Richard and Pat Nixon

Former President Richard Nixon has been a focus of my attention lately.

I recently finished reading Monica Crowley's book, Nixon In Winter, which is about the former president's final years. (A good read, I highly recommend it.) It shouldn't be surprising that my attention would be caught when I saw a Tweet by talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt with the title, "Nixon In Love" (with a link attached).

So, I went there and found it to be the blog of longtime former Nixon aide John Taylor.

Above, President and Mrs. Nixon greet supporters at the Century Plaza Hotel parking lot in September 1972 during the re-election campaign. I am in the crowd (arrow).

It is an insider's account of the love story between Richard and Pat Nixon. Much of their relationship was corroborated in Crowley's book.

To view the blog post, go here.

Their love letters are on display at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. For more on this, go here.

Gaps Getting Filled

Today was enjoyable as I went over to Canoga Park to rummage around a very nice used bookstore, Next Chapter Books.

I found a Signet paperback edition of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel, The Man With The Golden Gun. So now I have only one Fleming Bond book to get to complete my collection, Thunderball. The gaps are almost filled.

The story's plot, according to the back cover, is vastly different than the movie version that came out in 1974 with Roger Moore. I'll give it a review once I finish reading it.

I picked up two other books. One was for my roomie, 365 Ways To Cook Chicken by Cheryl Sedaker (Harper Collins) and one for myself, Nixon In Winter by Monica Crowley (Random House). Nixon In Winter covers former President Richard Nixon's final four years.

I started reading the Crowley book. It has been interesting, so far. One interesting tidbit about Nixon during my initial scan of the book: Nixon's favorite holiday was Halloween.