31 Days: The Crisis That Gave Us the Government We Have Today

While the scandal known as Watergate has sired a number of books that explore the period, few authors have taken the path of exploring the aftermath of the scandal. In "31 Days" Barry Werth does a commendable job of not only documenting history, but capturing the feeling of the era. After Nixon resigned, a man ascended to the presidency that was planning to leave politics only a short time earlier. In his first 31 days in office, Gerald Ford enjoyed an adoring public as the cold and hidden administration of Richard Nixon faded into memory. Ford was initially a favorable president. This changed on his 31st day in office when he pardoned Richard Nixon for his role in Watergate. Werth provides readers with real insight into the characters of Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon. Few have noted the deteriorated state, both mentally and physically, of Nixon after his resignation. Werth also tries to demonstrate Ford's motivation for the pardon. While Ford saw it as the merciful action to take, he also drew a parallel to his own strained relationship with his biological father. While only serving three years in office, Gerald Ford's mark on the presidency may seem insignificant. However, his initial days in office were marked by turmoil and controversy. Though the pardon soiled his presidency in its time, current reflection seems to suggest it was the correct thing to do.

Gerald Ford would have been a great president, if he won in 1976. As it was, he was average but is given high marks for his handling of the post Watergate era in the White House. In this very readable book by Werth, Ford is shown in his first 31 days after taking over the Presidency. Not only was Ford his own man, but he made some tough decisions. One of those tough decisions was in pardoning Nixon. Ford pardoned Nixon on principle. He didn't want the nation to lose focus on other more pressing issues such as inflation and the energy crisis. He took a lot of heat for this decision and may have lost the election because of this. However, he felt he did the right thing. This is a nice read for those interested in Watergate and the presidency of Gerald R. Ford. Because of this book, I came to respect the difficult decisions Ford made in the White House.

31 Days provides an in-depth account of the first thirty-one days of Gerald Ford's presidency, from the delivery of Richard Nixon's resignation letter to Henry Kissinger to Ford's controversial pardon of the former President. The book provides an insider's perspective on the developments in the White House and at Nixon's residence in San Clemente during this time, and concludes with a fascinating epilogue which traces the progress of key players in the Ford administration through the Reagan, Bush Sr., and Bush Jr. administrations right up to the present-day controversies surrounding the war in Iraq. I found the book to be engaging for several reasons. First, the day-by-day presentation (thirty-one chapters, one for each day of the period covered) is an imaginative means of communicating the significant events during this time. Additionally, the "behind closed doors" dialogue of individuals whose interests were sometimes aligned and sometimes in conflict constructs a detailed picture of the challenges and uncertainties driving the actions of the major players in power at the time. Finally, the book's development of the political paths not only of Ford and Nixon, but of Reagan, Bush Sr., Rumsfeld, and Cheney generates an intriguing connection between today's political landscape and events which happened over thirty years ago.

My first political job was in President Ford's White House in 1975. I went in at a very low level, and on my second day all the Nixon people quit. I had no idea what I was doing, however, people who did were brought in did, it was an open environment, and we did what we had to do. Fortunately, I wasn't in charge of national security. This book is excellent. I have worked in many political jobs and around many politicians since President Ford. What he did for our country needs to recognized. It's time to do that. This book is an excellent start. It reads like the show "24." I think then people around President Ford are written well. And it is like reading people's mind. I do believe that if President Ford's first 31 days were dealing with the Nixon papers, the Nixon people, and the Nixon pardon --- among running the nation, run away inflation, and foreign policy. Thank you, Mr Werth, for reminding us that President Ford is responsible for Alan Greenspan.

For those of us old enough to remember the summer of 1974 when the House Judiciary Committee voted articles of impeachment which ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, Barry Werth's new book, "31 Days" is a wonderful chronicle of that time. Although the book begins with the Nixon resignation (after the House vote) and ends essentially with Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon, Werth presents a fascinating view of 1974....not only regarding the political scene but related areas which affected President Ford during his first month in office. Needless to say, Ford entered the presidency as no one before him had. He needed to make decisions about the soaring inflation the United States was facing as well as growing unemployment on the homefront. In international policy Ford had to address not only the beleaguered American presence in Vietnam, the continuing problems in the Middle East but also a coup and subsequent Turkish invasion of Cyprus. On top of that Ford needed to find a vice-president.... to replace himself. However, the largest piece of the picture was what would Ford do with Nixon? "31 Days" centers around this aspect and it's a fascinating walk down memory lane. How it was that Gerald Ford decided how and when to pardon the disgraced former president makes "31 Days" riveting. No one had a clue that Ford would use his power of pardon and Werth accurately describes the aftermath of that early September announcement. The honeymoon Ford enjoyed was over in a flash. Yet it is also a good connection that the author makes about how Ford might have decided things with regard to Nixon....he was contemplating a concurrent, limited amnesty for Vietnam draft dodgers and as he wanted them to "work their way back" into American society, so, too, had Ford wished to get a deeper sense of "mea culpa" from Nixon....something he really never got. As Werth points out, Ford's own relationship with his natural father and his peacemaking abilities he demonstrated between his father and mother almost certainly played a role in Ford's pardon. He simply wanted to do what was right for the good of the country and move on with life. However, as Werth points out in his epilogue, Ford's actions made things worse....it cost the Republicans massively in the midterm elections that fall and without a doubt contributed to Ford's narrow loss to Jimmy Carter in 1976. There are one or two things which reminded me of how long ago 1974 seems, sometimes. One cannot even fathom today a Republican president choosing a moderate to liberal Republican like Nelson Rockefeller as his vice-president. To think as well that Democrats controlled the Congress in large numbers...many of their ranks coming from southern states. Werth makes some good parallels to the current administration, noting that Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney were instrumental characters during the Ford years. And as if the author weren't prescient enough.... how alike the Bush White House is to Nixon's......two