Richard Nixon

Born in 1913 on a modest citrus ranch in Yorba Linda, California, Richard Milhous Nixon rose from a hardscrabble Quaker upbringing to become one of the most consequential and controversial figures in American history. After excelling at Whittier College and Duke Law School, serving in the Navy during World War II, and building a national reputation as a relentless anti-communist in Congress, Nixon became Dwight Eisenhower’s vice president in 1952. The famous “Checkers” speech saved his place on the ticket and introduced him to millions.

Narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy in 1960 and by Pat Brown for governor of California in 1962, Nixon seemed finished. Yet in 1968 he staged a remarkable comeback, winning the presidency amid the turmoil of the Vietnam War and domestic unrest. As president he opened relations with China, negotiated the first arms-control agreements with the Soviet Union, ended the military draft, and created the Environmental Protection Agency. He also expanded the Vietnam War into Cambodia, imposed wage-and-price controls, and oversaw a re-election campaign that spiraled into the Watergate scandal.

Facing certain impeachment, Nixon became the only U.S. president to resign, leaving office on August 9, 1974. After years of exile and partial rehabilitation as an elder statesman, he died in 1994. This biography traces his life from the citrus groves of California to the Oval Office and beyond, examining both the achievements that reshaped the Cold War and the abuses of power that permanently damaged public trust in government.