The Nixons: A Family Portrait
President Richard M. Nixon
Much has been written about my brother, his Presidency and his legacy. With this book, I add personal and anecdotal stories about his life. I share my perspective on the man, his accomplishments, and what we can learn from him for the future. Chapter 11 summarizes the highlights of the “The Nixon Legacy”. The Appendix includes extensive quotes from Dick’s final book Beyond Peace, creating a “Richard Nixon on the Issues” compilation that remains relevant to the issues of this day.
Dick concluded his final book with a challenge to each one of us to strive for excellence and to recover the sense of mission that made this country great. He wrote:
"Our challenge today is a positive one – a challenge to build, not to destroy, a challenge to be for, not just against, a challenge to be driven not by our fears but by our hopes."1
I hope each reader of The Nixons: A Family Portrait will find new insight and understanding about the true legacy of Richard Milhous Nixon. I hope this book sets the record a little straighter for much has been written that is distorted, inaccurate or unbalanced. History will eventually decide the best measure of this man, hopefully by remembering his accomplishments and his life in its totality as suggested by the memorial tributes he received.
FROM HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE
"In the conduct of foreign policy, Richard Nixon was one of the seminal presidents. He came into office when the forces of history were moving America from a position of dominance to one of leadership. Dominance reflects strength; leadership must be earned. And Richard Nixon earned that leadership role for his country with courage, dedication, and skill."2
From the Hon. Robert Dole:
"It is true that no man knew the world better than Richard Nixon. As a result the man who was born in a house his father built would go on to become this century’s greatest architect of peace. But we should also not underestimate President Nixon’s domestic achievements."3
FROM PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON:
"Oh yes, he knew great controversy amid defeat as well as victory. He made mistakes, and they, like his accomplishments, are a part of his life and record. But the enduring lesson of Richard Nixon is that he never gave up being part of the action and passion of his times. He said many times that unless a person has a goal, a new mountain to climb, his spirit will die. Well, based on our last phone conversation and the letter he wrote me just a month ago. I can say that his spirit was very much alive to the very end.
That is a great tribute to him, to his wonderful wife, Pat, to his children and to his grandchildren, whose love he so depended on and whose love he returned in full measure. Today is a day for his family, his friends, and his nation to remember President Nixon’s life in its totality.
To them, let us say: may the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close. May we heed his call to maintain the will and the wisdom to build on America’s greatest gift, its freedom, and to lead a world full of difficulty to the just and lasting peace he dreamed of."4
1Richard Nixon, Beyond Peace (1994), 250.
2Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, 56th Secretary of State, in eulogy made at President Nixon’s funeral on April 27, 1994. Link accessed 17 January 2007.
3Richard M. Nixon: Late a President of the United States: Memorial Tributes Delivered in Congress (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996) 7.
4“Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States”, in eulogy made at President’s funeral on April 27, 1994. Link accessed 17 January 2007.
