Carl Bernstein

A riveting account of the Nixon presidency spiraling down the drain. I wouldn’t recommend it as your first Nixon book since the authors reasonably figured that anyone reading this book when it came out in 1976 would be familiar with the story so they don’t spend much time setting things up (you’d be better off starting with a more general Nixon bio)
But if you are already familiar with Watergate and the poor souls it ensnared this is compelling material and drama, even though you know show more how it will all shake down. The biggest surprise was the almost sympathetic portrayal of Tricky Dick himself, an awkward introvert under a tremendous strain of his own paranoid making. I’ve read many presidential bios but none of them featured as many commander-in-chief tears as this one. show less

Change the names from 1972 to today's names and nothing has changed. The talking points and the words are the same. Denials and coming down on the press from the White House. I am astounded how much things stay the same in 50 years. While the book at first is a little disconcerting because of all the names as well as feeling I was dropped into the middle of a conversation, I soon got comfortable as Bernstein and Woodward tell of putting the Watergate story and the subsequent fallout stories show more together to get a full story of what happened during the Nixon reelection campaign. This is much more interesting now than it was 50 years ago when all I cared about was my soap operas being exempted for the Watergate coverage. There are so many parallels to 2020 and beyond. show less

You know the drill: a break-in at the Democratic National Committee office in the Watergate complex led to the collapse of Richard Nixon's presidential administration, largely thanks to the efforts of intrepid reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

What I liked about All the President's Men was how Bernstein and Woodward peel back the tight factual skin of newspaper reporting to reveal their own screw-ups and the humanity of their opponents. They repeatedly record that queasy moment when show more a journalist has to choose between a scoop and compassion. The greater good doesn't always win, but compassion can't compete with good copy:

"As the cry of JEEEEEESUS was repeated, Bernstein had perceived the excruciating depth of Mitchell's hurt. For a moment, he had been afraid that Mitchell might die on the telephone, and for the first time Mitchell was flesh and blood, not Nixon's campaign manager, the shadow of Kent State, Carswell's keeper, the high sheriff of Law and Order, the jowled heavy of Watergate. Bernstein's skin felt prickly." [110] show less

Of an engaging nonfiction narrative, it’s often said—as a form of praise—that it “reads like a novel.” Presumably because the characters are well developed, the plot is interesting, the themes are relevant or perceptive, and the prose style is compelling or original or captivating in some way. While this book certainly tells the tale of what is perhaps still the most consequential feat of 20th-century journalism, it is not a nonfiction book that reads like a novel. It is, however, show more worth the read, if only to provide hope given the current chaotic mess that is the US Executive branch of government.

The factors that prevent All the President’s Men from achieving the lauded “reads like a novel” status are perhaps beyond the control of Bernstein and Woodward, who prove themselves to be intrepid, reflective reporters who are not above admitting their own shortcomings or lapses in judgment. The story they uncover is such a byzantine quagmire of conflicting loyalties, stealthy connections, cloak-and-dagger schemes, and downright preposterous (yet true) accusations against the most esteemed government office in the US that one forgives them for failing to weave an intelligible plot out of the Gordian knot of intrigue that they discover. Furthermore, Bernstein and Woodward are not necessarily storytellers—they are journalists telling the story of their story.

Over 40 years after the Watergate scandal, the paranoia, hypocrisy, and dishonesty that emanated from the office of the President of the United States feel all too palpable in the current era, when we are forced to endure what will undoubtedly be regarded as the most ignorant, embarrassing, arrogant, appalling, and absolutely batsh*t crazy administration of all time. I simply hope that somewhere, working for a newspaper or website like the Washington Post, there are journalists in the mold of Bernstein and Woodward who will someday tell the story of 45’s corruption and reveal him for the criminal that he is. show less