Blind Ambition [Mass Market Paperback]

John dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1979

This New York Times bestseller is an insider's account of the fall of Richard Nixon and has remained an indispensable source into Nixon's presidency. BLIND AMBITION is an autobiographical account of a young lawyer who accelerated to the top of the Federal power structure to become Counsel to the President at thirty years of age, only to discover that when reaching the top he had touched the bottom. Most striking in this chronicle is its honesty. Dean spares no one, including himself. But, as TIME magazine noted, "Dean survived, despite the opposition of powerful foes...because he had no false story to protect and he had an amazing ability to recall the truth."

"(Dean's) lawyer warned him before he testified, 'Don't waste their time telling them what a nice guy you are.' He has apparently taken this advice to heart." (New York Times Book Review)

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

11 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From AudioFile

Even if it's only 75 percent accurate, this book is scarier than any Stephen King novel and should remind us all about unchecked governmental power. Edward Holland reads as if he was born to narrate Dean's words. His steady baritone lends an air of credibility to his performance, and the words seem natural coming from him. It's possible to forget that you're listening to a narrator. At times, he lapses into a pseudo-Nixon, but otherwise he lets the characters' words announce their intentions. Holland is also subtle, drawing the listener in with measured tones, then punctuating the text with forceful enunciation whenever Dean shows the White House crowd to be less than factual. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket (April 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671823434
• ISBN-13: 978-0671823436
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,158,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is better than anything Clintongate has to offer, January 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blind Ambition (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book 20 years ago whilst on vacation. Its contents have remained clearly with me until today - the excitement of getting plucked from 'nowhere' and given the job of White House counsel to the president - the concern as the Watergate break-in takes on a life of its own and eventually goes out of control - bringing down the American Government - John Dean's book remains, for me at least, a classic study of creeping disillusionment with high office. Not to be bettered.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still compelling after all these years., December 31, 2000

By 

Catherine E. Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blind Ambition (Mass Market Paperback)

I have just re-read my original paperback copy of Blind Ambition. It remains as enthralling today as it was when I originally read it several years ago. If you have any interest in the Nixon-Watergate history, this is a must read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Least self-serving of a string of Watergate bios, March 8, 2000

By 

Darrell Goodman (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blind Ambition (Mass Market Paperback)

Let's not forget who John Dean was, and what he did.

John Dean was, depending on your point of view, either a scorpion whose sole purpose was the covering of his own behind, or a young man, as Nixon put it later, in way over his head, struggling to contain a situation he didn't understand.

In either case, Blind Ambition is my personal favourite and least self-serving of all the Watergate biographies. Dean, while making every attempt to present his actions in a favourable light, doesn't leave any of them out, and freely acknowledges his complicity in unethical and criminal behaviour.

This book is readable and intelligent. And, after struggling to contain the nausea I felt after reading Haldeman's simpering, transparent gibberish (The Ends of Power), refreshing. So far as I can tell, Dean has written the most honest and frank book of all the Watergate participants. It correlates to all the Watergate indexes and chronologies I've seen.

You may still think he was a snake, but you will, I believe, come away with a better understanding of the Nixon White House. Very much worth a read.