CHH005 Richard Nixon: A life in politics, a life of extremes 1

On his last night in the White House, Richard Nixon reminisced with Henry Kissinger about the triumphs – and, of course, the trials and tribulations – of the previous five and a half years. Nixon, not surprisingly, was in a sombre mood, and in an attempt to lift his spirits, Kissinger assured him that history would judge him to be one of the great presidents.‘ That depends,’ Nixon replied, ‘on who writes the history.’ He was right. This course takes a fresh and in-depth look at one of the most controversial presidents of the twentieth century, who was forced to resign from office in disgrace in 1974 and yet who achieved some of the most spectacular successes in foreign policy in America’s history.