Fan in Chief: Richard Nixon and American Sports, 1969–1974 by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes (review)

Abstract

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes, an associate professor at the US Naval War College, presents a new side to Richard Nixon’s presidency: the sports fanatic who deftly deployed sports to reach ordinary voters. Watergate and Vietnam so define Nixon that historians often miss his political acumen and genuine popularity, but this thoroughly researched and concise study corrects this tendency. Although the argument could have been pushed further in some places, Fan in Chief is a valuable read for historians of sports and Nixon himself.