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A review by mishka_espey
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
5.0
This was one of the most incredible reads I have ever experienced. Not lightly do I say this, but I wouldn't hesitate to rank it among my all-time favorite books. It's unlike anything I've read and anything I expected. Here's why.
This is not your average history book. It reads like a political thriller. But even more importantly, this isn't written by a novelist or a historian or a biographer or a scholar; it's written by two top-notch journalists, and it reads like sheer journalism. I love fiction and nonfiction alike, but I'd never read anything like this before. Every page is packed with so much information it makes the brain reel. It took me quite a few chapters to adjust to what felt like a constant hose of names and facts and clues spilling down the paper. No sentence is a waste of space; every word earns its keep. This is supposed to be the rule for writing any book, but it is never more clearly followed than in All the President's Men. If you enjoy keeping up with the news and reading political articles, you may feel more at home with this read. I was gloriously out of my element.
This is an importantbook. Again -- every book, fiction or non, should have a strong sense of purpose that shines through to the reader and assures them they're not wasting their time, but nothing I've ever read does this so well as All the President's Men. This is Woodward and Bernstein's thoroughly-researched account of the Watergate scandal and how it unfolded, in intricate detail. While being careful to protect the anonymity of their sources, the reporters feel duty-bound to leave no shadowy corner unexplored in their search for the truth. Because of the rules of journalism, the dozens of articles they wrote for The Washington Post on Watergate represent only the tip of the iceberg in their exploration of corruption in the Nixon Administration and, in particular, the Committee to Re-elect the President. In order for the paper to print something, sources had to be checked and re-checked, and given the frighteningly powerful players involved, hundreds of sources were scared into silence, unwilling to name names or go on the record. All the President's Men represents Woodward and Bernstein's opportunity to forego those rules of journalism and lay out everything they know about Watergate without fear or prick of conscience. The result sheds light on an administration so corrupt and so powerful and so exhaustive in scope that I shuddered to read.
But perhaps my favorite aspect of the book was not Woodward and Bernstein's incredible journalism and the secrets they exposed, but the humility of the journalists themselves in retelling their story. It would be so easy to paint themselves the heroic, faithful, never-say-die reporters -- and in many respects, I think they were that and more -- but they are careful not to glorify themselves. They were doing their jobs. The focus of the book is not on Woodward and Bernstein, but on the slow unraveling of the truth.
At times in the chase, they made mistakes. They let their fervor lead them to employ tactics that didn't represent the finest of journalism. They are frank about their mistakes and do not hold back in recounting where they went wrong and the repercussions of their actions. At other times, they were one-upped by clever reporting from another newspaper, and they are frank in their respect for their colleagues, too. They were far from the only reporters covering Watergate, and they were not the only ones to uncover key leads along the way. They consistently give credit where credit is due.
I'll say it again -- this book is incredible. After months upon months of the most tenacious journalism, the kind that involves staying up through all hours of the night hunting down leads and making calls and meeting secret sources in dark garages and sitting at the typewriter rewriting the same paragraph time after time -- after a hunt for the truth so vigorous it made history, this book is the ultimate cleaning of Woodward and Bernstein's consciences. This is their opportunity to share with America everything they know about Watergate and how they know it. And most miraculously of all, as they expose to the public the wicked, corrupt truths hidden in the White House, they do so while maintaining a personal integrity so strong it shines through on every page.
This is not your average history book. It reads like a political thriller. But even more importantly, this isn't written by a novelist or a historian or a biographer or a scholar; it's written by two top-notch journalists, and it reads like sheer journalism. I love fiction and nonfiction alike, but I'd never read anything like this before. Every page is packed with so much information it makes the brain reel. It took me quite a few chapters to adjust to what felt like a constant hose of names and facts and clues spilling down the paper. No sentence is a waste of space; every word earns its keep. This is supposed to be the rule for writing any book, but it is never more clearly followed than in All the President's Men. If you enjoy keeping up with the news and reading political articles, you may feel more at home with this read. I was gloriously out of my element.
This is an importantbook. Again -- every book, fiction or non, should have a strong sense of purpose that shines through to the reader and assures them they're not wasting their time, but nothing I've ever read does this so well as All the President's Men. This is Woodward and Bernstein's thoroughly-researched account of the Watergate scandal and how it unfolded, in intricate detail. While being careful to protect the anonymity of their sources, the reporters feel duty-bound to leave no shadowy corner unexplored in their search for the truth. Because of the rules of journalism, the dozens of articles they wrote for The Washington Post on Watergate represent only the tip of the iceberg in their exploration of corruption in the Nixon Administration and, in particular, the Committee to Re-elect the President. In order for the paper to print something, sources had to be checked and re-checked, and given the frighteningly powerful players involved, hundreds of sources were scared into silence, unwilling to name names or go on the record. All the President's Men represents Woodward and Bernstein's opportunity to forego those rules of journalism and lay out everything they know about Watergate without fear or prick of conscience. The result sheds light on an administration so corrupt and so powerful and so exhaustive in scope that I shuddered to read.
But perhaps my favorite aspect of the book was not Woodward and Bernstein's incredible journalism and the secrets they exposed, but the humility of the journalists themselves in retelling their story. It would be so easy to paint themselves the heroic, faithful, never-say-die reporters -- and in many respects, I think they were that and more -- but they are careful not to glorify themselves. They were doing their jobs. The focus of the book is not on Woodward and Bernstein, but on the slow unraveling of the truth.
At times in the chase, they made mistakes. They let their fervor lead them to employ tactics that didn't represent the finest of journalism. They are frank about their mistakes and do not hold back in recounting where they went wrong and the repercussions of their actions. At other times, they were one-upped by clever reporting from another newspaper, and they are frank in their respect for their colleagues, too. They were far from the only reporters covering Watergate, and they were not the only ones to uncover key leads along the way. They consistently give credit where credit is due.
I'll say it again -- this book is incredible. After months upon months of the most tenacious journalism, the kind that involves staying up through all hours of the night hunting down leads and making calls and meeting secret sources in dark garages and sitting at the typewriter rewriting the same paragraph time after time -- after a hunt for the truth so vigorous it made history, this book is the ultimate cleaning of Woodward and Bernstein's consciences. This is their opportunity to share with America everything they know about Watergate and how they know it. And most miraculously of all, as they expose to the public the wicked, corrupt truths hidden in the White House, they do so while maintaining a personal integrity so strong it shines through on every page.