Richard Nixon

The son of devout Quakers, Richard Nixon grew up in the shadow of an older brother and thrived on struggle and opposition. Through high school and college, in the Navy and in politics, Nixon was constantly leading crusades and fighting off "enemies," either real and imagined. He possessed the plainspoken eloquence to reduce American television audiences to tears with his career-saving "Checkers" speech, yet Nixon's darker side hatched schemes designed to take down his political opponents which earned him the infamous nickname, "Tricky Dick." This is the classic story of an American legend, of a young man who rose from his humble beginnings to achieve power and influence on the world stage. As president, he brought China back into the global community and did more than any of his predecessors to quiet the rising tensions of the Cold War. He worked to desegregate Southern schools, create the Environmental Protection Agency, and end the draft. Richard Nixon's legacy to the history of the United States is much more complicated than the scandal of Watergate that brought down his presidency. Buy now and read the compact biography Richard Nixon: A Short Biography.