Richard Nixon

Kissinger's guiding foreign policy principle was that strategic national interests take priority over more idealistic aims, like the promotion of human rights and democracy.

How far could a president go to stay in office if convinced his reelection was crucial to the nation? What liability would he face? And how much stress can the fragile structure of democracy stand?

Ellsberg's release of what were called the 'Pentagon Papers' hastened the end of the Vietnam war, prompted a landmark Supreme Court ruling and contributed to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.

Sheehan, who died Jan. 7, broke the story of the Pentagon Papers and wrote A Bright Shining Lie, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Vietnam War. Originally broadcast in 1988.

The scene is a Washington D.C. in turmoil. There’s a "constitutional crisis" with a president who argues the law doesn’t apply to him. He ignores…

In his new book, New York Times journalist Tim Weiner paints a portrait of a president overwhelmed by wars at home and abroad, whose self-destructive behavior resulted in "political suicide."