Toxic: An Introduction

My new book scratches a long-time obsession. Nixon. I've been obsessed with Nixon ever since 2018, when I read John A. Farrell's book Richard Nixon: A Life. My relationship with Nixon is a complex one. He's like my shadow. He is very much an Id. Maybe he's all our Ids. Who among us, compared to the saintly, crystalline JFK, wouldn't identify with the all-too-human, all-too-imperfect Nixon? In a worrying note, there were so many parallels between myself and him in how we grew up, the blue-bloods we rubbed against, and how no matter how hard we studied, no matter how many books we piled up, we ran up against a rigged game. Now, I obviously don't agree with everything Nixon did (war crimes, racism, the coup in Chile) but I've developed a fondness and a sympathy for the old boy that's persisted to this day.

It won't surprise you to know this book began with the introduction "Hello, I'm Vice-President Richard Nixon". That was the spark that set off the creative blaze. I could have made this into a short story but that itch required a full-blown scratch, a novella (it's short at 36,000 words).