[Brokaw] doesn’t overplay the parallels between now and then. He doesn’t need to ... an engaging account of a nation in turmoil. It is a breezy, often gossipy and at times surprising memoir that encompasses more than Watergate ... The author takes the reader not only inside a beleaguered White House, but also into tony Georgetown salons where the political and cultural glitterati mingled with journalists and ruminated on the scandal du jour ... A note of caution is warranted. While this slim book leaves the reader wanting more pages, it also suffers from choppy prose and lax editing in places. Often dates and pertinent details are left out, such as the year and month when the Arab oil embargo began ... That said, this book should be required reading inside the Beltway, and beyond.
While this memoir doesn’t break new ground on the historic scandal that gripped the nation 45 years ago and brought about Nixon’s resignation, it delivers a variety of scenes and reflections that only Brokaw could provide as a relatively young — 33 — White House correspondent for NBC News.
Humorous anecdotes about traveling with the president and life among Washington’s political elite lighten the mood ... This fast-paced account nicely captures the spirit of the times and will appeal to political junkies and scholars. See Patrick Buchanan’s Nixon’s White House Wars and Keith Olson’s updated Watergate for in-depth investigations.
... [a] slight, breezy book with lots of brief chapters (sometimes just two pages), lots of pictures, lots of anecdotes, and little use for footnotes, bibliographies or other scholarly apparatus that might deter the casual reader...provide[s] a flavor of what it was like to live through those heady, fearful, historic days.
Brokaw’s succinct retelling of events is bolstered by his fly-on-the-wall insider revelations ... ction from the controversy shrouding him at home. A lion in the field of broadcast journalism and a best-selling author, Brokaw remains one of the few remaining news professionals who experienced this defining moment in presidential history, a valued vantage point given the current political upheaval.
While the timing is superb, the book itself is sadly lacking. It's a slim volume, with the 226 pages chopped into 27 chapters, an introduction and an epilogue, evidence that he doesn't drill deep. A kind description is that it's a breezy read ... Another way of putting it is that it's a collection of snippets, gossip, meaningless anecdotes and no unique insights. We learn nothing new about Watergate or the key players during those eventful days ... Aside from a few mildly interesting interactions Brokaw had with White House press secretary Ron Ziegler, we don't learn much about the White House press corps, except how talented, funny and clever they are. We learn plenty about the guest lists of Georgetown cocktail parties he was invited to ... Brokaw hit pay dirt with The Greatest Generation. This book won't have quite the staying power that volume will.
... a swift-flowing narrative of the decline and collapse of the Nixon administration ... Brokaw brings a more searching, controlling question to the enterprise: 'Who was Richard Nixon?' ... The book is understated and even-tempered, without the fire of Woodward and Bernstein, Timothy Crouse, Hunter S. Thompson, and other chroniclers of the Nixon era; the calmness is welcome, though, for a narrative that seeks clarity in that time of torment ... Not the first book to turn to when reading about Watergate but still a useful overview of long-ago events.
Brokaw presents a brisk account of his 'reporter’s experience of Watergate, the final act,' in this affable memoir ... Though he makes a handful of references to Donald Trump and the current 'chaotic time in the American presidency,' the theme isn’t developed in detail. Watergate completists will appreciate Brokaw’s clubby reminiscences; those seeking a substantive analysis, however, should look elsewhere.
