Page Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, March 21, 1975 1 Pace Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, March 21, 1976 BOO KS Nightmare: How Richard Nixon and friends did the dirty work Turtle Diary: An amusing, wistful tale NIGHTMARE by Anthony Lukas. New York: The Viking Press, 1976, 626 pps., $15. By GORDON ATCHESON WATERGATE -that catch-all word for the CREEP break- in at the Democratic Party Na- tional Headquarters in 1972, as- sorted dirty tricks, and numer- ous quid pro quos between ex- ecutive agencies and big busi- ness during the Nixon years- has had a wrenching impact on politics. It used to be that persons who1 held high government office w e r e viewed as statesmen. Woodrow Wilson. Averell Harri- man. Louis Brandeis. All were respected as keepers of the pub- lic trust. But Watergatery has twisted the way most of us on the out- side eyeball contemporary poli- ticians. They're assumed to be crooked or at least shady until proven otherwise. And, unfor- tunately, there seems ample evidence to support the thesis. Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott has admitted that a major oil company slipped him a cool 10 grand a year for 13 years. Howard "Bo" Callaway, Presi- dent Ford's campaign mana- ger, may have, used undue in- fluence as secretary of the army to seek expansion of a ski re- sort he owns. THEN THERE is Watergate. The casualty list leaves the reader breathless-not only be- cause of its length but also its important members. Two attor- neys general, a director of the FBI, the president's personal lawyer, three of the president's closest advisors, and a slew of others. The subterfuge of these men in their efforts to re-elect Rich- ard Nixon forms a montage of corruption and power monger- ing the likes of which has never zine, but it contains much more. Each of the important names, dates, and places is here in some form or another. Lukas attacks the mass of in- formation in a subject-by-sub- ject manner focusing in turn on such aspects as Dirty Tricks, The Break-In, Hush Money, Im- peachment, a n d Resignation. There is even a chapter on Spiro Agnew's travails to boot. Despite Nixon's advice to the con- trary, it might be beneficial to wallow in Watergate just a while longer. Until the phenomenon is understood, a reoccurence cannot be prevented with any certainty. 407' ' .'aY W':i :"Ti:' e^r4' ;"ri . a : Lukas surfaced before. Anthony Lu- kas, a former New York Times reporter with a mantel full of awards including the Pulitzer Prize, tries to sort out the evil goings-on in his latest book Nightmare: The Underside of the Nixon Years. The crisply written, exhaus- tively researched account pro- vides a veritable catalogue of what all the president's men were doing on their jobs, days off, and way to jail. Lukas' book grew out of three pieces com- missioned for the Times Maga- SPEND A SUMMER ON THE LAKE OF THE OZARKS WANTED: SUMMER STAFF CAMP SABRA, coed residential camp in Rocky Mountain, Missouri Jewish Community Centers Association. Unit Heads, Specialty Directors, Nurse, Cabin Counselors, Specialty Instructors, Maintenance & Drivers, Kitchen Workers. Contact LORI WEISS-764-4933 3:30-7:00 P.M. 11:35-1:00 A.M. IVONETHELESS, Night mare contains nothing new. It is not an investigative work but rather a compendium. Where the public record is extensive, the book is extensive. Where the public record is spotty, the book is spotty. This is disconcerting in that the best untold tale of Water- gate-just how Nixon's resigna- tion was shepherded by the pre- sident's aides-remains largely the secret of the participants. Furthermore, Lukas makes no effort to analyze or explain what happened throughout the Nixon years. He sidestepsethe question of why such abuses flourished under the guiding hand of the man from Whittier. But that's nagging residue of Watergate. Was it an isolated type of thing that sprung from some abbera- tion in Nixon's psyche? Or was it a gross magnification of a flaw in nearly all politicians? Lukas does not answer, yet he is as qualified as any ob- server to attempt such a judg- ment. Maybe, howeve'r, Water- gate is too overwhelming, too suffocating to challenge in such terms. SIDE FROM these shortcom-j ings, which should not blunt the brilliance of the work, Lu- kas succeeds in the framework he has defined for himself. NIGHTMARE is a good ency- clopedia of a multi-faceted ev- ent. The detail is lavish-heavy with color and annecdotes. Thee pace doesn't flag over the course of the volume. Lukas uses a particularly at- tractive technique by breaking up the narrative with short bio- graphic sketches of key actors in the Watergate drama. Rarely longer than a page each, the bi- ographies are incisive commen- taries that use incidents and quotes rather than polemic to make points. TURTLE DIARY by Russel and there is no objective narra- cides to free the turtles at the:| Hoban, Random House, N.Y., I tion to give the reader any re- port of Polperro, a artificial: 211 pp., $7.95. lief. This approach gives t h e tourist town that begs for do- novel a dreamy quality, but at nations to preserve its "au- By CINDY HILL times this subjective confusion thenticity." (Neaera comments' RUSSELL HOBAN i n c 1 u d- is overwhelming, as if one were that Polperro "seemed to me es more delightful imag- drowning in a sealed vat of wa- like a streetwalker asking for es in his latest novel, Turtle ter. :money to maintain her virgin- Diary, than most authors write Typically, William G. c o m- in a lifetime. ments, "Sometimes I t h i n k The novel, which successfully that this whole thing, this whole combines clear-eyed observa- business of a world that keeps tions with unpretentious insight, waking itself up and bothering has added Hoban's name to to go on every day, is neces-.1 many people's list of "cult writ- sary only as a manifestation 1. ers" (a classification which in- of the intolerable. The intoler- cludes Tolkien, Kesey, Vonne- able is like H. G. Wells' invis- gut and others). ible man, it has to put on Hoban, an American expat- clothes in order to be seen. rate whose wiry hair and So it dresses itself up in a heavy-rimmed glasses give him world. a Woody Allen look, already Continued thoughts, similar has a following in Britain. Tur- thoughts, and sometimes even tle Diary may make the erst- identical thoughts are repeated while children's writer equal- as Neaera H. and William G. ly well known in America. plan to abduct the turtles. The storyline could have been copped from a Walt Disney mo- UTOBAN MANAGES to make vie: two strangers meet at the his whimsical plot b e - London Zoo and decide to liber- lievable despite the unlikely . ate the sea turtles. participation of the zoo's aquar- ity"). Polperro, the reader ium keeper in the heist, a n d learns later, is where William THE PLOT, however, does despite some rather unlikely co- G. was born. not degenerate into cute incidence as well. Hoban achieves this believ- superficiality and preciousness, For example, Neaera H. de- ability largely through his main as it easily might have. Hoban dignifies both his subject mat- ter and his characters, Willam G. and Neaera H., who narrate the story in alternating chap- R A tens. aestcmingwithc The novel is about loneliness characters' understated and quiet outrage at the of the animals: humor plight as muchl as it is about turtles. (Continued from Page 3) the bars." cessful in their quest for a lov- tAoted biblikap which oints "a .ecrbes rs elfeas Loren, a doctor at an Ann Born in New York and edu- er, however. Joanne, a Univer- tatedtbibliographdywhc ptsa moreor less artsy-intellect- Arbor hospital, was equally em- cated in Boston, Loren speaks sity junior who advertised for an interested reader toward ual-oing lady of forty-three phatic in stating his wish to with the confident, immodest an escort to a Christmas dance, particularly significant public who is unmarried,dresses more meet the sort of person w h o manner of one who has had is now deeply involved with a thora of Watergate memoirs. He 'heortle thansforfahonoos does not usually pursue personal things easy in life. His slightly, man she affectionately describ- thinks Jeb Magruder's is the he sort of spinster who doesn't ads. In fact, he was so intent frizzy but carefully combed es. as "wacky." Because f e w best written but consistently keepcats and is not a vege- on attracting the "uncommon" brown hair and closely-shaven women advertise in the per- self-serving and considers How- tarian. She has a pet water woman that he spent three days red cheeks give him a well- sonals, she was swamped with ard Hunt's completely unreli- beetle for company. writing his 20-line ad. "In a scrubbed, boyish appearance. replies. "A lot of guys I talked able. William G. is divorced, a n d way, I'm an elitist. If I look at He ignores politics and cur- to were foreign students and shares a building with several a lot of people around me - as rent events in favor of ob- lonely freshmen. I got the im- Despite Nixon's advice to the other tenants, among them far as intelligence and looks are servation of peonle and their oression they didn't really know contrary, it might be beneficial Miss Neap, who is "militantly concerned - my own self im- relationships. Although L o r e n too many people around cam- to wallow in Watergate just a fragrant, as if mortaility could age is relatively quite high. I was disappointed in his search pus," she says, as a fleeting while longer. Until the pheno- be kept at bay by lavender in think if you can test people, for a woman friend, he claims look of concern replaces her menon is understood, a reoccur- the same way that garlic repels I'm right up there. Obviously, that the advertising venture re- usual grin. ance cannot be prevented with vampires," and Sandor, a burly I don't want just anybody. I suited in manv intellectually When the Christmas dance any certainty. And NIGHT- Hungarian who leaves strange have no interest in appealing to stimulating evenings. finally rolled around, Joanne MARE is a starting point for odors on the communal cooker the down and outers." "Some didn't attract me phy- went with a friend and didn't such understanding and a dirty bathroom in his sically, bt they were v e r meet Lenny until January, al- wake. Lennyruntil an4zary, al- T OREN divides the ranks of bh hs hm d tgl th "The sign said: 'The Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, is the source of turtle soup . .' " William G. relatees. "I am the source of William G. soup if it comes to that. Everyone is the source of his or her kind of soup. In a town as big as London that's a lot of soup walking about." Occasionally, Hoban verges on being overly chic, such as when Neaera comments t h a t "the zoo is a prison for animals who have been sentenced with- out trial." But overall the tone is level-headed and original. At its simplest level, Turtle Diary is consistent in its polish- ed humor. But Hoban manages to do more than this. While providing an honest, uncom- promising view of humanity, he is sensitive where others are cynical, and joyously s ill y where others use leaded humor. His calm sanity is, in itself, refreshing. Cindy Hill is a former execu- tive editor of The Daily. rclassified b AUDITIONS For the Musical IOKLAROMA!. (to be presented May 12-16 by Ann Arbor Civic Theatre) MASS MEETING MARCH 20 and 21 at 1:00 p.m. Appointments now being made for private audi- tion times (March 20-21 from 2-5 p.m., March 21-24 from 7-10 p.m. CALL 663-3424 (Sylvia Llewellyn) for appt. CAST OF 40-all ages, incl. 9 major roles, chorus, dancers. All must have some sing and dance ability. ACC OMPAN IST AVAILABLE Director-JAMES POSANTE Musical Director-DILL MURRELL LOCATION-201 MULHOLLAND, between Washington and Liberty Sts.-1 block East of S. Seventh-662-9405. DROBNY FU RTADO PACKARD Gordon Atcheson is f o r m e r co-editor-in-chief of The Daily. Have a flair for artistic wriinjfq? poetry, and music or writing feature stories a b o u t the drama, dance, film arts: Contact Arts Editor, c/o The Michigan Daily. "I'd had a whole life, a house and a family!" William G. complains. "And it had come to this: Sandor's pubic hair in a rented bath." WJILIAM G. and Neaera H. recognize each other al- most immediately as kindred ' souls, sommuch so that they fear any closeness, drifting out of each others lives as easily as they drifted in. This similar-! ity of thought creates a prob- lem in the stream-of-conscious- ness narration. It is almost im- possible to differentiate the thoughts of the two characters, I ! III to tw those ans o and t tims Natur the f( that 18 m rathe with found anyon I rea social After ing s I wa some trip UU11UF6 iltjainavxbright and we had some great "personals" advertisers in- conversations. Basically, I can o distinct, separate camps: tell what kind of person I'm who are the real veter- getting into within the first half of the box number circuit hour. If its the right person, hose who are merely vic- there's a certain magic that's of a temporary situationh apparent immediately. B u t if rally, Loren identified wi there isn't, at least you don't 'ormer group, pointing out feel lonely for awhile and youi his girlfriend of the last jhave someone to bullshit with." onths broke up with him "To be quite honest, some of r suddenly, leaving him the women were really homely, few social contacts. "I but usually something was sal- myself not really knowing vaged from the evenings. I ne outside the hospital and mean we h d flan it was in- tnougn iney na zame on te nhone a couple of times. "The first time we went out, I chug- ged two beers because I was so nervous." she reports with the self-iudulaent laughter of someone who knows her eory has a hannv ending. "We went to thehGolden Falcon and did some d-ncing. By the time we aot tiking, we di-overed we had so mch in common that w0 r'nldn't cover it all in one night." WORK IN FIBER March 1-April 4 UNION GALLERY First Floor MICHIGAN UNION T-F 10-6, S, S 12-6 ally wanted to keep my Ilife away from medicine. a couple of months of be- tuck in atrut, I realized s going to have to do thing besides the usual - running around to all (COME LIVE WITH US) A portion of BAITS HOUSING and EAST QUADRANGLE will be open for occupancy during the Spring-Summer Term. Applications will be accepted in the Housing Information Office, 1011 Student Activities Building, beginning March 31, 1976. Students desiring housing for the Fall and Winter Term need only to complete the Fall-Winter portion of the Application. Sprinq-Simmer Term May 2-August 211 (due in two equal Sprinq Half Term Summer Half Term oavments on May 31 May 2-June 26 June 27-August 21 andJune 30) (due May31) ( (dueJulv 31 ) EAST QUAD (room and board-not air conditioned) SINGLE $806.97 $399.85 $407.12 DOUBLE 721.50 357.50 364.00 BAITS HOUSES (room only-not air conditioned) SINGLE $379.62 $188.10 $191.52 DOUBLE $295.26 146.30 148.96 DOUBLE SUITE 366.30 181.50 184.80 TRIPLE SUITE Sing'e 366.30 181.50 184.80 Double 350.76 173.80 176.96 BAITS HOUSES (room only-air conditioned) SINGLE $459.54 $227.70 $231.84 DOUBLE 375.18 185.90 189.28 DOUBLE SUITE 446,22 221.10 225.12 TRIPLE SUITE Single 446.22 221.10 225.12 Double 430.68 213.40 217.28 Several FRATERNITIES and SORORITIES will be openI for occupancy during the Spring-;Summer Terms. Ac- commodations available include: Co-ed, male or female residences. Singe and double rooms at costs of $45.00 to $75.00/month. LIFEWORK presents: Gestalt Approach To Men's Issues- Weekend Workshop APRIL 2-4--$30 MICHAEL ANDES, MSW and JOHN KOEPPEN FOR INFORMATION CALL 668-8882 OR 995-0088 tellectually interesting. I'll pro- T IKE THE others, Joanne is bably call some of them up A4 o'ick to set herself apart again, butt I'm sure that a re- °"'n the ranks of societal cast- lationshi twon't result." ofotursn tino the classifieds Although he failed to meet the in desperation. And there right woman, Loren's ad spawn- seems little reason to doubt her ed one very positive result. "In storv. Tall and thin with wide a way, it was a disappointing blue eves, she punctuates her experience, but it did have one enth"siastic ramblings on life fantastic aspect. I talked to and love with infectious laugh- tons of people and it broke ter. She says she advertised on me out of a rut and pushed me an imnulse - "st to do some- right out into the mainstream thing wacky" - and maintains again. It accelerated a process that her new boyfriend was which might otherwise have tak- looking for a place to live and en months." just happened to glance at the Not all those who advertised personals column for "snicks." t Joanne, like Loren, is among in the personals were unsuc- the group of people who turn to Sthe classifieds to break out of t lithe doldrums - to meet some- INIlR/SITY Inna that th. might not h a DANCERS IN POWER CENTER m7U: 8:00 p.m. March 19 and 20 3:00 p.m. March 21 Reserved Seats at $4, 3, 2 Presented by the University of Michigan School of Music one ta itney migt no nave otherwise encountered. Unlike Morry and Randall, they have had long-term relationships in the past and it is clear that some feeling other than desper- ation impelled them to adver- tise. But despite the relative ease and contentment of their lives, they too suffered from a period of loneliness and boredom and turned to the personals column in the hopes that someone out there in the same frame of mind was waiting with a ready Ipen. }"Basically," says Loren, "I realized that I was going to have to do something out of the ordinary." A new career for college graduates.. . W I ,' ,: Consider your opportunities as a LAWYER'S ASSISTANT You may qualify for this intensive, 12 week, post-graduate course offered by the UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO in cooperation with the National Center for Paralegal Training. l ii By specializing in one of the following fields-- -Corporations;- Litigation; Estates, Trusts, and Wills; Public Service Law; Real Estate and Mortgages-- you can prepare yourself for a responsible position as a skilled member of the legal team. Applications are now being accepted for Summer, 1976 Fal, 1976 Spring, 1977 i Want to: " Accompany group singing? " Play in any key? * Transpose? These are some of the things you'll learn in our Class Piano Pro- gram. (Yes, you'll also learn how to play the piano.) For 4-year-olds and up. Biack The Nation .1 The Professional Theatre Program's I--I-rL~T P FeesI5 Sunday, Ma Trueblood T hnearre rOgrUM PRESENTS gal Theatre's Company r0 arch 28 rheatre R P kA_ V For Free Brochure--and informationi application procedures, program dates, regarding financial k .i (I" U