On His Own Terms; A Life of Nelson Rockefeller

New York: Random House, 2014. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xxxiv, 842, [4] pages. Note to the Reader. Footnotes. Illustrations. Notes. Select Bibliography. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Richard Norton Smith (born 1953) is an American historian and author specializing in U.S. presidents and other political figures. He worked for The Washington Post, and worked with U.S. Senators Edward Brooke and Bob Dole. Smith served as director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Center in Abilene; the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the Reagan Center for Public Affairs in Simi Valley; and the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Library in Michigan. In 2001, Smith became director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. In 2014 Smith published On His Own Terms: A life of Nelson Rockefeller. Smith took 14 years to write the book, largely self-financed. Derived from a Kirkus review: Smith delivers a monumental biography of the charismatic vice president and four-term governor of New York. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979) was determined to succeed through public service and the socially responsible use of the immense wealth and influence. Rockefeller advanced measures combating discrimination in various forms and engaged in a building boom. In national politics, Rockefeller ultimately proved too liberal for the Republicans. Rockefeller was a force of nature—optimistic, hard-charging. Rockefeller's full life as a diplomat, politician, businessman, and proponent of modern art justifies the prodigious scale of this intensively researched work, presented in sturdy, confident prose. The author maintains a dignified objectivity throughout, recounting events with penetrating perceptivity. A comprehensive biography of a giant of mid-20th-century American politics. Condition: Very good / Very good.

Keywords: Nelson Rockefeller, Spiro Agnew, Attica, Cold War, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, George Hinman, Barry Goldwater, Averell Harriman, Henry Kissinger, John Lindsay, Richard Nixon, Republican Party, Kenneth Riland, Abby Rockefeller, Laurance Rockefelle

ISBN: 9780375505805

[Book #77641]

Price: $50.00