All the President’s Men ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒
Genre: Political nonfiction
US Publication: 1974
Print: 349 pages
Audio: 12 hours 57 minutes
Confetti Rating: 4.5 stars
REVIEW:
If you like detective stories and haven’t seen “All the President’s Men,” that’s something you’re going to want to rectify right now. Seriously, stop what you’re doing and look up which of your streaming services (or libraries!) has it for you to watch this weekend. Or better yet, tonight.
Non-murder detective stories may be my favorite genre. I don’t even know what the proper label is, so maybe from now on I’ll call it “NMDS.” You know the kind, where a journalist, concerned citizen or scientist uncovers a crime and exposes it. Other film examples would be “Erin Brockovich” and “Spotlight.” But “All the President’s Men?” That’s the O.G. right there, and I’ve seen it at least five times.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the book. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward wrote it in 1974 smack dab in the middle of their infamous Watergate reportage that brought down President Nixon and all the crooked white dudes that helped him attain and retain his power. Forty-five years later, there are over 80 editions in print, but I read the original version that ends - quite abruptly - two months before Nixon resigned.
With no afterward or additional Authors’ Note, it does feel a bit like reading a story with no climax. But that’s an issue with all “current” event-based nonfiction, right? Each book is a time capsule of a historical moment, but time keeps on ticking even after publication. Woodward and Bernstein of course went on to write a follow up book in 1976, The Final Days, which covered Nixon’s last months in office. That story took them 476 pages to tell, whereas All the President’s Men comes in at a brisk 349.
ATPM is an extremely fast-paced glimpse of the two journalists’ detective skills in action. Though a first person account, it is written in third person to make it easier on the reader so there’s no confusion with I/me/he/his pronouns. It’s odd at first, but you get used to it.
I’m glad to have finally read the source text of a story I find so fascinating, and now I’m back on the hunt for more NMDS. What should I read or watch next?
PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:
The full account of the Watergate scandal from the two Washington Post reporters who broke the story. This is “the work that brought down a presidency — perhaps the most influential piece of journalism in history” (Time, All-Time 100 Best Nonfiction Books).
This is the book that changed America. Published just two months before President Nixon’s resignation, All the President’s Men revealed the full scope of the Watergate 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 the stunning revelations and pieces in the Watergate puzzle that brought about Nixon’s shocking downfall. 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 U.S. history as it unfolded in real time. It is, as former New York Times managing editor Gene Roberts has called it, “maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time.”