Dawn's Reviews > The Final Days

I started this book right around the New Year and the timing felt very appropriate. I had a lot of trouble deciding whether to give this book 3 stars or 4. Cue the usual complaint about goodreads not letting a reader give out half stars. Given my choice, I would probably give 3 and a half, just based on my actual enjoyment. Don't get me wrong. This book is incredibly well written and the subject matter is certainly fascinating. My copy is from the actual Watergate era and the publishers (and authors?) wisely included an Agatha Christie style character list in the front of the book. That list alone took up 5 pages. It was great to be able to go back and refer to the list. I almost wish they had included a map of the important locations, as Christie did in some of her books. So, on to the rest of the book! I found the first half of the book to be pretty dry reading. I don't want to fault the authors for this too much, though. It may just be that I found the first half redundant since I had already read All the President's men back in 2018. I'm not sure if that's it or not. Also, the first half of the book jumps around in time a little bit, which may be confusing for some people. A lot happens in this book and you do have to pay close attention. Keep that character list handy! The second half is when everything starts to really fall apart for Nixon. Surely I don't need to do a spoiler alert here, do I? Just in case, I won't say anything too specific. Just know that the second half is highly entertaining, but also maddening and very tragic. It should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who wants to get into politics or serve in any kind of leadership role. My fear is that many people have not (and will not) take it as such and will instead think to themselves while reading " I bet I could have gotten away with it." I find that chilling, but I'm virtually certain that someone has had those thoughts while reading. It's a fantastic history lesson and I think that anyone even somewhat interested in 20th century American history would enjoy the book. Also, if you never read All the President's Men the first half may not feel as dry to you. I seriously doubt that Bob Woodward and/or Carl Bernstein will ever see this, but....Thank You, Mr. Woodward and Mr. Bernstein. You have both done a great service to your country. Many great services, actually! To everyone else who chooses to read this-enjoy the journey and marvel that it actually happened.