‘Michael Dobbs is a master at narrative history. By focusing on the most critical 100 days of Watergate, and by sticking closely to the written and spoken record, Dobbs is able to bring to life the tragedy of Richard Nixon in a way no one else has. A truly gripping read and a moving portrait.’
Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon
‘The potent research and narrative skills of Michael Dobbs reach new heights in King Richard, his Shakespearean study of the endlessly compelling self-inflicted fall of Richard Nixon. Here again, as he did in his study of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Dobbs applies his signature technique of revealing character through the dramatic compression of time. It makes for illuminating and addictively readable history.’
David Maraniss, author of Barack Obama: the story
‘Highly readable … If All the President’s Men was the first rough draft of Watergate history, this is the polished rewrite. Older readers will enjoy its deft mix of personality, history, and politics — and younger ones can spare themselves from ploughing through the dustier volumes on the Watergate shelf.’
Colin Freeman, The Telegraph
‘The tale of the two-bit break-in at Washington’s Watergate building and its monumental consequences is complex and labyrinthine, but Dobbs manages to tell it with sparkling clarity … he tells the story amazingly well.’
Craig Brown, The Mail on Sunday
‘This beautifully written and stunningly detailed portrait of one hundred essential days at the beginning of Nixon’s second term brings the Watergate scandal, its colourful cast of characters and Nixon himself to life in a way we’ve never before seen. Dobbs’s deep dive into the conversations that Nixon obsessively recorded … gives the book amazing authenticity. … King Richard’s vivid characterisations, novelistic detail and universal human themes make this a work of our time and for all time.’
Greg Garrett, The Spectator
‘The unraveling of Richard Nixon’s presidency plays out in intimate detail in this vivid recreation of a key period in the Watergate scandal … An indelible study of a political antihero.’
Publishers Weekly, starred review
‘Spellbinding … Masterful … The author delivers an intimate, engrossing picture of Nixon as a visionary man “obsessed with privacy and solitude,” an affectionate husband and father, and a gut-fighting outsider mystified by power and all its trappings, styling himself as a kind of blend of Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Disraeli, and Charles de Gaulle. A riveting portrait of ambition, hubris, betrayal, and the downfall of an American president.’
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
‘This is a compelling, moment-by-moment narrative, psychological as much as political, offering a sense of intimacy with the beleaguered Nixon without mawkishness.’
Booklist, starred review
‘The strength of the work stems from Dobbs’s bringing lesser-known events into clear focus … Spanning biography and history, this is a gripping narrative and a fine account of events in the presidency. Recommended for readers unfamiliar with Watergate or in need of a refresher.’
Library Journal
‘A balanced but frank account of a critical period in Richard Nixon’s downfall and a valuable addition to the literature of this dramatic era in American political history … Engrossing.’
BookPage
A fascinating and informative read.
Jeff Popple, Canberra Times
‘Dobbs’ book does a remarkable job of following the chronology briskly while making tight diversions to fill in the back story and relate biographies of the main characters.’
Nick Mattiske, Insights
‘Does the world need another history of the Watergate scandal? If it’s this good, yes.’
Tim Stanley, Literary Review
‘This fast-paced opus would be a rollicking fun read, a beach book even, if it weren’t so doggone real – and if it wasn’t so reminiscent of recent machinations in our nation’s capital. But fun or not, this is an important book at this moment in our tortured political history.’
USA Today, starred review
‘Engrossing … a gripping psychological portrait.’
Andrew Lynch, The Sunday Business Post
‘Richard Nixon, who’s own naughty mouth, blind spots and pathetic unraveling gets a renewed intimacy in Michael Dobbs’ surprisingly riveting King Richard: Nixon and Watergate. Like a great curse word, you have heard it endlessly, but told through a fresh voice, it’s as fun as it is lurid.’
Christopher Borelli, Chicago Tribune
‘Smart and highly readable … Dobbs has a talent for you-are-there description … Vivid and fun.’
David Greenberg, New York Times Book Review
‘Dobbs … has a keen sense of drama. And, by focusing on the 100 days after Nixon’s triumphant second inauguration, he provides a clever lens for viewing most all of the president’s disastrous decisions, with an intimacy — due to Dobbs’s subtle choice of extracts from the tapes — that is stunning … The story Dobbs tells is, by turns, hilarious, pathetic and infuriating.’
Joe Klein, Washington Post
‘Brings the semi-tragic Nixon story to life in a form which has the same breathless pace and thrill-ride drama of a 1995 Oliver Stone blockbuster biopic. But it’s even more rewarding for fans of American political history, with additional depth and analysis, more richly drawn characters, and the kind of authenticity only access to real documentary evidence can bring.’
Big Issue
‘Vivid … King Richard [has] a better shot than most histories have at reaching younger readers. At the same time, it gives a (much) older generation of Watergate junkies a way to rediscover the dark intrigues of Nixon and his entourage — with notes of relief that we all survived, and perhaps a touch of nostalgia as well … Dobbs achieves something of a cinematic effect … Whether you lived through the Watergate years, or have studied them since, Dobbs’ book hearkens back to an era when even a president elected in a landslide could be held to account by the system itself.’
Ron Elving, NPR
‘Fresh … Ingenious … It is Dobbs’s ability to use the techniques of fiction — getting inside the characters’ heads and reconstructing their interactions scene by scene — that gives this book its page-turning power.’
Charlotte Allen, Washington Examiner
‘A rollicking narrative history of the first 100 days of Nixon’s second term — the break-in, the cover-up, the investigation — that manages to be searing, humane, and addictive.’
Alessandra Stanley, Air Mail
‘With access to thousands of hours of released tapes, as well as other primary sources, Dobbs offers cogent detail and individual anecdotes about Nixon and his co-conspirators … With cohesion of purpose, command of subject, wealth of specificity and precision of prose, Dobbs fashions an absorbing narrative. A capital work of history rendered with Dobbs’ ability to convey immediacy, King Richard adds welcome clarity and nuance to the Watergate story.’
The Free Lance-Star
Praise for Six Months in 1945:
‘[S]uperbly evocative … So vivid is the writing that you can practically feel the shuddering vibration and turbulence in what was then the state-of-the-art aircraft carrying Roosevelt on the first visit by an American president to the Soviet Union.’
San Francisco Chronicle
Praise for Six Months in 1945:
‘Elegant and convincing … Dobbs's description of the fledgling relationship between the two superpowers is unerringly fascinating.’
The Washington Post
Praise for Six Months in 1945:
‘Elegantly written … Dobbs delivers engaging portraits of the national leaders … A confident and rewarding survey of a hinge point in 20th century history.’
Kirkus Reviews
Praise for One Minute to Midnight:
‘A book with sobering new information about the world's only superpower nuclear confrontation — as well as contemporary relevance … Filled with insights that will change the views of experts and help inform a new generation.’
Richard Holbrooke, The New York Times Book Review
Praise for One Minute to Midnight:
‘Did we need another book on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962? Anyone reading One Minute to Midnight will quickly realise that we did need another — and that this is it. This is unquestionably the most complete and accurate account of the crisis that we have, and will no doubt long remain so. Michael Dobbs has managed to combine the careful and thorough research of a scholar into the ability of an able journalist to bring his findings to life in a dramatic story that illuminates the historical events it examines with lively characterisation of the people who made up the cast of the drama. It is first rate great history and a great read!’
Ambassador Raymond Garthoff, former intelligence analyst and author of Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis
Praise for One Minute to Midnight:
‘At a time of danger for a nation it is important for political leaders first to think, then to think more and try avoid shooting. This book gives a day by day perspective on how two world leaders, John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, showed their ability to manage a crisis. Thanks to them, humanity survived and we are able to read this book.’
Sergei Khrushchev
Praise for Winston's War:
‘An author who can bring historical happenings so vitally back to life and made all the more impressive by being historically accurate in every respect.’
Times of London
Praise for Winston's War:
‘Dobbs takes us so far inside the mind of Winston Churchill that we feel as though we actually are him.’
Booklist
Praise for Winston's War:
‘Dobbs infuses dramatic tension, inventive plots, and heady pacing in the narration of a British icon's noblest hours.’
Publishers Weekly
