Conrad Black: The Invincible Quest- Richard Nixon Biography

Source:Thrift Books- Conrad Black's book about Richard Nixon.

"The Invincible Quest is an authoritative biography of one of the most accomplished and controversial leaders of the twentieth century. Beginning with Richard Nixon's birth to Quaker parents in 1913 and ending with his death in 1994, Conrad Black traces Nixon's career, assessing both his achievements and the evolution of popular and historical thinking about him since his death. Drawing on recently opened tapes and documents, and on Black's personal interviews with many of the major players in Nixon's administration, The Invincible Quest reveals a new side of Nixon: a man who didn't have the advantage of charisma but was surprisingly self-assured and effective; a man dogged by political scandal yet seemingly unstoppable. Opinionated, balanced, and perceptive, The Invincible Quest makes a significant contribution to re-evaluating the idiosyncratic president's entire, eventful career." 

From Thrift Books 

"Conrad Black, currently appearing in a Chicago court on fraud charges, is also a highly respected biographer. "The Invincible Quest: The Life of Richard Milhouse Nixon" is the most thorough biography ever written about America's most controversial President." 

Source:Craig Rintoul- Conrad Black's book about Richard Nixon.

From Craig Rintoul

Richard Nixon, lived such a long, complicated and productive life, with a lot of ups and downs, that writing one book about him, doesn't do him justice. Or the people justice who are interested in learning about him. Every time a new documentary, movie or book about Dick Nixon comes out, I at least look into them and a lot of times get a copy of them for myself. I have a few books about him and several documentaries about him as well.

Richard Nixon was a man that came from a loving home, but from basically nothing in Whittier, California, yet he ends up graduating from law school, having a good military record, Duke University, U.S. Representative by 33 in 1946 and famous in the House as a freshmen. U.S. Senator by 37, Vice Presidential nominee for Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 at 39. Vice President of the United States by 40, reelected Vice President in 1956. The first influential and important Vice President that Americans were actually familiar with. Republican nominee for President in 1960 at age 47, comes within 100,000 votes and Dick Daily in Chicago and LBJ in Texas of being elected President in 1960. Law partner in a major law firm after the Vice Presidency in the 1960s and Republicans turning to him to run for President in 1967-68, after what he did for Congressional Republicans in 1966.

All of the chapters that I've mentioned about Dick Nixon's life, all are worth a book about them and his life. Nixon's life wasn't just about ups and downs and hot and cold, but about one of the most important figures that we've ever had in American history. His foreign policy dealing with our opponents so we can influence them and their people, instead of ignoring them. Like with Russia and China and was 15-20 years ahead of its time and considered mainstream today. Another fascinating thing about Dick Nixon, was it was his politics that would put him on the progressive wing of the Republican Party (yes, there's such a thing) both on economic and even foreign policy, as well as some social issues. Yet he's loved by the Populist-Right and the Christian-Right of the Republican Party.

It's not just foreign policy where Dick Nixon as President was ahead of him time, but economic policy as well. Welfare to Work over twenty years ahead of its time. The Affordable Care Act gets a lot of its roots from the Nixon health care bill in 1974. President Nixon was pushing energy independence in 1973 well before it became popular.  

It's hard to box Richard Nixon in. If you are going to try to write a bio about Richard Nixon, first you should try to get the whole story. Instead of trying to write the Defense of Richard Nixon or a hatchet job, which a lot of books about him are. And then if you want to write he whole story about Nixon, you should write a series about him. Otherwise you are looking at writing thousands and thousands of pages into one book, assuming you do an accurate job.