The untold story of the other scandal that rocked Nixon's White House: the wild crimes, audacious cover-up, and spectacular downfall of Vice President Spiro Agnew - with new reporting that expands on Rachel Maddow's Peabody Award-nominated podcast.
Is it possible for an American vice president to direct a vast criminal enterprise within the halls of the White House? To have one of the most brazen corruption scandals in American history play out while nobody's paying attention? And for that scandal to be all but forgotten decades later?
The year was 1973, and the vice president in question was Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Nixon's second-in-command. Long on firebrand rhetoric and short on political experience, Agnew had carried out a bribery and extortion ring in office for years, when--at the height of Watergate--three young federal prosecutors discovered his crimes and launched a mission to take him down before it was too late. Before Nixon's downfall made way for Agnew to ascend to the presidency himself. Agnew did everything he could to bury their investigation: dismissing it as a "witch hunt," riling up his partisan base, making the press the enemy, and, with a crumbling circle of loyalists, scheming to obstruct justice.
In this blockbuster account, Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz detail the investigation that exposed Agnew's crimes, the attempts at a cover-up - which involved future President George H. W. Bush - and the bargain that forced Agnew's resignation but also spared him years in federal prison. Based on the hit podcast, Bag Man expands and deepens the story of Spiro Agnew's scandal and its lasting influence on our politics, our media, and our understanding of what it takes to confront a criminal in the White House. (less)
Hardcover, 291 pages
Published December 8th 2020 by Crown
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Have you ever heard of Spiro Agnew—Richard Nixon’s disgraced Vice President? Do you know how Mr. Agnew became a disgraced former Vice President of the United States? If your answer to either one of these questions is “no”, BAG MAN by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz can answer these questions and do so in a quick and eye-opening read.
For myself, I remembered Agnew resigning but I never really knew or was curious WHY? This book had me spellbound with the plethora of criminal events that led Agne ...more
For myself, I remembered Agnew resigning but I never really knew or was curious WHY? This book had me spellbound with the plethora of criminal events that led Agne ...more
Dec 18, 2020Elyse Walters added it
Not going to rate it..... but overall if I had to rate it... I’d give an overall 5 star rating — for the right historical political reader ....
I absolutely love Rachel Maddow....
but I felt dragged down in Bag Man....
I was hoping for a story this one wasn’t. .... but is it valuable? You bet!!!
Lyndon Johnson,
LBJ’s Vice President- Hubert Humphrey,
The Dems, Eisenhower’s old VP, Richard Nixon,
Antiwar protest laced with paroxysms of violence,
Republicans convention miles away in Miami Beach Florida, ...more
I absolutely love Rachel Maddow....
but I felt dragged down in Bag Man....
I was hoping for a story this one wasn’t. .... but is it valuable? You bet!!!
Lyndon Johnson,
LBJ’s Vice President- Hubert Humphrey,
The Dems, Eisenhower’s old VP, Richard Nixon,
Antiwar protest laced with paroxysms of violence,
Republicans convention miles away in Miami Beach Florida, ...more
Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House (no, not the current resident) by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz is a fascinating read that highlights the strange career of Spiro Agnew.
I remember Agnew and his shame very well. I was born in Maryland and lived there during most of the period when he held any office. During his time as VP, my sister worked on the Hill for Congressman Stratton from NY and then Congressman Bennett from F ...more
I remember Agnew and his shame very well. I was born in Maryland and lived there during most of the period when he held any office. During his time as VP, my sister worked on the Hill for Congressman Stratton from NY and then Congressman Bennett from F ...more
A compulsively readable look at a sordid episode of White House history involving the VP under Nixon - the ignominious Spiro T. Agnew. Going into this book I had only a cursory understanding of what this scandal was about, as it has generally been overshadowed in the history books by Watergate.
The book briskly covers a lot of ground and provides a good amount of context to the case, in addition to covering the various criminals and prosecutors involved.
One inescapable conclusion: Agnew was an e ...more
The book briskly covers a lot of ground and provides a good amount of context to the case, in addition to covering the various criminals and prosecutors involved.
One inescapable conclusion: Agnew was an e ...more
Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz presents political history I recall well. Spiro Agnew, a conservative Republican, was elected governor of Maryland in 1966. Today Maryland is seen as a bastion of liberal Democrats, but it wasn't always so. In the fifties and sixties, the state possessed a strong segregationist element and a long history of racism and Jim Crow laws. [The atmosphere of t ...more
In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism.
A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as "intellectuals".
There are people in our society who should be separated and discarded.
Three things have been difficult to tame: the oceans, fools and women. We may soon be able to tame the oceans; fools and women will take a little longer.
Perhaps the place to start looking for a credib ...more
A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as "intellectuals".
There are people in our society who should be separated and discarded.
Three things have been difficult to tame: the oceans, fools and women. We may soon be able to tame the oceans; fools and women will take a little longer.
Perhaps the place to start looking for a credib ...more
I listened to this podcast. It was marvelous.
1972-1974 were incredible years for the U.S: an election that elicited untold questionable and illegal acts by a sitting President's administration, congressional hearings, tapes, and if that were not enough, the Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, resigned from office with a plea of Nolo contendere. I followed most of this with avid interest as I watched television day after day as the Watergate story unraveled. When Agnew's troubles took over the headlines, I realized that it was necessary to take hi ...more
I was only 10 then summer the Nixon-Agnew administration came crashing down, but I have vivid memories of the Watergate hearings playing out, day after day on the TV. I honestly had no idea that Agnew's indictment and resignation were caused by a completely different scandal.
Bag Man is a really well organized and thoroughly consuming telling of the man that was just a heartbeat away from becoming president. Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz reveal all the details of what up that point, seemed li ...more
Bag Man is a really well organized and thoroughly consuming telling of the man that was just a heartbeat away from becoming president. Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz reveal all the details of what up that point, seemed li ...more
Just the podcast for me - Maddow is so good at this
- Rachel Maddow’s new book, ‘Bag Man,’ and the downfall of Spiro Agnew: Overshadowed by the Watergate scandal, the resignation of Nixon V.P. Spiro Agnew in 1973 over corruption and tax evasion is almost forgotten history. Rachel Maddow revisits Agnew’s story – and explains how the lessons are still relevant today. “So much of the legal framework by which Trump’s alleged crimes had to be considered by the Special Counsel and by this Justice Depar ...more
- Rachel Maddow’s new book, ‘Bag Man,’ and the downfall of Spiro Agnew: Overshadowed by the Watergate scandal, the resignation of Nixon V.P. Spiro Agnew in 1973 over corruption and tax evasion is almost forgotten history. Rachel Maddow revisits Agnew’s story – and explains how the lessons are still relevant today. “So much of the legal framework by which Trump’s alleged crimes had to be considered by the Special Counsel and by this Justice Depar ...more
Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon’s Vice President, was one greedy guy. Agnew took bribes throughout his entire public career, including his time as Vice President when his “bag man” would personally deliver envelopes stuffed with cash to Agnew in his White House office.
This book version of Rachel Maddow’s Bag Man podcast series about the investigation into Agnew’s criminality is every bit as fascinating as the podcast and is even more delicious because of Maddow’s wit and humor. The heroes are the fed ...more
This book version of Rachel Maddow’s Bag Man podcast series about the investigation into Agnew’s criminality is every bit as fascinating as the podcast and is even more delicious because of Maddow’s wit and humor. The heroes are the fed ...more
Thank you Rachel Maddow! For exposing this scum
Spiro Agnew was a disgusting human being
1. As Governor of Maryland, he too bribes.
2. He took bribes as Vice President of the United States.
3 . Called the press enemies(Sounds like Trump)
4. Had affairs
5. Anti-Semitic. He wrote the Saudi Government to donate money to his cause of fighting the Zionist who control the U.S. He accused the Jews for his downfall because the Jews own the media. (See #3)
6. Richard Nixon couldn’t stand him and wanted to remov ...more
Spiro Agnew was a disgusting human being
1. As Governor of Maryland, he too bribes.
2. He took bribes as Vice President of the United States.
3 . Called the press enemies(Sounds like Trump)
4. Had affairs
5. Anti-Semitic. He wrote the Saudi Government to donate money to his cause of fighting the Zionist who control the U.S. He accused the Jews for his downfall because the Jews own the media. (See #3)
6. Richard Nixon couldn’t stand him and wanted to remov ...more
Did Not Finish-38 percent.
Sorry, I tried. This is beyond boring. I already know most of the details behind Agnew and Nixon, this just didn't give me anything new to read or a different perspective on things. ...more
Sorry, I tried. This is beyond boring. I already know most of the details behind Agnew and Nixon, this just didn't give me anything new to read or a different perspective on things. ...more
More of a 4.5.
I had heard of the Bagman podcast but never got around to catching up. But I remember watching Rachel talk about Agnew during a couple of A blocks of her show and was surprised that I hadn’t even heard the name of this supposedly infamous VP. So when I saw the announcement for this book, I was obviously very excited and immediately got around to reading it as soon as I got my library copy.
I naturally don’t want to hash the facts from the book again in this review, but reading abou ...more
I had heard of the Bagman podcast but never got around to catching up. But I remember watching Rachel talk about Agnew during a couple of A blocks of her show and was surprised that I hadn’t even heard the name of this supposedly infamous VP. So when I saw the announcement for this book, I was obviously very excited and immediately got around to reading it as soon as I got my library copy.
I naturally don’t want to hash the facts from the book again in this review, but reading abou ...more
My first vote ever cast in a Presidential election was for George McGovern and Sargent Shriver who lost in one of the biggest landslides in US history to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, neither of whom completed their term thanks to two separate scandals (which kind of vindicated my voting judgment I like to think!) While I was aware of some of the accusations against the brash and, we soon learn, racist VP, it was so overshadowed by Nixon's own Watergate scandal that I really didn't know all tha ...more
America's first Vice-President, John Adams, described the position as "the most insignificant Office that ever the Invention of Man contrived or his imagination conceived." It's an article of faith that most of the men who have held this exalted-sounding but functionally meaningless job were ciphers, nonentities and small-time crooks, including more than a few of the time-servers who succeeded a deceased or disgraced Executive Chief (I'm pretty sure the Chester Arthur Presidential Museum doesn't ...more
Great
Wow! Who knew how far his corruption spread? Including George H. W. Bush. Very readable...does not sound like Rachel.
I don't watch the Rachel Maddow Show, and I don't remember hearing about this book or placing it on hold at the library.
But hey, here it is. And I read it.
I think the title is meant to make you think it's about Trump, but it's about Spiro Agnew, Nixon's vice president. He resigned in disgrace due to a "tax" scandal. But the real story is that he was accepting bribes, and when he got caught he was really good at deflecting blame. So good, in fact, that he perhaps wrote the Trump playbook.
Maybe co ...more
But hey, here it is. And I read it.
I think the title is meant to make you think it's about Trump, but it's about Spiro Agnew, Nixon's vice president. He resigned in disgrace due to a "tax" scandal. But the real story is that he was accepting bribes, and when he got caught he was really good at deflecting blame. So good, in fact, that he perhaps wrote the Trump playbook.
Maybe co ...more
The case against Vice President Spiro Agnew was straightforward. As a Baltimore County executive and later as Maryland governor, Agnew arranged that contracts for public works projects such as roads an bridges would only be awarded to contractors who kicked back about 5% of the amount of the contract to Agnew and his cronies throughout the life of the project. Quarterly payments were handed over to Agnew, in cash, in white envelopes, even after he was in the White House.
Rachel Maddow relates h ...more
Rachel Maddow relates h ...more
I distinctly remember the day that Spiro T. Agnew resigned the Presidency, and had I know the true extent of his crimes, I would have been even more ecstatic to see him leave office. I always thought that he had been nabbed for tax evasion. Little did I know.
If you think that Donald Trump has been a unique politician, think again. Before there was Donald Trump, there was Spiro Agnew, a man who was chosen by Richard Nixon to be his running mate because he would attract those Southerners who would ...more
If you think that Donald Trump has been a unique politician, think again. Before there was Donald Trump, there was Spiro Agnew, a man who was chosen by Richard Nixon to be his running mate because he would attract those Southerners who would ...more
I loved the podcast and wasn’t sure if it would be redundant to read the book as well. No regrets. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of the greatest minds of our time in my humble opinion. I’m only mildly jealous. Preach it, Rachel! Amen and a-fucking-men again!
Without focusing on the current occupant of the WH, Maddow and coauthor Michael Yarvitz make the point loud and clear corruption sometimes seeps into even the highest offices in the land.
I'm old so I remember Agnew and his smarmy, snarky face and demeanor. Why am I not surprised that Pat Buchanan helped him craft some of his best lines? Birds of a feather.
But this is a story of young prosecutors determined to do the right thing, to follow bribery and extortion wherever they end up...and to fight ...more
I'm old so I remember Agnew and his smarmy, snarky face and demeanor. Why am I not surprised that Pat Buchanan helped him craft some of his best lines? Birds of a feather.
But this is a story of young prosecutors determined to do the right thing, to follow bribery and extortion wherever they end up...and to fight ...more
This book was SO entertaining, even if you have only the remotest interest in US political history. The podcast is great, the book is better. There is a wealth of new info, new characters, and much more detail behind how everything went down.
I think the two mediums (radio/podcast and the book) are perfect compliments. In the book, you have far greater detail and time, plus the benefit of several photographs of the people involved.
In the podcast, you have the tightly edited drama that brings it ...more
I think the two mediums (radio/podcast and the book) are perfect compliments. In the book, you have far greater detail and time, plus the benefit of several photographs of the people involved.
In the podcast, you have the tightly edited drama that brings it ...more
Quick impressions: Overall this is a solid work of research and history combined with a great narrative that you just have to keep reading. I stayed up way late to finish this one, and I do not do that for just any book. If you are interested in U.S. history and politics, and perhaps also understand the current times in the U.S. a bit better, you need to pick this book up now. This was excellent, and I am happy to recommend it to anyone.
Full review on my blog coming soon.
Full review on my blog coming soon.
I don't usually read nonfiction, but this book caught my eye. I remember a lot about the time of Watergate, but didn't remember much at all about Spiro Agnew. This interesting telling of the events surrounding his resignation from the Vice Presidency was an eye opener. He got off too easy as far as I can tell from this book. ...more
I enjoy Rachel Maddow’s skills in research and the ability to tell the back story of an event. I listened to the Bag Man podcasts, but also enjoyed the book. It is amazing what was going on that was overshadowed by Watergate.
Breezy in tone (kinda like Rachel's show), the book takes us back in history to the 1973 fall from grace of Vice-President Spiro Agnew. Agnew's reaction and tactics foreshadowed what we saw during the Trump Administration. ...more
Ms. Maddow and Mr. Yarvitz have written a compelling story about Spiro Agnew. I literally could not put it down, finishing the whole book in one day. So much information to digest, for me a lot of new data. Would totally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys political history. Well researched and told in a manner that was easy to understand and comprehend. Agnew reminded me of Trump, except he wasn't born rich and had more than a third grade vocabulary. Well done! I received an e-book from Ne ...more
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