Jeb Stuart Magruder would tell you that he did wrong and is heartily sorry for having offended thee. But his sort-of biography, "An American Life : One Man's Road to Watergate," is nothing more than an attempt to downplay his role in one of our nation's biggest scandals. Like his fellow conspirator, John Dean, Magruder likes to take the "I know I did wrong, but they did more wrong" tack. Magruder admits he got sucked into the morass that was Watergate, but his explanations come off as that of a whining child, laying most of the blame on the feet of G. Gordon Liddy and John Mitchell. "An American Life" is not entirely a throwaway--like Dean's "Blind Ambition," it provides insight into the thinking of the second-level bureaucrats who tried to further their careers by doing the dirty work. But Nixon's memiors and John Ehrichman's "Witness to Power" are much more enlightening and enjoyable to read.

I enjoyed this book, as I typically enjoy political memoirs. I'm glad that Rev. Magruder has found a measure of peace. My suggestion is to read this work along with the memoirs of others involved in Watergate. The shift in perspective was (for me) informative.

After having worked for Rev. Magruder in the mid to late '80's, I know the man personally and know that he wrote this book with nothing but fact and truth in mind. For anyone else reading this book, An American Life will be interpreted individually, but Jeb is truly one of the Watergate Eight that paid dearly, both professionally and personally, for his actions in the Watergate scandal. This is a book worth reading that will help today's youth understand how power, profession and politics from the '70's were used by both parties for gain in Washington.