Product Description

Gerald Ford came to the presidency at the time of one of our nation's greatest constitutional crises, the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon in the aftermath of the Watergate affair. His service as president concluded a distinguished career in the House of Representatives during which he served as leader of the Republican Party in the House. With unrestricted access to Gerald Ford's papers, James M. Cannon tells the story of Ford's rise and Nixon's ruin, providing new insights into this troubling period of our history and Ford's role in guiding the nation through it. Cannon tells the story of Ford's difficult early life and the beginnings of his career in politics in the period immediately after World War II. He tells the story of Ford's rise to prominence in the House of Representatives during the 1950s and 1960s, giving us a fascinating picture of the Congress. In addition, in telling us about the personal life of Gerald Ford, he gives us a sense of the price Ford paid for his success.
"James Cannon, formerly national affairs editor at Newsweek and Ford's domestic policy advisor, has written a superbly provocative and arresting biography that traces Ford's life from his July 4, 1913, birth in Omaha, Nebraska, to his September 8,1974, decision to pardon Nixon of the Watergate conspiracy." --Washington Post Book World
James M. Cannon is a journalist and was Domestic Policy Adviser to President Ford and Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #707216 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Through an able retelling of the story of Watergate and Ford's ascension to the presidency, the author makes an arguable case for the integrity and accomplishments of the 38th president. Cannon, a former Newsweek editor who served as Ford's domestic policy adviser, writes in a brisk, episodic style, weaving together numerous interviews and documents, including excerpts from Ford's private papers. Cannon's sketch of Ford's youth in Grand Rapids, Mich. ("America at its best"), is deft, as is his account of Ford's political ascent, noting his subject's ability to cultivate people who could help him. In the background during the lengthy treatment of Watergate, Ford reappears when Cannon delves into how congressional leaders forced Nixon to choose their well-respected colleague to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew. About the reasoning behind Ford's pardon of Nixon, Cannon writes, "Ford simply believed it was the right thing to do." For Cannon, Ford's lack of showmanship was really a lack of pretense and one of the virtues that he believes made the Ford presidency as solid as the man himself. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
With the well-honed instincts of a former Newsweek editor and political adviser to President Ford and Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Cannon has produced a meticulously researched and beautifully crafted account of the political and personal style of Gerald R. Ford. Making heavy use of Ford's own papers and interviewing an impressive list of Ford intimates and administration personnel, Cannon provides a justifiably positive record of the life and times of the nation's first "instant President." Early chapters examine his difficult childhood prior to his mother's marriage to Gerald R. Ford, whose name he later adopted. While aficionados of political biography will enjoy the chapters detailing the young Representative Ford's climb up the House ladder, the real contribution of this work comes in the second half when Cannon details the agony of the new vice-president Ford, given the job on Spiro Agnew's political demise, as he watched his old friend and political colleague Richard Nixon destroy his presidency. Riveting and insight-filled, this book is highly recommended for all collections.
- Frank Kessler, Missouri Western State Coll., St. Joseph
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Though Cannon pays cursory attention to Ford's traumatic youth and his steady rise through the governmental ranks by dint of his own ambition and strength of character, the bulk of Cannon's detailed research is devoted to the critical years between 1968 and 1976. The author necessarily parallels Ford's meteoric rise with Richard Nixon's decline, chronicling the Watergate scandal and examining the facts surrounding Ford's controversial decision to grant Nixon a full pardon. While Cannon obviously admires Ford, he takes pains to present a balanced portrait. Margaret Flanagan

Customer Reviews

Focus on Ford's appointment with history
Cannon provides a fascinating account of how Gerald Ford went from planning in 1972 to retire from politics at the end of Nixon's term to becoming president of the United States. He covers Ford's childhood and life in the Navy and as a US representative in about 100 pages and spends most of the rest of the book discussing in amazing detail how he became vice-president and then president. The final chapter is a brief summary of Ford's presidential administration but nothing of life after politics.

The book is well-written and well-researched and remarkably free of bias, given that Cannon was a senior advisor in the Ford administration. Ford's decent and humble character is one of the themes of the book, as well as the idea that these traits are what led him to become president. His naivete is also evident.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the glaring weakness of the book is its brief coverage of Ford's administration, except for the issue of pardoning Nixon, which is covered in great detail.

I recommend the book as a tool for understanding Ford the man, for its careful analyis of the Watergate mess, and for describing how such a decent man could prosper in the cutthroat world of American politics. However, if you want to understand the policies of the Ford administration, you should look elsewhere.

An excellent biography that reads like a political thriller.
As a long time fan of Gerald Ford, I was pleased to read this excellent biography written by one who obviously also admires President Ford. Not only was it an interesting biography, but it was also a fascinating political thriller. Mr. Cannon pieced together a frightening, behind-the-scenes look of the Watergate break-in,the cover-up, the resignation of Spiro Agnew, and the machinations of Alexander Haig, during which time certain people (including Agnew) feared for their lives. He paints a picture of a President Nixon that is sinister and borderline mentally ill--who repeatedly used his office to intimidate his enemies and stop the investigation into Watergate. As I was reading the book and its details of Nixon's obstruciton of justice and illegal acts, the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton was ongoing. The issues surrounding the current impeachment appeared laughable in contrast to what I was reading of Nixon. Cannon supports Ford's claim that the pardon of Nixon was not the result of a deal with Nixon, but was Ford's only alternative to get the country moving again, with minute-by-minute accounts of those involved. Cannon makes the pardon seem as honorable as the man who gave it.

A masterful retelling of 2/3 of the story
Over the last several years, I've read more than 35 presidential biographies. I've used Amazon reviewers as very reliable guides to help me pick the best available biography. Time and Chance is highly recommended with one gigantic reservation. Reeves' book is tightly written in an almost breezy style. More than half of the book is a retelling of Watergate, and it is the most balanced and readable version of Watergate I've read.

Ford's difficult early childhood is covered as is his development into the all-American boy. His romance with a top model and his marriage to Betty are sympathetically explained. His service in World War II is well told, and we are given almost enough information about his years in the House of Representatives; however, I would have preferred more about Ford's responses to the many social issues that dominated the sixties.

Ford comes off as the ultimate straight-arrow, average kind of guy. Completely decent, unimaginative, pretty boring, and not altogether courageous in terms of dealing with people.

OK the failing. Except for Ford's decision to pardon Nixon which is described thoroughly, the rest of his presidency is given something like 25 pages. This is simply not enough. While Watergate and Ford's role in Nixon's resignation will be more remembered than Ford's actual presidency, I would have liked at least a more detailed synopsis of his challenges while he was president (in this respect Nagel`s excellent biography of John Quincy Adams has precisely the same problem). Up until now I've avoided the presidential books that only covered the presidential years, but for Gerald Ford probably a combination of Time and Chance and an overview of his presidency would be the best way to go.