I really struggled with that book, and then I saw the movie, and it made a huge difference. I liked the book much better once I had the movie to give the characters their faces and the plot some structure.
I didn’t read the book, but I really enjoyed the podcast. Hearing the voices of those involved (including the young DOJ lawyers who realized, with dawning horror, just what kind of a case they’d stumbled onto) was particularly worthwhile.
And see: A long-secret 1973 memo on how to become President in a hurry
My son and I read the book aloud over the summer and liked it a lot (and didn’t mind at all Scalzi’s veiled swipes at a certain former President).