Pat Nixon: Embattled First Lady

In this dry and frustrating biography, Brennan, a historian at Texas State University (Turning Right in the Sixties), fails to deliver on her promise to "give Pat a voice." Pat Nixon (1912–1993) was first lady during one of the most turbulent periods in American history, and in 1974 her husband resigned the presidency in disgrace. Strongest in detailing Pat's accomplishments as a political wife, including her warm reception abroad and support of voluntarism, Brennan rejects the popular notion that Pat was a "passive figure." But while drawing on Pat's papers, White House documents, daughter Julie's biography, and Nixon's memoirs, Brennan doesn't reveal Pat's feelings about her husband's controversial career, such as his much criticized early campaign tactics (e.g., his red-baiting of Helen Gahagan Douglas). While Brennan asserts confidently that Pat "never understood why [Nixon] had not destroyed the tapes, why he had not listened to her advice"—raising the question of Pat's complicity in the Watergate coverup—she otherwise offers only "must haves" about Pat's feelings after her husband's disgrace. Brennan leaves too many questions unanswered for this to be a satisfying biography of a complex woman. 14 photos.(Mar.)