Bringing Down a President by Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy - ADVISABLE

Bringing Down a President by Andrea Balis and Elizabeth Levy, illustrated by Tim Foley, 222 pgs.  NON-FICTION  Roaring Brook Press, 2019.  $20.  

Content: Language: PG-13 (24 swears); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: G.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

In 1972, Richard Nixon sent his own secret spies into the Watergate Hotel to plant recording devices in the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters.  The spies were caught and as the evidence stacked up against the men, it became clear that some of the government's leading men were pulling the strings, including President Nixon.  As the connections were made from burglar to President, Nixon's spying on the Democrats wasn’t his only dark secret, so a country already torn by the Vietnam war and other upheavals is dragged through the unveiling that they have a crook as a President.  

What a compelling read-I couldn’t put it down.  Although I have heard of the Watergate Scandal, until this book I never realized how many men were involved and the other deceptive ideas that Nixon was propagating.   This is a great foundational read about what Watergate was all about. It isn't a biography on Nixon and at the end I did want to dig deeper, but it's a great overview.  The illustrations are well done and provide a visual for the names of the players in the story at the front of the book which is a reference I used throughout my reading.  The content includes some crass statements and the bizarre, unethical actions of those in power was upsetting.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson.