Customer Reviews

Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment With History

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

We as a country were extremely lucky and benefited greatly from the presidency of Gerald Ford. When he took over the presidency, this country was torn apart. Rather than appealing to the worst in American politics by pitting Americans against each other,(as has been done recently)he methodically and expertly began to bring us together.

The Republican Party that I belonged to during those times and under President Ford's leadership was largely free of radical fundamentalism and extreme right-wing positions. There were no Rush Limbaughs or Michael Savages. There were no nationally known ministers claiming natural disasters were the wrath of God visited on an apostate nation. The Ford presidency and the Republican Party of that time actually had concern for social issues and was quite progressive.

President Ford led by steady, common sense and a humble heart. I remember being so saddened by his loss to Jimmy Carter, knowing that we, as a nation, would lose such an able leader. After Carter's election, the Republican party decided to appeal to the fears, rather than the hopes and aspirations of America. Since that time there has never been an election where the American people were not thoroughly divided. Our political dialogue is absurdly partisan, and 'attack and spin' meisters are the order of the day on any news station. More than anything, I fondly wish we could return to civility and decency both in religion and politics.

Get this book and read about a very able, and thoroughly decent man who was there to serve his country when he was most needed. The details are fascinating.

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.

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.

Mr. Cannon wrote an excellent look into our most overlooked modern President. President Ford, never considered an "electric" leader, certainly deserves to have his story told. Being Watergate was the biggest Constitutional crises since the Civil War, we should know more about the one man who reassured the country that everything was o.k. Also, in retelling the Watergate story and Nixon's role in it, Mr. Cannon does so in a way that makes it easy to understand.

Very well written. Great background of the key players involved in Watergate. Wished that it had discussed more about Ford's term as president and less about Nixon and the so called "coverup". It shows Ford as a very honest, hard working public servant.

I have always been a fan of Gerald Ford's and this book did not disappoint! Cannon, an insider from Rockefeller's tenure as Governor of New York, presents a balanced and objective insight into the historic transfer or power in 1974. Cannon does not hesitate to present Ford in a heroic role and I am refreshed to see such an appraisal.

Steve Schockow, Rochester, NY

I consider this book a very well written because in simple words the author goes straight to the point:giving the audience a deep sense of what honesty and integrity are for this great man who did not want to be Vice President, much less President of the United States of America. I do not know much about politics, but since I read this book I have more respect for most of the elected officials. But, for late President Gerald
Ford this book has given me a great respect and admiration. We should have many more elected officials like him.