Books in Brief: The World and Richard Nixon

The World and Richard Nixon, by C. L. Sulzberger (Prentice Hall, 320 pp., $18.95)

C.L. Sulzberger has written a balanced, if somewhat superficial, analysis of the foreign-policy record of the Nixon Presidency, including such topics as the fall of Allende in Chile, the dispute between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus, the opening to China, shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, U.S.-Soviet détente, and the war in Indochina. Nixon is given high marks as a foreign-policy conceptualizer and strategist; Henry Kissinger is praised for his negotiating and tactical skills. There are no new revelations in this book, and very few novel insights. Sulzberger quotes extensively from personal interviews with the former President, and borrows generously from Nixon’s post-presidential writings and Kissinger’s memoirs, but he does not accept their arguments or versions of events uncritically. For example, while Sulzberger agrees that Congress, by limiting and eventually cutting off aid to our South Vietnamese ally, deserves a large share of the blame for the failure of the “Vietnamization” policy, he also faults Nixon, always an astute politician, for not recognizing the inevitable political emptiness of his “guarantee” to the South Vietnamese leadership. The author does not hide his sympathy and admiration for Nixon, portraying him as a tragic figure —skilled, knowledgeable, and respected on the international stage, but uncertain and often reviled at home. It is Sulzberger’s belief that “Nixon will be less remembered by history for his dismal role in Watergate and his defeat in Vietnam than for his visionary view and steady hand in defining and implementing the role of the United States at a crucial time in world affairs …” I think that is an accurate assessment. But I would add an important caveat: In the area of U.S.-Soviet relations, it is arguable that the Nixon-Kissinger policy of détente encouraged unattainable expectations and dangerous illusions about the nature of the superpower rivalry.

FS

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Francis P. Sempa

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The World and Richard Nixon, by C. L. Sulzberger (Prentice Hall, 320 pp., $18.95)

C.L. Sulzberger has written a balanced, if somewhat superficial, analysis of the foreign-policy record of the Nixon Presidency, including such topics as the fall of Allende in Chile, the dispute between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus, the opening to China, shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, U.S.-Soviet détente, and the war in Indochina. Nixon is given high marks as a foreign-policy conceptualizer and strategist; Henry Kissinger is praised for his negotiating and tactical skills. There are no new revelations in this book, and very few novel insights. Sulzberger quotes extensively from personal interviews with the former President, and borrows generously from Nixon’s post-presidential writings and Kissinger’s memoirs, but he does not accept their arguments or versions of events uncritically. For example, while Sulzberger agrees that Congress, by limiting and eventually cutting off aid to our South Vietnamese ally, deserves a large share of the blame for the failure of the “Vietnamization” policy, he also faults Nixon, always an astute politician, for not recognizing the inevitable political emptiness of his “guarantee” to the South Vietnamese leadership. The author does not hide his sympathy and admiration for Nixon, portraying him as a tragic figure —skilled, knowledgeable, and respected on the international stage, but uncertain and often reviled at home. It is Sulzberger’s belief that “Nixon will be less remembered by history for his dismal role in Watergate and his defeat in Vietnam than for his visionary view and steady hand in defining and implementing the role of the United States at a crucial time in world affairs …” I think that is an accurate assessment. But I would add an important caveat: In the area of U.S.-Soviet relations, it is arguable that the Nixon-Kissinger policy of détente encouraged unattainable expectations and dangerous illusions about the nature of the superpower rivalry.