New Nixon Book a Coda to His Life

Richard M. Nixon had what Random House publisher Harold Evans calls “the newsman’s instinct for a deadline.”

The former president’s 10th book, “Beyond Peace,” was being typeset by the publishing house when its author returned from Russia in March and wanted to add about 30 pages based on the trip.

Evans agreed to accommodate the 11th-hour inclusion--a decision that would help make Nixon’s prescription for America after the Cold War the up-to-date coda to his life it has become.

The book, which Time magazine rushed to excerpt in this week’s issue and which Random House began shipping to stores this week, was originally scheduled for publication on the March birthday of Nixon’s wife, Pat, who died last year. Its debut was then rescheduled for June, until the stroke that led to Nixon’s own death last week added new urgency to publish the book soon.

According to Evans, who was also the editor, Nixon wrote every word, welcomed suggested changes, signed off on the text that appears on the inside flaps (it had been faxed to him in Russia) and later tinkered with the choice of excerpts used on the back jacket.

In a measure of Nixon’s feistiness, three of these capsule excerpts criticize the present administration and its principals.

Such as:

“Mrs. Clinton deserves credit for her courage in articulating the absence of a higher purpose in life, despite the fact that since the late 1960s many of her most liberal supporters have relentlessly assaulted traditional values in the name of liberation. Unfortunately, most of the administration’s remedies would make the problem worse.”

“Nixon was rather like an iceberg,” Evans says. “While he might appear cold on the surface, he actually would be listening to your every utterance with great courtesy, and then from deep down he would draw on this vast amount of knowledge in response.”

There are signs that the flood of remembrance and media attention set in motion by Nixon’s death will turn “Beyond Peace” into a posthumous hit. Although Random House is unusually guarded about the size of its printing, clearly the publisher will ship a six-figure number of books.

In recent days, reorders from booksellers are known to be totaling tens of thousands of copies. A spokeswoman for Waldenbooks said that the chain had increased the order for its more than 1,000 stores to a “substantial” sum.

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New Report Card on Journalists: The Forbes ink empire is out with the second annual issue of its Forbes MediaGuide 500, which evaluates and rates the nation’s journalists in the manner of a restaurant reviewer. Or, as the new guide’s preface states, “We aim to help news consumers keep tabs on some of the media powers that be.”

The 1994 MediaGuide, which totals 344 pages and sells for $19.95, gives its highest praise of four stars to Patti Waldmeir, Financial Times; Carol Loomis, Fortune; Maggie Mahar, Barron’s; George Gilder, Forbes ASAP, and three reporters from The New York Times: Natalie Angier, Bill Keller and Andrew Pollack.

The annual guide and the quarterly Forbes MediaCritic, which was launched last year, mark Forbes Inc.’s aggressive entry into the business of media watching. Both publications are edited by Terry Eastland.

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The Book on Tonya: Sandra Dijkstra, a West Coast literary agent who has represented Amy Tan, Susan Faludi, Le Ly Hayslip and other distinctive female voices, is now gauging New York publishers’ interest in Tonya Harding’s story.

Dijkstra represents Los Angeles writer Tristine Rainer, who apparently had won a pledge of cooperation from the Olympic figure skater. This week, Dijkstra said that she is trying to determine how much Harding wants to tell before proceeding.

The proposed book may be a tough sell. One publishing house contacted by Dijkstra recently nixed the idea because, an editor there said, “I just don’t know how many readers will care.”