Nixon and Kissinger: Best Enemies Forever?

Robert Dallek will read from Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power on Monday, May 7, 2007, at 6:30 pm at the First Parish Church Meetinghouse. Tickets are $5 and are available at Harvard Book Store.

We read an excerpt of Robert Dallek's exhaustive book on Nixon and Kissinger's relationship in Vanity Fair, and we thought that former president Nixon and his secretary of state Kissinger behaved in a manner more suitable for teenage girls than powerful leaders.

Kissinger in particular was no prize according to the evidence Dallek uncovered: "Nixon did not anticipate the extent to which Kissinger, whom [Nixon] barely knew when he appointed him national-security adviser, in 1969, would be envious and high-strung - a maintenance project of the first order."

Kissinger was also underwhelmed by Nixon, whom he called "our drunken friend" and the "meatball mind." With these two winners running the nation, the United states didn't need enemies.

Dalleck found the gory details by listening to new Nixon tapes and poring over diaries from Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. Judging from all the fresh dirt he ground up, we hope he washed his hands after each research expedition!

All jokes about the sketchiness of the Nixon administration aside, the incredible records of the Nixon Administration offer a glimpse into how power works at the top, including how it can get personal and how it can go so wrong.

Image of Nixon and Kissinger from Barnes & Noble.