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Gold Medal Software - Volume 5 (Gold Medal) (1995).iso
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HALDEMAN
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1994-10-18
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5KB
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The Haldeman Diaries
review by
BOB GARSSON
If you're a news junkie, a lover of political intrigue or simply
want to know more about the Nixon years and Watergate from the
perspective of a key participant, you need to get a copy of The
Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House. But don't bother
with the print edition. Invest in the acclaimed multimedia edition
recently issued by Sony Imagesoft. It's well worth the added money.
You'll not only get the full text of the print edition, but double
that amount because the CD-ROM contains the unedite d journal
text--some 2,200 pages in all. Along with it you'll get a great
many extras that add depth and insight to the book and its author,
the late H. R. "Bob" Haldeman, chief of staff to President Richard
M. Nixon during his years in the White House.
Haldeman began his diaries two days before the inauguration--the
same day he arrived in Washington. His final entry was made the day
Nixon forced him to resign. In between, he tells of the Nixon years
as he saw them from his position of power. It's the extras,
however, that make the multimedia edition worthwhile. Not only
those 1,100 or so extra pages of text from the diaries. The CD-ROM,
for example, will give you the ability to put the President's
appointment calendar alongside the diary entries so you can see both
in context.
The disk also contains one hour of never-before-seen home movies
(consolidated from 27 hours of footage) shot by Haldeman over the
years. His wife, Jo Haldeman, notes that he began shooting home
movies of his family prior to going to Washington and the hobby
progressed to state visits, trips to Camp David, internal White
House meetings and special events. Haldeman eventually realized he
had archived significant historical documentation. He though about
giving the home movies to the Library of Congress, bu t decided
instead to use them in a broader context. Jo Haldeman makes it a
point to note, that Haldeman has never intended for the dairies to
be published when he set down the words--first in writing and then
on tape. It was some 20 years later when he reviewed them and
realized what he had that he decided they would be made public.
There are, in addition to the film, some 900 photographs and there
are 30 minutes of diary excerpts in Haldeman's own voice--taken from
the tapes he dictated.
Another item of interest is the 120-page letter Haldeman wrote
(but never sent) to Jim Neal, the prosecuting attorney. In it, he
staunchly proclaims his innocence. The voice introduction to the CD
is by Dwight Chapin, who worked closely with Haldeman in the White
House. Haldeman died in 1993 before he could complete his project,
but his wife has continued the process and fulfilled his wish of
publishing his complete unabridged diary and the home movies in
CD-ROM format.
There are seven basic parts to the dairies and they make up the
desktop view called the main menu. Clicking on the stack of
notebooks displays a table of contents window, which lists the
different sections of the dairies. The viewer can click the title
of any section to go there. Clicking on the dairy itself displays
the diary window. Entries appear by date and buttons at the bottom
allow skipping forward or back by day, month, or year. When a
person's name is highlighted in an entry, clicking on the name jumps
to a biography of the person. Clicking on the appointment book
brings up the split window which allows the user to compare the
diary entry with the President's schedule for the day.
The user can click on the movie camera to see a list of
Haldeman's film clips, which appear in a play window with narrative
below. Similarly, clicking on the photo album brings up a list of
photographs from the Haldeman scrapbooks and White House archives.
Photos also appear with narrative text underneath.
By using a magnifying glass on the desktop, the user can begin a
search for specific text, such as a name, location or topic. The
software reports the dates of diary entries that include the typed
text.
Finally, there are biography folders. Clicking on them brings
up a list of names and the brief biographies appear in a window with
buttons that display text and visual references to that person.
Hardware requirements are a 386SX processor or higher with 4
megabytes of RAM and Windows 3.1 or higher. A CD-ROM drive and
mouse or other pointing device is required. The publisher
recommends a 256-color display and a Windows compatible sound card.
Without them, the user will not see colors or hear sounds.
To successfully install the Haldeman Diaries requires two
megabytes of hard drive space and QuickTime for Windows, Version
1.1. If the necessary files don't exist on your system, they will
be installed (with your permission).
Sony Imagesoft
2400 Broadway Avenue
Suite 550
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 4492371