NPR

'Nixon: The Life' Humanizes — But Doesn't Rehabilitate

John A. Farrell's new biography of Richard Nixon contains a bombshell about Nixon's interference in a Vietnam peace deal — and that's just one of the book's many extensively-researched revelations.
Source: CBS Photo Archive

Did Richard Nixon commit treason? Some evidence to that effect has been around for years, specifically in regard to what's become known as the Chennault Affair. According to the theory, Anna Chennault — a Chinese-American Republican insider — sabotaged Lyndon Johnson's efforts to strike a peace deal in Vietnam in October of 1968, and she did so at the direct request of the soon-to-be 37th President.

The purported goal of this treasonous act was, presents the Chennault Affair as more than a theory. Farrell substantiates the charges of Nixon's treachery with a slew of new facts, many drawn from a newly unearthed stash of notes written by Nixon's White House Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
Gaza Solidarity Protests Sweep U.S. Colleges; SCOTUS Tackles Starbucks Union Case
Tensions are high as campus protests over the war in Gaza stretch across the U.S. The Supreme Court will hear a case about pro-union Starbucks employees.
NPR6 min read
A Hunk Of Space Junk Crashed Through A Florida Man's Roof. Who Should Pay To Fix It?
"It was not like anything I had ever seen before," Alejandro Otero says. It turned out his home was hit by debris from the International Space Station that had been circling the Earth for three years.
NPR5 min readFinance & Money Management
Housing Experts Say There Just Aren't Enough Homes In The U.S.
The United States is millions of homes short of demand, and lacks enough affordable housing units. And many Americans feel like housing costs are eating up too much of their take-home pay.

Related Books & Audiobooks