BLIND AMBITION

In a book filled with conversations, the narrator's skill in recreating them makes us feel as though we are in the same room with the speakers. With subtle inflections in his voice, but without being theatrical, Edward Holland always lets us know who is talking, and even converys the speaker's mood at the time. The supreme enjoyment of the memoir comes with Holland's portrayal of Richard Nixon's obtuse conversations, many of which he carried out with his feet on the desk, looking through the "V" formed by his shoes. If this account of Watergate were by Shakespeare, both a comedy and a tragedy would it be, with the characters as clowns, and the dying king signing victory. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 02]