2015
Good book that highlights what a great public speaker (though he engaged in a lot of verbal hyperbole, some of it inaccurate) and lightning rod Agnew was. Wasn't the brightest bulb on the shelf. The problem is that in the last chapter Witcover goes on this tangent on the traditional role of the VP that totally lost me. In the end it's really not that interesting/necessary a book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews