Admiration for those remaining silent about government secrets seems an archaic idea in this new millennium of instant news. However, in the late 1970s, one man, G. Gordon Liddy, gained such admiration for not revealing the inside workings of a plan to re-elect a president. George Gordon Liddy was born on November 30, 1930 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Liddy, as he stated in his best selling autobiography, Will, that he "became what [he] wanted to be." After a childhood dominated by illness, Liddy wanted to become a strong man. To do this, he often participated in dangerous and nauseating exercises, as detailed in his autobiography, such as burning his hand over a candle and eating rats.

Liddy passed the bar in 1957. However, he sidelined private and public practice until 1962 to become an FBI agent. By 1970, Liddy had also worked his way into the political arena. Throughout the early 1970s, he...