Healing Richard Nixon: A Doctor's Memoir

By John C. Lungren

Book Overview

Richard M. Nixon remains an enigma even thirty years after his resignation. Of the many portraits of this complex man, none have been more intimate or revealing than this memoir from his personal physician, friend, and confidante of more than forty years, John C. Lungren, M.D. Dr. Lungren, with his son and co-author John C. Lungren Jr., portrays Nixon as a paradoxical man--intense, compassionate, guarded, intelligent, resilient, deeply religious, enormously successful but ultimately tragic.

Lungren describes his battle to restore the president's health after his resignation and reveals previously unknown details about Nixon's two intensive hospitalizations, his near fatal vascular collapse, and his depression. Lungren experienced firsthand Nixon's thoughts and feelings during the public scrutiny of federal prosecution for his role in the Watergate break-in. Accused of shielding his friend, Lungren himself came under fire; his private office was even burgled in an apparent attempt to copy Nixon's private medical records.

Using previously unpublished sources, original correspondence, and private photographs, Healing Richard Nixon places Nixon in a new light. No future research or conclusions about Nixon--the man or the president--will be complete without consulting this fascinating memoir.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813122740
• ISBN13: 9780813122748
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A different take on Richard Nixon

I have read several books about Watergate and have a three volume biography of President Nixon. Their coverage of his life was less than flattering. It was good to see that underneath the scandal and his colossal mistakes, he was really a decent man who loved his wife and daughters.

My thoughts

This is a wonderfully well-written book that gives the reader an insightful look into the post-resignation life of RMN. The unique perspective that only Nixon's personal doctor could provide is refreshing and makes for a very interesting read.