Rich Walsh's posterous

Despite its title, this book (http://www.amzn.com/074324303X) is more a political-cultural history of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the US than a biography of Richard Nixon per se.  However, Rick Perlstein's thesis is that Nixon both stoked and gained from the 'angers, anxieties and resentments' of the time and is thus the engine of the story.  In that sense, Nixonland is the author's shorthand term for illuminating the partisan divide that he believes originated in the mid-60s and persists to this day - albeit in a less antagonistic form (which may seem surprising until you learn - or are reminded of - some of the violent events that happened during those years).

Perlstein is a vibrant writer who weaves extensive research into a propulsive narrative about a period in US history where a stew of racial, class, generational and Vietnam war tensions boiled over.  He uses an interesting organizational framework for the book, dividing it into four sections that more or less revolve around the biennial elections between 1966 and 1972.  While he clearly writes from a leftist point of view, Perlstein seems to be fairly equal opportunity in his critiques of various politicians and other luminaries, irrespective of party affiliation.  Perlstein does mostly skewer Nixon, though it is hard to argue with that judgment of a fascinating but very deeply flawed leader.

My biggest complaint is that the book is probably too long by a hundred pages or so and it could have used some tighter editing to convey the key themes without extraneous details or diversions.