The Public Burning
The Public Burning, Robert Coover's third novel, was published in 1977. It is an account of the events leading to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. An uncharacteristically human caricature of Richard Nixon serves as protagonist and narrator for the primary continuity.
The novel satirizes the Cold War politics of Joseph McCarthy by portraying "The Phantom" as the embodiment of global Communism and everything that threatens the American way of life—a vague, terrifying, and omnipresent enemy. The ugly side of the American psyche this draws out is characterized by an incarnation of Uncle Sam who unleashes a torrent of interminable verbosity in a folksy, foul-mouthed style whenever he appears. The New York Times and Time Magazine figure centrally as symbols of institutional failure not only to question whether the truth was a victim in this hyperpoliticized trial but also whether the official narrative was in fact a bunch of political lies.
Coover first experienced difficulty finding a publisher, and then when he found a publisher, getting it to actually publish the novel, due to legal concerns over the unflattering depiction of Richard Nixon, Pat Nixon, Roy Cohn, and others.[1] Then having published the novel, once it became a bestseller, Viking immediately abandoned all support, and withdrew copies without explanation. Coover's editor, Richard Seaver, speculated to Coover that Viking management believed success would attract lawsuits.[2][3]
Despite these difficulties, this novel has received a large amount of critical attention. It has been called "perhaps the most complete replenishment of the language since Whitman and (in a different way) Mark Twain ... no writer since Melville has dived so deeply and fearlessly into this collective American dream as Coover has in this novel".[4]
Editions
- ISBN 0-670-58200-X (hardcover, 1977)
- ISBN 0-8021-3527-7 (paperback, 1998)
References
- ^ At the time, Cohn had sued NBC over Tail Gunner Joe, and Nixon, in his interviews with David Frost, indicated that he did not sue Woodward and Bernstein because their accusations were part of politics, and they had left Pat out.
- ^ Coover, Robert (Fall 2000). "The Public Burning Log 1966–77". Critique. 42 (1): 84–114. doi:10.1080/00111610009603129. S2CID 144083142.
- ^ A very condensed summary is provided by the Introduction in the Grove Press edition of the novel.
- ^ Evenson, Brian (2006). Understanding Robert Coover, p. 110–111. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia. ISBN 978-1-57003-482-4.
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- 37th President of the United States (1969–1974)
- 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961)
- U.S. Senator from California (1950–1953)
- U.S. Representative for CA–12 (1947–1950)
politics
- Checkers speech
- Vice presidency
- Presidency
- Richard Nixon Foundation
- Presidential Library and Museum
- Birthplace and boyhood home
- "Last press conference"
- Florida White House
- "La Casa Pacifica"
- Nixon Center
- Nixon v. General Services Administration (1977)
- Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982)
- Death and state funeral
- Six Crises (1962)
- Bibliography
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Presidential | |
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culture
- "Nixon goes to China"
- Millhouse (1971 film)
- An Evening with Richard Nixon (1972 play)
- Richard (1972 film)
- Another Nice Mess (1972 film)
- Four More Years (1972 film)
- Impeach the President (1973 song)
- The Werewolf of Washington (1973 film)
- White House Madness (1975 film)
- All the President's Men (1976 film)
- The Public Burning (1977 novel)
- Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977 miniseries)
- Secret Honor (1984 film)
- Nixon in China (1987 opera)
- The Final Days (1989 film)
- Nixon (1995 film)
- Elvis Meets Nixon (1997 film)
- Futurama (1999 TV series)
- Dick (1999 film)
- Nixon's China Game (2000 film)
- Dark Side of the Moon (2002 film)
- The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004 film)
- Frost–Nixon interviews (2006 play, 2008 film)
- Black Dynamite (2009 film)
- "The Impossible Astronaut" (2011 TV episode)
- Our Nixon (2013 film)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014 film)
- Crooked (2015 novel)
- Elvis & Nixon (2016 film)
- The Post (2017 film)
- Watergate (2019 board game)
- U.S. postage stamp
- Jack Brennan (aide de camp)
- Murray Chotiner (early campaign manager)
- Manolo Sanchez (valet)
- Rose Mary Woods (secretary)
- Thelma "Pat" Ryan Nixon (wife)
- Tricia Nixon Cox (daughter)
- Julie Nixon Eisenhower (daughter)
- Christopher Nixon Cox (grandson)
- Jennie Eisenhower (granddaughter)
- Francis A. Nixon (father)
- Hannah Milhous Nixon (mother)
- Donald Nixon (brother)
- Edward Nixon (brother)
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