text: Has there ever been anyone like Richard Nixon? For sheer resiliency,he stands alone in American history. No one won bigger than Richard Nixon.  And no one lost bigger than Richard Nixon. And then won again. And then lost. And won again. He just kept punching and planning and working, to eventually become one of the dominant figures of the 20th Century. 
  
  The author of 9 books, 8 of them best-sellers, this is his first,and covers six major crises of his political life to 1962. This is serious history, but so well-written that it reads like an exciting novel. In it, you can see the raw steel of the man emerging through his discipline, beginnig with his first crisis as a 35-year-old freshman congressman,the prosecution of Alger Hiss, the darling of east coast liberals and the state department, as a Soviet spy.. The other crises have been well-described by other reviewers, but all were thrilling examples of courage (backed by preparation) under fire. Highly-experienced Washington veteran David Gergen, who worked closely with four Presidents, in his excellent book "Eyewitness to History" described Richard Nixon as "the toughest man I ever knew". In this book, you can see why.
  
  Interestingly, his overwhelming love of country shines through as well. For example,the 1960 election was unbelievably close.A swing of only 11,000 votes properly distributed, and the election results would have been reversed. And there was verifiable vote fraud by the Democrats, especially in Texas and Illinois. Nixon was repeatedly urged to demand an investigation and recount. He refused. First,it would have greatly delayed the transference of responsiblity to a new administration. But secondly, as he wrote, "Then, too, the bitterness that would be engendered by such a maneuver on my part would,in my opinion, have done incalculable and lasting damage throughout the country." There speaks a Patriot.  And a Man!
  
  Also recommnended."Nixon in Winter" by Monica Crowley
  