<i>Scorpions’ Dance</i> tells the story of Richard Nixon, CIA director Richard Helms, and their secrets, from the 1950s through the Watergate scandal and its aftermath. The book is well researched and clearly written; John Pruden did a wonderful job narrating the audiobook. I have to say the things I learned in this book made me ashamed to be an American. I knew very little about the Watergate scandal prior to reading this book, and I would highly recommend it to those wanting to know more about it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Do you enjoy studying/learning political history? If I’m honest, I didn’t find it very interesting until I was almost thirty. But with the political debacles we’ve recently survived, it’s become apparent to me that studying the past gives a clearer lens with which to view the current landscape.

Scheming. Conniving. Government at its worst. With the trials for January 6 underway, this book about Watergate on its 50th anniversary suddenly feels very relevant.

Two men: Nixon and Helms. And a power struggle that would take them both down. As Morley recounts the volatile relationship between these men, the ugly underbelly of politics is laid bare.

The writing is easy to follow, even for the political novice, while also detailed and exceptionally plotted. Facts are gleaned from newly released Watergate documents that uncover previously well concealed evidences. I don’t read historical recounts often, but this one is both revealing and pertinent, making it a worthy addition to my bookshelf.

Narrated by John Prudden, the audiobook is well executed. If you’re on the go, it makes a great alternative to the physical book.

Thank you to my partners St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for these #gifted copies.

I DNF this one:( Will try to pick up physical copy but this narrator wasn’t doing it for me and I found it hard to follow his story line. Thank you so much and I’m so sorry!

A comprehensive and incredibly researched book, "Scorpions' Dance" by Jefferson Morley dives deep into the Watergate scandal with impressive takeaways. Beginning in the 1950s and leading all the way through the Watergate scandal, this novel focuses on Richard Nixon and Richard Helms--the two "scorpions". While the scope and detail of this novel are amazing, the book also doesn't loose track of the overarching themes and implications.

I've rarely read a non-fiction book that does such a superb job of balancing the micro-details with the macro-picture. While sometimes overwhelming with the amount of detail, "Scorpions' Dance" always re-centered around the implications of government breaking the public's trust. This made the novel feel grounded and intensely relevant for today's political climate. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in politics as the Watergate scandal was an immensely formative part of American political history.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley for sending me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal happened just a few days ago, which makes the release of this book all the more timely.

This book focuses on the relationship between Richard Nixon and CIA leader Richard Helms. Morley skillfully weaves a intricate web of relations and tensions between Nixon and Helms, showing the long progression of their relationship. Rather than focus on only on the Watergate incident, Morley gives years of backstory to the political careers of both men. Morley focusing a lot on Helms interactions with Kennedy before his assassination, specially their involvement with the CIA’s failed assassination attempts on Fidel Castro (including one with a poisoned pen). During this time, Nixon was focusing on trying to run for president in 1964. At the last moment Nixon chose not to run, which was a wise move, & ended up winning when he run in 1968. After Nixon’s election, he and Helms became “unlikely partners in power.**” Morley skillfully weaves a complicated picture of the immense web of deceit, deception, and lies with these two men spun over the course of their lives.

I have two issues with this book. First, it’s too long. Parts of this book (mainly in the first quarter) drag out and make the book seem like it is going on for too long, even though it’s less than 350 pages. It takes a long time to get to anything related to Watergate which I wasn’t expecting. This may partially be due to marketing but I expected more of the book to revolve around Watergate, so I felt like it took too long to get to those parts. Second, I don’t know if the ending was completely satisfying. Even still, I really enjoyed learning more about this time in history and hearing information that is usually not discussed in the context of Watergate.

There is a lot of information that you’re trying to absorb when you read this book and I will definitely be revisiting it at some point in the future.

Overall, if this book sounds interesting to you I think you’ll probably enjoy it, especially if you enjoy reading about American history, however if this isn’t something you think you would love to read about I would say skip it. I would definitely say the audiobook is the way to go on this one - the narration is great.

**All quotes are from the ARC audiobook, not the final edition

This is heavy. Specially reading it this week with the J6 commission hearings. Super important to read though

Jefferson Morley’s Scorpions’ Dance: The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate is a real-life Cold War thriller, filled with schemes, conspiracies, political scandals, and cold cases. Ostensibly centered around Watergate, this is a tale that goes much deeper than the corrupt yet tragic figure of Richard Nixon. Charting the CIA’s newfound power in the postwar era, and their contentious relationship with the White House, Morley does not shy away from exploring conspiracies, nor is he so inclined as to try to debunk them. He does not challenge the claim that JFK won the 1960 presidential election in part because of his family’s mob ties in Chicago (a claim that more and more historians have come to accept over time), but he also declines to exonerate the CIA from any potential role they may have played in Kennedy’s assassination (a conspiracy that remains controversial to this day). Here we’re shown a symbiotic relationship between the CIA and the presidency, with the two being forced to work together while also seeking to undermine each other through spying and blackmail. Along the way, Scorpions’ Dance exposes a legacy of war, political assassinations, and lies that would put any espionage novel to shame.

If you want an in depth look into not just Watergate, but everything surrounding it - then this is the book for you. Not only is it jam packed full of information, but it’s delivered in a way that doesn’t feel like a textbook - and I definitely appreciate that especially as a college student…I read enough textbooks.

Thanks to NetGalley, I also got access to this as an audiobook and the narrator hit it out of the park. His voice fits perfectly with the content and HE sounds interested in it which makes ME more interested in it. It’s really great.

Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I’m really happy I read this one.

Synopsis: "Nixon and Helms went back decades; both were 1950s Cold Warriors, and both knew secrets about the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba as well as off-the-books American government and CIA plots to remove Fidel Castro and other leaders in Latin America. Both had enough information on each other to ruin their careers.

After the Watergate burglary on June 17, 1972, Nixon was desperate to shut down the FBI's investigation. He sought Helms' support and asked that the CIA intervene—knowing that most of the Watergate burglars were retired CIA agents, contractors, or long-term assets with deep knowledge of the Agency's most sensitive secrets. The two now circled each other like scorpions, defending themselves with the threat of lethal attack. The loser would resign his office in disgrace; the winner, however, would face consequences for the secrets he had kept."

My thoughts: I didn't know much more about Watergate than a short section in high school taught me and I really learned a lot from this audiobook. It was surprisingly easy to listen to, even though typically history is a challenge for me to get into. I think both the author and narrator did an excellent job on this one.

Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to this audiobook prior to release. This will be available for purchase on June 7.