Former NBC News White House correspondent and anchor of NBC Nightly News Tom Brokaw was in town Friday to talk about his new book, “The Fall of Richard Nixon,” an up-close and personal account of the first and only president to resign in anticipation of impeachment.
Brokaw spoke at the Ferry Building in San Francisco where he also signed copies of the book.
"I thought it would be helpful for the country to remember what we went through the last time," said Brokaw. "It was a much different political climate then when Nixon was guilty."
Brokaw was at the center of it all as a young correspondent on the ground during the Watergate scandal.
In his book, he recalls many insider moments with people like White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig and missions alongside Henry Kissinger. He recalls the strategies, protesters and shocking press conferences that brought down a president in August of 1974.
"Sometimes we miss the big picture and this book gives us the picture of what happened then and what’s happening now," said Elaine Petrocelli.
Brokaw writes about Nixon’s claims of executive privilege to withhold white house tape recordings of oval office conversations and the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court that required Nixon to turn over the tapes.
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"People who read the book will get a sense of the political time and how we worked our way through it," said Brokaw. "The tapes and everything were there but it still took a full year to get him to understand he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this."
Brokaw has won every major award in broadcast journalism, including several Emmys. He is the author of seven bestsellers. He joined NBC in 1966, anchored the Today Show on NBC from 1976 to 1981 and anchored NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw from 1983 to 2005.
Brokaw continues to report for NBC NEWS, producing documentaries and providing expertise during breaking news events. His book is available here at book passage bookstore at the Ferry Building.
