AS SUMMER TURNED to Fall in 1952, Richard Milhous Nixon was a young politician in a hurry. In just six years, he had gone from obscurity to celebrity. His future seemed secure and bright as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee on the ticket with the most popular political candidate in generations—General Dwight D. Eisenhower. But Nixon’s national ascendancy was almost over before his fortieth birthday. A scandal about a “secret rich man’s fund” was making newspaper headlines across the country. Many called for him to be dropped from the ticket. Even Eisenhower’s support wavered.