'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'Rich and kaleidoscopic ... In [Dobbs'] wry and absorbing narrative I sensed an ironic dimension ... A portrait of a petulant, insecure man who fancied himself king, or something like it ... King Richard distinguishes itself in part by limiting its narrative mostly to the first hundred days after Nixon's second inauguration ... This circumscribed frame allows Dobbs to deploy his observational gifts to full effect ... Out of this raw material, Dobbs has carved out something intimate and extraordinary, skilfully chiseling out the details to bring the story to lurid life.'
-- Jennifer Szalai * The New York Times *
'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.'
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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.'
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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.'
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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 *
'Donald Trump had tweets but Nixon had tapes: 3,700 hours of them ... They have proved a goldmine for Michael Dobbs...whose elegantly written book, King Richard - Nixon and Watergate: An American Tragedy, zooms in on the hundred days that followed Nixon's second inauguration and led to his downfall.'
-- David Smith * The Guardian *
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:
'[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:
'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 CrisisPraise 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 *
