“The work that brought down a presidency…perhaps the most influential piece of journalism in history” (Time)—from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, #1 New York Times bestselling authors of The Final Days. The most devastating political detective story of the century: two Washington Post reporters, whose brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation smashed the Watergate scandal wide open, tell … investigation smashed the Watergate scandal wide open, tell the behind-the-scenes drama the way it really happened.
One of Time magazine’s All-Time 100 Best Nonfiction Books, this is the book that changed America. Published just months before President Nixon’s resignation, All the President’s Men revealed the full scope of the scandal and introduced for the first time the mysterious “Deep Throat.” Beginning with the story of a simple burglary at Democratic headquarters and then continuing through headline after headline, Bernstein and Woodward deliver a riveting firsthand account of their reporting. Their explosive reports won a Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post, toppled the president, and have since inspired generations of reporters.
All the President’s Men is a riveting detective story, capturing the exhilarating rush of the biggest presidential scandal in US history as it unfolded in real time.
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Watergate. Relatively recent American history, and still not totally understood by most Americans. There’s still a lot of questions about Watergate, and a lot of mystery surrounds it. The events of this scandal helped shaped American culture and change the way people view the Presidency.
Reading this book one thing was readily apparent to me- my teachers really should’ve talked about this more in school. In my experience of public education, Watergate was a footnote towards the end of the school year when we discussed (for all of maybe one class period) the history of the Vietnam War, Nixon, and hippies.
Watergate is a lot more than a footnote.
Bernstein and Woodward tried to make comprehensible a series of events that were pretty incomprehensible. I appreciate that it was written chronologically from, by and large, their points of view, which helped me to follow along things. The list of who’s who in the front of the book also helped me a lot because I wasn’t terribly familiar with any of the President’s Men.
I also appreciated that the authors were upfront about where they messed up. They freely admit when they made mistakes and how some of their own decisions were in that grey area between ethical and unethical.
What most interested me though was how similar I found some of the press releases and the White House responses to what is happening in our country today. It was sometimes a little eerie.
All in all, I would say every American (and people of other countries) should read this book, because it helps to illustrate how government and politics can go wrong in this way. Watergate is something to learn from, be aware of, and on guard for. It could easily happen again.
I first read this book in high school (30 years ago) and I picked it up again for a book challenge and it totally was as good as I remembered. All the President’s Men is an excellent example of not only political coverage, but ethics in journalism. You feel the tension start to build as the reporters and editors at Washington Post start putting the pieces together as they interview scores of witnesses, including the infamous Deep Throat. I liked that they did not shy away from admitting they made mistakes along the way. All the President’s Men is an excellent book and will keep you riveted until the last page.
Oh wow! I read this sooo long ago. I’d been one of those people who was too busy to pay much attention to the news, and I believed Nixon when he said, “I am not a crook!”. Several years after he left office, a friend kept telling me I was wrong, and gave me this book to read. Wow!
It’s highly readable, and it opened my eyes. I still think Nixon did some good things, like opening up with China, but I was disappointed in him, and I finally agreed that he had to go. Now, of course, we have an idiot in the White House who has done things far worse than Nixon ever thought of. This book will make you think about what America used to stand for. Highly recommended!
It should be required reading / deep through, the original whistel blower
It was a true historical book. My spouse did some of the research on it so it was very interesting to me as I knew what was happening as it unfolded.
As I began preparing for my second novel (a work of historical fiction focusing on women’s growing influence in politics during the late 60s and early 70s), I found this account of the Watergate events to be very useful. Straight-forward, to the point, and an excellent assessment of the events surrounding the greatest political scandal of our time.
This is a non-fiction book that reads like a political thriller. It is the real-time story of how two dogged reporters helped break one of the major political cover-ups in American history. It is a must-read for anyone interested in politics, American History, or journalism.
Especially relevant today with the world in such a mess with Trump. Worth a re-read
Great book. Very topical. Still resonates 40 years later.