Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
An Ordinary Man summary
Richard Norton Smith
The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
18 mins
Brief summary
An Ordinary Man by Richard Norton Smith is a compelling memoir that offers an intimate and inspiring account of the life of an extraordinary leader, motivating readers to reflect on their own beliefs and values.
Table of Contents
An Ordinary Man
Summary of 4 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 4
The unexpected president
Richard Nixon was a shrewd politician: he kept his ear to the ground and usually knew which way the wind was blowing. But he misjudged Gerald Ford.
Our story begins in 1973. Nixon’s administration was in meltdown. His vice president, Spiro Agnew, was mired in allegations of corruption, and on October 10, 1973, he resigned. Nixon himself was in trouble, too. Having dispatched his vice president, the House of Representatives moved to impeach Nixon.
The basic facts of the Watergate scandal were known. Members of Nixon’s reelection campaign committee had hired former CIA agents to burglarize the Democratic party’s headquarters and steal compromising documents. When the story broke, there was a cover-up. The question then was how far up the chain of command the corruption went. When the Supreme Court forced Nixon to release subpoenaed White House tape recordings the following summer, the answer became clear: all the way to the top.
Nixon had one last hope: he appointed Ford as vice president. Ford had been on the Hill since he was first elected in 1948. Although he’d steadily risen through the Republican party’s ranks, he wasn’t the kind of cutthroat political operator Nixon feared – he was “good old Gerry,” part of the Washington furniture. Making Ford his vice president was an insurance policy. No one, he thought, was going to impeach him if it meant making an unassuming nobody like Ford commander-in-chief of the free world.
But the House smelled blood – and it preferred a “nobody” like Ford to a crook like Nixon.
On August 1, 1974, Ford learned that, barring a miracle, Nixon was going to resign. He had a dinner date with friends that evening that he couldn’t cancel. Ford, who’d been sworn to secrecy and was slowly becoming aware of the momentous thing that was about to happen to him, was unusually withdrawn. “You’re awfully quiet tonight, Mr. Vice President,” his friend remarked. Ford apologized and said he thought he had a cold coming on.
On August 8, Nixon announced his resignation. At 12:01 p.m. on August 9, he officially resigned from the presidency; Gerald Ford was sworn in four minutes later.
Want to see all full key ideas from An Ordinary Man?
Key ideas in An Ordinary Man
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is An Ordinary Man about?
An Ordinary Man (2023) is the complete biography of Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the United States. Under his leadership, America navigated its gravest constitutional crisis since the Civil War and confronted its most profound economic slump since the Great Depression. While Ford can be seen as an “accidental president,” historian Richard Norton Smith argues that his accomplishments were numerous and significant.
Who should read An Ordinary Man?
- History buffs
- Politicos interested post-Watergate America
- Fans of in-depth biographical works
Categories with An Ordinary Man
Book summaries like An Ordinary Man
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
28 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth