The mask of state: Watergate portraits

During the Watergate hearings, Mary McCarthy, on commission from The Observer of London, wrote six reports from Washington telling the amazing story of deceit and arrogance in the Nixon administration. She wrote two others for The New York Review of Books, including one that summarizes her view of this terrible American travesty. The reports have been greatly revised and amplified for this book. Here the reader is once again reminded, by sharply drawn portraits, of the characters of Watergate. Here is "sloping-headed, slope-shouldered" Mitchell, who "brought evil into the Caucus Room, and this was not unconnected with the boredom he was able to generate." And "the Keystone comedy cop Tony Ulasewicz"; and Senator Baker, whose "insistent questions about motive suggest that he is playing a TV role of spiritual surgeon and counselor." Maureen ("Mo") Dean appears on the sidelines "in a daily change of costume (sometimes color-harmonizing with her husband)," looking like "a bride who would want fresh jewelry for her honeymoon." Mary McCarthy's skills as a reporter, her capacity for conveying moral insights, and her great personal style make this book a singular account of an unforgettable--and almost unbearable--time in the history of the republic.--Jacket.… (more)