The Watergate Crisis

The Watergate crisis marked the beginning of the age of cynicism in America. This readable and insightful account examines what happened in Watergate, who was involved, what it meant then, and what it means now. By analyzing the overall impact of Watergate on events that followed, this work will help students and other interested readers to better understand today's politics. In addition to a narrative overview and a series of topical essays about Watergate, this guide provides a timeline of events, biographical sketches of the key players, the text of important primary documents, a glossary of terms, and an annotated bibliography.

Watergate refers to a series of crimes and abuses of power including obstruction of justice, conspiracy, criminal coverup, perjury, and destruction of evidence. As a result of the Watergate crisis, the press became more intrusive and personal, the public became more cynical and apathetic toward government, executive-congressional relations became soured and divisive, and partisan clashes became more bitter. Genovese, a noted presidential scholar, discusses Nixon's political personality, addresses the question of whether any president is above the law, and offers a contemporary view of presidential corruption in historical perspective, which is valuable in light of the Clinton impeachment hearings. This readable analysis and ready-reference guide provides valuable resources for students.

A highly readable and insightful account of the Watergate crisis and its impact on America

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Genovese combines fairness with passion in this readable analysis. The bulk of the book provides a historical overview of the Watergate crisis, an account of the development of Nixon's political personality, a discussion of whether the president can ever act outside legal limits, a presentation of historical precedent for presidential corruption, an analysis of Nixon's relationships with the news media, and a conclusion about the Watergate legacy. The historical section is a model of conciseness, balancing fairness with insightful comments backed up by contemporary quotations. The section on personality compares the views of several psychohistorians. The legal section is very short but blunt while the one on presidential corruption goes into considerable detail. Genovese concludes that Watergate damaged the fragile American political consensus and helped lead to the distrust that many Americans feel toward government in general. In addition to this analysis, the author provides a list of key players with biographical sketches of many of them; excerpts from some primary documents including transcripts of White House tapes, the Congressional impeachment resolution, and a Supreme Court decision; and an annotated bibliography. There are a few pages of black-and-white photographs, primarily portraits, and a few shots of Congressional hearings and other events. Rebecca Larsen's Richard Nixon (Watts, 1991), written at a slightly lower reading level, covers the same history with less analysis, and includes illustrations that better capture the events. Genovese's book will support curricula in American history or political science at the high school level.-Jonathan Betz-Zall, Sno-Isle Regional Library System, Edmonds, WA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

MICHAEL A. GENOVESE is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.