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Epicurus.com - Frost/Nixon: Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $10.97
Your Save: $ 3.98 ( 27% )
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Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.924092
EAN: 9780061445866
ISBN: 006144586X
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2007-11-01
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: 2007-10-23
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Reviews:
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Following the resounding success of the eponymous West End and Broadway hit play, Frost/Nixon tells the extraordinary story of how Sir David Frost pursued and landed the biggest fish of his career -- and how the series drew larger audiences than any news interview ever had in the United States, before being shown all over the world.This is Frost's absorbing story of his pursuit of Richard Nixon, and is no less revealing of his own toughness and pertinacity than of the ex-President's elusiveness. Frost's encounters with such figures as Swifty Lazar, Ron Ziegler, potential sponsors, and Nixon as negotiator are nothing short of hilarious, and his insight into the taping of the programs themselves is fascinating. Frost/Nixon provides the authoritative account of the only public trial that Nixon would ever have, and a revelation of the man's character as it appeared in the stress of eleven grueling sessions before the cameras. Including historical perspective and transcripts of the edited interviews, this is the story of Sir David Frost's quest to produce one of the most dramatic pieces of television ever broadcast, described by commentators at the time as "a catharsis" for the American people.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Mysterious Man
Comment: What are the words that describe this man? Mysterious. Illusive. Battling demons beyond scope. Criminal? No, we're not talking about forty three here, but a predecessor from the same political party that managed nearly to destroy the Presidency by creating one of the greatest Constitutional crises in our current history. Richard M. Nixon, much vilified, rarely understood, now almost a caricature of himself; a president that won convincing victories, that almost no one knew.
Much has been written about him to attempt to penetrate the personality of this enigma, without much success. Along comes veteran reporter David Frost, offering to interview the president after his disgraceful resignation from office, giving him a chance to air his opinions on the scandal that brought him ruin. The aired interviews created a sensation, with the former president making rash statements that the president is above the law with any action, and showing some (albeit somewhat feigned remorse) for Watergate.
This book is a behind the scenes peek at the process that went on to get Nixon to speak; the rationale for the interviews, the negotiating and bargaining that went on to ensure Frost would have access to ask the hard questions, and Frost's own assessment of the Nixon presidency.
Having read it before seeing the movie is probably a good thing. Frost is an engaging writer, who doesn't dwell in small, irrelevant details, but paints broadly his impression of Nixon, with sometimes surprising conclusions. His accounting of the interviews was very insightful -- his decision to open the interview with the question, "Why didn't you burn the tapes?", to his consistent pressing of Watergate points, as if he were a prosecuting attorney. In fact, Frost and America viewed this interview as the now pardoned Nixon's trial, to see what the man would have said should he come under judicial review. That is purely fascinating.
Frost's closing assessment of the Nixon presidency offers points to argue, but it's a fresh assessment, separated from Watergate, which is usually all anyone remembers of Nixon anymore. Nixon wasn't a domestic president, but his record on civil rights and the environment was very forward thinking (Frost thinks Nixon would appease anyone to get support for his Vietnam strategy). In fact, Nixon seriously considered universal health care at one point (HMO's eventually won).
This book was a quick, insightful easy read. The end of the book contains over a hundred pages of transcripts from the interview. In fact, you can now purchase a DVD of some of the interview, out today -- Frost/Nixon: The Original Watergate Interviews. Personally, Nixon fascinates me in a way that you can't help but looking at a car wreck. I was but four or five when the man resigned office, and I thought for awhile that Watergate was a scandal because someone left the sprinklers on at the White House and things got flooded. I don't think we are done with our inspection of the man, his presidency, and the scandal that nearly brought our country to its knees.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Easy to Read and Interesting...
Comment: I enjoyed this book and thought that this book was fair, especially with the new assessments of President Nixon's administration with many positive accomplishments. David Frost comes across as very fair and thorough. I would have given this book five stars but I did not enjoy co-writer Bob Zelnick's involvement. He seemed to consider the interviews as a personal opportunity to "get" the president, while Frost is a balanced journalist who had no personal bias. Also, I was surprised that the word "ah" is included in all of Nixon's transcripted comments. I've read many transcripts and quotes from all types of people in books over the years and I've never seen this done even though when you watch the live interview with the person who was quoted, they do say the word "ah" or make other noises/sounds. I thought that by printing "ah" in all of Nixon's quotes but only once printing it when Frost was speaking is odd. I think it was unnecessary and only serves to distract the reader from getting the message. If this was common practice in all books, I wouldn't find it odd, but I've never seen it done before in any other book on any other person. Other than that, this book is worth reading.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent coverage of Nixon
Comment: An excellent transcript and narrative of David Frost's interviews with President Richard Nixon. The author keeps an interesting flow while detailing all the behind the scenes activity of the production teams and Nixon's frame of mind during the process.
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Summary: The Origin of our Current Political Culture
Comment: Frost never quite comes out and says it, but it is clear reading the book that Nixon ultimately won. Nixon didn't "win" in the interview with Frost, but Nixon's paranoid views and his belief in unlimited presidential authority have prevailed. Things that Nixon said in the interviews that were considered outrageous in 1977 are now the mainstream position of the Republican party. Definitely a must-read to find out how we got into the mess we are in. Thank you David Frost.
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