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31 Days: The Crisis That Gave Us the Government We Have Today
by Barry Werth
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Nan A. Talese (2006-04-11)
ISBN: 0385513801
EAN: 9780385513807
Dewy Decimal #: 973.925092
Hardcover: 416 pages
Release Date: 2006-04-11
SKU: 29582
Condition: New
Comments: THE HARDBACK BOOK! TALESE, 2006. THE UNABRIDGED 1ST EDITION. HARDCOVER WITH GILT LETTERING, DUST JACKET AND PAGES ARE BRAND NEW! Rapid shipping w/FREE tracking. GREAT PACKAGING . Air Mail. YW.RD
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
In 31 Days, Barry Werth takes readers inside the White House during the tumultuous days following Nixon’s resignation and the swearing-in of America’s “accidental president,” Gerald Ford. The congressional hearings, Nixon’s increasing paranoia, and, finally, the devastating revelations of the White House tapes had torn the country apart. Within the White House and the Republican Party, Nixon’s resignation produced new fissures and battle lines—and new opportunities for political advancement.
Ford had to reassure the nation and the world that he would attend to the pressing issues of the day, from resolving the legal questions surrounding Nixon’s role in Watergate, to dealing with the wind down of the Vietnam War, the precarious state of détente with the Soviet Union, and the ongoing attempts to stabilize the Middle East. Within hours of Nixon’s departure from Washington, Ford began the all-important task of forming an inner circle of trusted advisers.
In richly detailed scenes, Werth describes the often vicious sparring among two mutually distrustful staffs—Nixon’s and Ford’s vice presidential holdovers—and a transition team that included Donald Rumsfeld (then Nixon’s ambassador to NATO) and Rumsfeld’s former deputy, the thirty-three-year-old coolly efficient Richard Cheney. The first detailed account of the ruthless maneuvering and day-to-day politicking behind everything from the pardon of Nixon to why George H. W. Bush was passed over for the vice presidency, to the rise of a new cadre of Republican movers and shakers, 31 Days offers a compelling perspective on a fascinating but relatively unexamined period in American history and its impact on the present.
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Customer Reviews
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A Man For the Times
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-03-09
Gerald Ford was a man for the times as he became President of the United States. Truly, the political times we have now are outlined in what we had then.
The pardon was a necessity at the time, and he paid for it, but history has now understood. What history will not understand is how we did not getit then and ended up with Jimmy Carter. History will not improve the malaise we had with him.
A good book for those interested in Ford or the post-Watergate era. Also a good book for those who want to understand some of the inside workings of a White House or the workings of those who are hungry for power and how they work to manipulate things in their own personal favor. Ford did not put up with much of that but it was all around him.
A good read.
stb.
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Rare Look At Ford
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-11-09
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Barry Werth's 31 Days is an intriguing look at the first 31 days of Gerald Ford's presidency. The book intertwines a look at Richard Nixon, Watergate and how staffers such as Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney would go on to help shape the political climate of today. Mr. Rumsfeld & Mr. Cheney are a very small part of the book (Cheney isn't really looked at all), but the overall tone foresees the Bush White House. Mr. Werth provides a short bio on Mr. Ford and how his decision to pardon Mr. Nixon essentially destroyed his re-election bid. Mr. Ford was the accidental president never being elected in a general election, but the ramifications of his short presidency set the stage for Reagan and the two Bushes.
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The transition from bad to good.
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-09-25
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
Nixon falls and we escalate Ford into the Presidency, after Agnew was knocked out of the picture as well. The brillance of our goverment and this book is that there were no tanks, no soldiers, no havoc. There was confusion and this book details how our goverment functioned during the most internal strife in the history of the Presidency that was not Assasination related. The author portrays Ford's intent to be a moral and strong leader very effectively. The book could have benefitted with some pictures from that period in time.
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Interesting look into Richard Nixon's pardon
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-08-13
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a fantastic book and I really enjoyed learning about how big a deal Watergate really was. As a person born after Watergate, I really don't know as much as I should about it and its impact on our government. Also, I've always assumed that Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon was shady at best; however, after reading the book, I have a new found respect for Gerald Ford and the difficulties he faced in office - pardoning Nixon was no easy decision.
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Fantastic account of historical events and future impact
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-06-13
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
31 Days provides an in-depth account of the first thirty-one days of Gerald Ford's presidency, from the delivery of Richard Nixon's resignation letter to Henry Kissinger to Ford's controversial pardon of the former President. The book provides an insider's perspective on the developments in the White House and at Nixon's residence in San Clemente during this time, and concludes with a fascinating epilogue which traces the progress of key players in the Ford administration through the Reagan, Bush Sr., and Bush Jr. administrations right up to the present-day controversies surrounding the war in Iraq.
I found the book to be engaging for several reasons. First, the day-by-day presentation (thirty-one chapters, one for each day of the period covered) is an imaginative means of communicating the significant events during this time. Additionally, the "behind closed doors" dialogue of individuals whose interests were sometimes aligned and sometimes in conflict constructs a detailed picture of the challenges and uncertainties driving the actions of the major players in power at the time. Finally, the book's development of the political paths not only of Ford and Nixon, but of Reagan, Bush Sr., Rumsfeld, and Cheney generates an intriguing connection between today's political landscape and events which happened over thirty years ago.
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