These are Richard Nixon’s good things.

Good things to read.

The Washington Post featured the choice reading material from a smattering of presidents.  They reported that Nixon read Tolstoy as a youth and bought Churchill’s Triumph and Tragedy “after a summit with the Soviets.”  They also reported that he enjoyed Blake’s biography of British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, noting he was struck by the analogy that Gladstone’s cabinet was filled with “exhausted volcanoes.”

Good things to watch.

Patton. Nixon reportedly screened it over and over at the White House.  According to IMDB.com, Nixon was given an early screening of 1776 and objected to a musical number which was subsequently removed.  It was restored on the Director’s Cut DVD.  It’s not something to watch in the sense, but Nixon has appeared on Time magazine more than any other person.  No word if Nixon liked television but it’s safe to say television did not like him.

Good things to use.

Nixon liked to golf – of which there are some wonderful photos – and bowl – one photo -  as well as play the piano. It’s also suspected he enjoyed owning dogs, even announcing such publicly.

Tagged: 1776, bowling, disraeli, dogs, golfing, patton, robert blake, time magazine, tolstoy, triumph and tragedy, washington post