Synopses & Reviews
American politics changed forever in January 1973.
In the span of thirty-one days, the Watergate burglars went on trial, the Nixon administration negotiated an end to the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v. Wade, Lyndon Johnson died in Texas (and Harry Truman passed away just a month earlier), and Richard Nixon was sworn in for his second term. The events had unlikely links and each worked along with the others to create a time of immense transformation. Roe in particular pushed political opponents to the outer reaches of each party, making compromise something that has become more and more difficult in our system of checks and balances.
Using newly released Nixon tapes, author and historian James Robenalt provides readers a fly-on-the-Oval-Office-wall look at events both fascinating and terrifying that transpired in the White House during this monumental month. He also delves into the judge’s chambers and courtroom drama during the Watergate break-in trial, and the inner sanctum of the US Supreme Court as it hashed out its decision in Roe v. Wade. Though the events took place more than forty years ago, they’re key to understanding today’s political paralysis.
Review
“[The book] offers a straightforward account of the month's events. This immersive microhistory offers macro conclusions about American politics. A richly sourced and meticulous—albeit Nixon-centric—case for why January 1973 matters." —Kirkus Reviews
Review
“[Nixon] is always fascinating in Robenalt’s unvarnished portrait of a flawed leader grappling with momentous events and heading, ultimately, toward ruin.”—Kirkus Reviews
Review
“As a reader you will quickly realize you are in the hands of not only a good storyteller, but of a very sophisticated explainer, who has a gifted knack for making the complex matters easily understandable, and the inexplicable, comprehensible.”—John W. Dean, from the Foreword
Review
“A truly first-rate book… provides genuine illumination about all of the issues [Robenalt] discusses. There is no reader who can’t benefit from Robenalt’s research, presented in vivid and arresting (and always well-documented) prose." —Sanford Levinson, The History Book Club
Review
"In January 1973, Jim Robenalt takes a snapshot in time of a whirlwind month during the Nixon era – zeroing in on five major stories that converged in January of 1973 to change the arc of American history. It’s classic Jim Robenalt: engaging, interesting while providing fresh insights and new stories from chapters of history you don’t know as well as you think you do." – Jonathan Karl, ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent
Review
“[The] book offers a keen reminder of the man's near-madness and (be it conceded) political genius.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer
Synopsis
"So how to tell of the life of a magician whose vocation was politics? A simple biography was out of the question. All of the hard research led to an idea. Why not travel back in time for one night to meet the old wizard himself in a car ride that actually did take place at the end of his life? Once there, he could tell his story directly to one of his descendants--a transference of family memories that just may have had national significance. Surely a magician could accomplish such a meeting." --from the Preface
David Copperfield had this to say about Linking Rings.
William W. Durbin, businessman, political activist, and professional magician, was a major figure in Ohio politics during the first half of the twentieth century, serving as the powerful head of the Ohio Democratic Party and as a senior official in the U.S. Treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt. Durbin's story is that of a political maverick who knew how to manipulate behind-the-scenes activities, especially in Ohio's political arena. He was instrumental in William Jennings Bryan's near-defeat of William McKinley in Ohio, and two decades later he helped Woodrow Wilson reach the White House.
Although Durbin's vocation was politics, his passion was magic. One of the nation's premier magicians, who performed on stage as "The Past Master of the Black Art," he was the first elected president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, a professional organization that has grown since its first convention in Kenton, Ohio, in 1926 to number more than 15,000 members today.
Imaginatively told and thoroughly researched, Linking Rings is an engaging biography narrated by James D. Robenalt, Durbin's great-grandson, who places himself with Durbin in a long car ride back to Ohio from Washington, D.C., in February 1937.
Fans of magic and those interested in political history will find Linking Rings an engrossing read.
About the Author
James Robenalt is a trial lawyer and the author of
The Harding Affair and
Linking Rings. He, along with lecture partner John W. Dean, is a sought-after speaker on the Watergate scandal. For more information about James Robenalt and his book, please visit www.january1973.com.
John W. Dean was White House Counsel under Richard Nixon and is a bestselling author, most recently of The Nixon Defense.