Egil Krogh (1939–2020)

The White House Plumbers is Egil "Bud" Krogh's memoir/biography told with Matthew Krogh and narrated by Peter Krogh. There is some new or lesser-known things here but what makes it different from many other accounts is the perspective, that of an insider, one of the criminals.

Like any memoir, the reader needs to remember that when any of us tell our own stories, or the stories of close relatives, we will, whether consciously or not, tell it in the least unflattering manner. When a criminal does the telling, no matter how remorseful they may or may not be, there will be rationalizations for why they did something that was clearly illegal from the beginning. That doesn't make the book less interesting but it is something readers need to keep in mind. Take everything with well more than one grain of salt.

Having made that point, I found the story to be quite interesting and, regardless of my opinion of the remorse, found Krogh to be genuine in his initial belief he was doing something for the greater good. Even though that "greater good" entailed breaking numerous laws, sometimes people are so sure of their righteousness that they consider laws to be for others and not themselves and those they support. Just look at today's version of the GOP.

While I would recommend this for those who enjoy memoirs and have an interest in the demise of Nixon's administration, I would caution the reader not to expect a lot of new and earth-shattering revelations. This is an attempt at redemption, albeit an interesting one.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)

A small, short story about both the events during Watergate and the reflection of one of the players on his own roll.

Egil Krogh headed the Special Investigations Unit, the "Plumbers". Their activities included the break in at Dr. Fieldings office, who was Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. Ellsberg decided to leak the "Pentagon Papers" about the deceit of the US administration involving stealth activities in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Krogh tells the story how it came to be in a concise and effective way with some "petite histoire" along the road. He then reflects on his own role in the Watergate scandal.

You're easily tempted to doubt the sincerity of these kinds of confessions, but Krogh makes it seem real and honest. He points at a workshop he followed by Rushworth M. Kidder and the accompanying book "How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living".

Recommended.… (mehr)