The significance of any person in history, no matter how complex, can be captured in one sentence, Clare Booth Luce once told Richard Nixon. "You will be summed up: He went to China," she declared.
Her estimation came before Watergate. "Now," Nixon said a few years ago, "historians are more likely to lead with 'He resigned from office.' The jury has already come in, and there's nothing that's going to change it. There's no appeal. Historians will judge it harshly."
He was right of course, as hard-eyed and tough about himself as he had been about other people all his life....
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
