The Nixons: A Family Portrait
Introduction From The Nixons: A Family Portrait
Strangers at the airport, at the restaurant, on the street often stare at my profile. Some hear me speak. The bold ones ask, “Are you related to Richard Nixon?” Others simply inquire, “Are you related?” I guess my nose and voice are dead giveaways.
For some people, meeting me is one degree of separation from meeting my famous brother. Reporters, autograph seekers, and people naturally curious about my life want to know, “What was it like growing up as Richard Nixon’s brother? How did being related to the President affect your life?”
To answer accurately, I’d have to say Dick was more than a brother. Because we never shared a boyhood, he assumed the role of assistant father and mentor. At the time of my birth, he was seventeen and getting ready to start college. But he realized he could be an important influence in my life, and he took his self-imposed responsibility seriously, always listening to his kid brother. I considered Dick to be outgoing with his ears—not with his mouth. Through thought-provoking questions, he encouraged me to learn and solve problems. More than anyone else in the family, he could stand back from a contentious situation and give impartial and convincing advice.
Frank and Hannah Nixon raised five sons—Harold, Dick, Don, Arthur, and me—in a close-knit family, teaching us the importance of religious faith, traditional values, and a strong work ethic. Family life revolved around Dad and Mom’s store, the Quaker church, and family gatherings. In many ways, Dick’s rise from humble beginnings to the presidency of the United States epitomizes the American dream—a dream in which my family and I participated.
Yet, I’ve done nothing to deserve public notice except to be related to a celebrity. Although not well-known in my own right, I’ve lived all my adult life in the shadow of one of the most influential and controversial men in the twentieth century, and such proximity has led me down paths I otherwise would not have trod. When Dick became President, doors opened that put my family and me in the midst of exciting and historic endeavors and gave us access to national and foreign leaders everywhere we traveled. Suddenly, heads of state, reporters, and business leaders sought my opinions both on Dick’s presidency and on environmental issues. As the President’s brother and a geologist, I welcomed the chance to share my view of the Earth in many developing countries.
While my family and I are truly grateful for the many opportunities we’ve had, there also have been times of grief and pain. With fame comes risk. What happens when the celebrity falls from favor and is fairly or unfairly attacked in the press? What impact does that have on the family?
Over the years, friends and acquaintances have urged me to write the stories about Dick and our family that I’ve told in public speeches and privately. My brother Don, too, would often say, “We’ve got to write a book.”
In August 1997, I wrote a few letters of inquiry to New York publishers but received no encouragement on my book proposal. Then on December 3, 1998, I heard my niece, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, speak at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace. At the luncheon following her speech, an acquaintance asked me how I was coming on my book. I told him, “I haven’t made any progress. I need a writer to help me get it moving.” At that point, Karen Olson, the lady sitting next to him, jumped up and said, “I’ll help you!”
I learned that Karen had her own story of meeting my brother and that she lived not far from me in the Seattle area. After hearing her describe that meeting, our collaboration began in earnest.
Because memories, some more than seventy-five-years-old, are fragmentary and fallible, I have tried to confirm my recollections with family members and friends who participated in the events. Karen did extensive research on the people and occurrences mentioned in the book. I included dialogue only when my memories of those conversations are vivid or when quotations appeared in published sources. Conversations with family members were easy to reconstruct; I can still hear them talking in their distinctive manner.
While volumes have been written about Dick’s life, this book includes never-before-published material about him, our family, and my own life from a perspective only I can give. In some instances, The Nixons: A Family Portrait sets the record straight, correcting the errors that have been written and disseminated. Readers seeking tell-all gossip, however, will be disappointed. No, Dick did not share with me any revelations on Watergate. Instead, we discussed matters that seemed to us far more important.
In this book, I have attempted to answer the many questions that pique people’s curiosity. I share a positive view of the Nixons, examining our heritage and the influence it had on all of us. I also recount the experiences I had with Dick during my youth and adulthood. Through these anecdotes—snapshots, so to speak—my goal is to give readers a personal portrait of Dick and our family. I hope people will consider Dick’s character, accomplishments, and legacy in a new light. Finally, I hope to rekindle interest in what Dick taught this nation. The wisdom and knowledge he left us certainly bear upon the challenges we face today.
