For someone who lived through Watergate, this was a walk down memory lane. Except not really. Before online media, the news and the weight of its meaning were tightly controlled. You only knew what those at the top decided you should know. In the late-1970s, a political buff had to wait for a book to learn about backroom maneuvering and non-mainstream points of view. Laskey’s book is one of those full disclosures after the fact. Laskey argues that politics has always been rough and largely defends Nixon by endlessly cataloging similar acts by his predecessors. Few of these parallel episodes were reported when our news came solely from network half-hour broadcasts, newspapers, and newsmagazines. Democrat dirty deeds were glossed over or dismissed. Although Laskey has some good points, it did Nixon little good and is now little more than a historical curiosity. What was more striking about the book was the deep hatred aimed at Nixon by Democrats and their media allies. Nixon’s enemi...