To his supporters in the 1940s, he was a populist everyman. To 1950s intellectuals, he was Tricky Dick. To 1960s radicals, a shadowy conspirator. To Washington reporters, a spin doctor. To Middle Americans, a scapegoat. To psychologists, a paranoiac. To foreign-policy hands, a statesman. To recent historians, an unlikely liberal. Drawing on new archival research as well as television, movies, and songs, Nixon's Shadow explores these competing views of our most controversial president--and shows how Richard Nixon brought ''image'' to the forefront of politics.