earlier post
The most agonizing chapter is undoubtedly the one entitled 'Friends', which more than fulfils the arch and dreadful promise of its title. "I had often heard that real friends are there when you need them the most," writes Nixon. "After 1974 I saw that first hand." He appears to be saying that until the abrupt end of his second term he had only heard this maxim but never seen it exemplefied, and one fears this might well be true. Pity breaks in again, to be dispelled again when the former president prints lists of "friends" who stuck by him. Only on second glance did I notice that these lists were in alphabetical order--a gruesome touch typical of a man who has no friends, only cronies and associates. (One list runs from Buchanan to Ziegler, which gives you an idea.)Isaac Chotiner