The Greatest Comeback - Pat Buchanan has a Winner!

              

The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon 
Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority

by Patrick J. Buchanan

Hardcover

Pages: 392

ISBN: 978-0-553-41863-7

Publisher: Crown Forum (July 8, 2014)

                                                 

               Pat Buchanan reveals a side of President Nixon that most people know nothing of. It is truly an inside look at the goings on of a political mastermind working his magic over a torn and fragmented Republican Party leading up to the 1968 presidential election. Buchanan was with Nixon from 1966 while preparing for the campaign of 1968 until his resignation in 1974. He has included in the book several memos he submitted to Nixon with Nixon’s notes on them. The Watergate fiasco is mentioned barely in passing, as this book chronicled his comeback to the political stage, and is not meant to be a biography.

                Nixon’s narrow defeat to JFK in 1960 and his failed California gubernatorial race in 1962 are used as a launching pad to illustrate the resurrection of a ‘dead’ politician to the presidency. The Greatest Comeback is loaded with insider campaign strategies, Nixon’s feelings about African-Americans, and the civil unrest and riots of that time period. If you are a Nixon fan this is a must read. If you are one of his detractors I highly recommend that you read this book. After his political obituary was written about in ’62, Nixon pulled himself up and ran some remarkable strategies. The result was he becoming the first man since Zachary Taylor, 120 years earlier, to win the presidency with the opposition controlling both houses of Congress.

                I don’t know how Buchanan could have done any better. It is a 5-star book to me.

-          Clifton Eastham  August 29, 2014.

      ** I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review, however the opinions and analysis are mine alone.

Book Review - Walls: Why Everybody's Stuck (and Nobody Has To Be)

                                   

Book Review

Walls: Why Everybody’s Stuck  

(And Nobody Has To Be)

by Ryan Rush

ISBN: 978-1-4143-3736-4

Hardcover

Length: 256 Pages

2011

Published by: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

            Author Ryan Rush opens this book up with the simple question, “Do you ever have the feeling you are missing out on something important?” (5) He mentions that we are blocked from enjoying all of God’s blessings because we have somehow allowed a wall to be built around us. This wall does not have to keep us from all God has for us forever. Rush writes that we can have a Faith Breakthrough, which is the act of overcoming whatever is holding us back from tearing down the wall around us, by trusting in God and intentionally pursue Him.

            A wall, Rush writes, “Is an unhealthy mind-set that keeps you from living life as God intends” (22). He instructs the reader to define and actually give a name to the wall that is restricting their completeness. God has made promises to each and every one of us and there is at least one available which corresponds to the wall we are knocking heads with. As Christians we are tied-in to all of God’s resources and are equipped to handle anything the enemy can set in front of us. Rush encourages readers to share their breakthroughs with others. Not only will it make you feel better and give you a sense of purpose for sharing it, it will bless those people that you share it with as well.

            It is important to declare your independence from your wall. “You can’t live on both sides of the wall any more than you can put old wine in new wineskins” (200). Rush also stresses the importance of bringing your newly acquired skills at breaking through walls inside your home, to be able to raise a family of wall breakers.

            There are more strengths in this book than there are weaknesses. The first strength I noticed are the many Bible references Rush uses to fortify his position and prove the point he is makin

g. This book comes from a genuine place. By that I mean that Rush has dealt with walls of his own starting with the birth of his daughter Lily (4). Positive affirmations abound in this book which cannot help but inspire the reader to address changes in his or her life. Another strength is that Rush invites the reader to report his or her breakthrough to his website: www.faithbreakthroughs.com.

            The aforementioned positive affirmations are clearly a strength, but they may also be viewed in a negative light as they sometimes seem shallow and lack substance. It appears to me that very good, albeit thin information is divulged from the author, although something more concrete seems to be missing. Some of the problems, called walls, are sometimes so deep and complex that perhaps a mental health professional should be retained. Although Rush does say that the walls, even the ones with the same name are different from person to person, he neglects to list specifics on how a breakthrough could be made. In essence I am saying that many good ideas are offered up in Walls, however I believe it lacks substance and clarity when it comes to finding a way to a breakthrough.

            I find Walls a good read, and a good starting point. I feel that the missing components, for example, more instruction on conquering the wall in a more focused manner would make it an excellent book. That being said, I believe the strengths of the book compensate adequately for the weaknesses of it.

4 stars out of 5

- Cliff Eastham