DIRTY POLITICS: From 1776 to Watergate

by Michael Dorman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 27, 1979

Dorman's subtitle promises more back history than his 300-page book delivers: fully half the text is devoted to a chronicle of the Watergate affair and more than half of the remainder draws its examples from the last 30 years or so. Thus, this has something of the air of a padded, belated Watergate book, all the less essential as Dorman makes no attempt at political analysis and his concluding discussion of reform proposals seems lame in light of the creative skulduggery he's just reviewed. Nevertheless, it does behoove the naive and uninformed to realize that ""Almost since the founding of the Republic, prominent men in America have been involved in attempts to thwart the will of the electorate""; and Dorman cites case after case of backroom deals, intimidation, gerrymandering, spying, vote-buying, forgery, smears, distortion, dirty tricks, rigged machines, and outright ballot fraud. For example, ""President Grant used every possible means including military force to try to ensure Hayes' election"" in 1876; 203 hastily ""found"" ballots in machine-run south Texas sent Lyndon Johnson to the Senate; and ""all available evidence supports Humphrey's charge"" that Kennedy forces bought his West Virginia primary victory. As for Watergate itself, ""the all-time low in American political ethics,"" students trying to sort out all the public and private developments will be grateful for Dorman's step-by-step guide through the tangled web of coverup maneuvers, shifting blame, tapes, transcripts, subpoenas, hearings, committees--the whole sordid story in manageable synopsis.

Pub Date: Dec. 27, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION