As the title of the book indicates, Nixon was alone in the White House. Unlike most politicians Nixon preferred to be alone. President Charles de Gaulle was Nixon's role model whom he could very much relate to. Nixon underlined a sentence in de Gaulle's memoir that read: Great men of action without exception possessed in a very high degree the faculty of withdrawing into themselves." Nixon set up an office in the Executive Office Building (EOB 175) where he could engage in "brainwork." He could be alone with nothing more than a yellow pad and his thoughts. As he told Haldeman, "I must build a wall around me." Nixon's desire to be alone and avoid social situations even extended to dinner. After his first state dinner Nixon told Haldeman that dinners lasted too long and needed to be sped up. He even suggested leaving out the soup course.
Nixon did not like to have to confront people. According to Nixon, the chief of staff was charged with doing the things Nixon did not want to. Confronting, criticizing, and disciplining were all functions that the chief of staff was to perform. Haldeman was the person who fired and insulted people. Upon meeting Thieu in Hawaii, Nixon was very tense. He did not know what to expect and was wary of confrontation. .
Nixon saw the press as enemy in an almost delusional and paranoid manner. Even during times when the media appeared very cordial and positive toward him, he saw things in a much different light. "You don't understand," he stated, "they are waiting to destroy to us." Whenever aroused to anger by any particular media outlet, he would ban all communication with it. After the Eagle landed on the moon, with cameras all around, Nixon spoke with them from the Oval Office on the phone. An editorial in the New York Times stated that Nixon's call was a waste of the astronaut's time and that the President was attempting to steal the glory of Kennedy and Johnson.
