The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat

by Bob Woodward

Paper Book, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

973.924092

Genres

Collection

Politics, Government

Publication

Simon & Schuster (2005), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 256 pages

Description

Presents an examination of the author's long and complex relationship with the FBI official responsible for providing him with the details of the Watergate break-in, which ultimately resulted in the resignation of President Nixon.

User reviews

LibraryThing member thorswitch

I read this while I was in the hospital, and this book was interesting enough that it helped distract me from how I was feeling. Woodward could easily have turned this into a hagiography of Mark Felt, but instead present a portrait of a complicated and conflicted man. It's also a nice companion for

"All the President's Men," helping to round out those stories a bit more by bringing the shadowy figure of Deep Throat into the light.

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LibraryThing member yeremenko

The story about how Woodward met Feld, how they communicated, etc, is fascinating. You can tell Woodward was rushed and caught off guard by Feld's family's decision to name him as Deep Throat. The lat part of the book seems rushed and full of self-justification. Woodward seems a bit miffed to lose

control of the secret, but you can also feel the stress he was under to protect a source.

A must read for anyone interested in Watergate.

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LibraryThing member mrminjares

This compelling sequel to All the President's Men offers rich detail about the relationship between Bob Woodward and W. Mark Felt, the FBI agent otherwise known as Deepthroat. Both men had a personal relationship with origins before the Watergate scandal. We learn that Mark Felt was a loyalist to

Hoover, and that one of his motives may have been to preserve the integrity of the FBI that he and Hoover had helped to construct. But Mark Felt was not altogether clear with his motives. The slow pace and dribble of clues he provided to Bob Woodward may have been deliberately calculated, or the product of mixed motives. Was Mark Felt the type of man who wished to serve his country, but also not betray it? These are questions that we and Bob Woodward are unable to answer. By the time Felt's famy decided to reveal the identity of deepthroat, Felt had lost all memory of Watergate with the onset of dementia.

This book was a nice exploration of the relationship between Woodward and Felt. It helped to clarify for me the discussions with Deepthroat and his incredibly important role in the breaking of the Watergate story.

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LibraryThing member whirled

The Secret Man provides a summary of the Watergate story, with one important piece of the puzzle finally in place. The background on W. Mark Felt and his relationship with Bob Woodward make it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Nixon years. And, of course, Woodward brings his usual

highly readable narrative non-fiction style to the proceedings. It's just a shame Felt left it so long to 'out' himself as Deep Throat, because some of his (and Woodward's) recollections are very vague indeed.

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LibraryThing member carolfoisset

Listened to this book in the car and must admit my mind wandered at times, but I did learn a lot about Watergate and found the information fascinating.

LibraryThing member olegalCA

I wasn't even in the womb when the Watergate story broke. However, the Judicial committee did pass articles of impeachment on Richard Nixon on my first birthday! Regardless of that, I can't appreciate the effect of Watergate on the people who were around at that time. Still, I do remember growing

up, that we would use the term "Deep Throat" in the context of secrets and unknown subjects, without a proper understanding of where the term came from.

I do, however, remember the announcement in 2005 that Mark Felt was Deep Throat. There were only a handful of people who knew his identity - but still, I consider the fact that the secret was kept for so long to be amazing. I suppose more than one alive person can keep a secret in certain situations.

Bob Woodward's book is readable but lacking the fast-paced excitement that "All the President's Men" generated, at least in me. Still, it was fun to read and see all the different theories that people have had over the years and compare them to the real story.

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