Crazy Rhythm: My Journey from Brooklyn, Jazz, and Wall Street to Nixon's White House, Watergate, and Beyond... [Hardcover]

Leonard Garment (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 1997

In a smart, swinging memoir, Garment gives his version of the immigrant's coming-of-age story, telling readers how a liberal Jewishjazz musician became one of President Nixon's most trusted advisers and Washington's most influential lawyers--finally arriving at the grim, chaotic center of the Watergate scandal. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Leonard Garment, a current mainstay of the unelected elite who all but run Washington, was a close friend and adviser to Richard Nixon for 30 years. Indeed, at the height of Watergate, he was Nixon's lawyer. The part of this book that covers those White House years is elevated above the norm by Garment's honest, human presence--after all, this is the guy who advised Nixon not to destroy the Oval Office tapes. His humanity comes to the fore in the parts that cover his non-Watergate political forays, his pre-law career as a professional jazz musician, and his personal psychological difficulties. Yet, in his account of his life as a Washington fixer, the mark of Milhous is still visible. When he describes being the lawyer for a Reagan administration official who routinely taped phone calls without the knowledge of those on the other end of the line, Garment pooh-poohs the laws banning this practice and is a little too gleeful about the course of action he had his client take: destroying the tapes.

From Publishers Weekly

A self-described "birthright Democrat and lifelong liberal" born in Brooklyn to immigrant Eastern European Jews, Garment never really satisfactorily explains how or why he became Richard Nixon's friend, campaign strategist and political crony, serving as the President's special consultant and counsel. They met in 1963 as partners in Garment's Wall Street law firm, after Nixon, having lost his bid to become governor of California, moved east to make a fresh political start. Garment, who acted as Nixon's informal liaison to the American Jewish community and to Israel, also defused Native American protests and worked on federal arts programs and school desegregation. He lamely defends his attempt to help the President ride out the Watergate scandal. He offers valuable close-ups of Nixon's rise to power and White House maneuvers. His candid life story includes moments of high drama, such as a 1969 diplomatic mission to Moscow during which he fed his KGB hosts hours of disinformation; as well as personal tragedies, notably the 1976 suicide of his first wife, depressive soap-opera scriptwriter Grace Albert. Currently a Washington, D.C., lawyer, Garment writes with an open mind and a fine-tuned sense of humor. His biography is a moving testimony to a remarkable career. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 418 pages
• Publisher: Times Books; 1ST edition (February 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812928873
• ISBN-13: 978-0812928877
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,826,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just Another Nixon Book..., December 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Crazy Rhythm: My Journey from Brooklyn, Jazz, and Wall Street to Nixon's White House, Watergate, and Beyond... (Hardcover)

I was enticed by this book from the moment I read about Garment's lively performance of "Tiptoe through the Tulips" at age 7 in his father's dress making factory. Having read several Watergate books, I felt that this one was different for one specific reason; Garment makes Nixon into a human being, and helps to bring Nixon's several positive qualities to life (such as his wonderful foreign policy) that many Watergate-related authors have falied to acknowledge. I especially loved the ending of the book at his daughter Annie's Bat-Mitzvah; it was a wonderful conclusion to to a nostalgic story. I am left with only one question...when will the movie be out?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some of the questions are answered in a very human story., May 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Crazy Rhythm: My Journey from Brooklyn, Jazz, and Wall Street to Nixon's White House, Watergate, and Beyond... (Hardcover)

Garment shines a little light on some of the more puzzling questions of the Nixon administration and on Iran/contra. He writes as he speaks, conversational and wandering. That's the book's salvation, however: finally here's the human side of some of the darker moments in Republican government. We see how the three branches, press and other groups play off each other to achieve their goals. Like any good serial author, he leaves us hungry for the next book, which will "tell all" about Watergate. I can't wait