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July 07, 2005
The Secret Man
Bob Woodward's book on Deep Throat.
I showed up at the bookstore yesterday at opening and bought their first copy. It is a short book and I finished it this morning.
It offers a fascinating peek into the relationship between Woodward and Mark Felt, the high-ranking FBI official who was Woodward's "deep background" source during the Watergate years.
One unexpected element was the anguish Woodward feels at never really having gotten closure with Felt, a chance to talk to him in later years and reflect on why he did what he did. Their relationship began with a chance meeting in the White House in 1970 when Woodward was still in the Navy, and came to a screeching halt in 1974 after "All the President's Men" came out. Woodward called Felt to see what he thought, and Felt, perhaps irritated at being referred to as "Deep Throat", hung up the phone. After that they had mimimal contact. After many years of silence, Woodward contacted Felt in 2000, and went out to California to meet with him. But by then Felt, suffering from demntia, had few memories of the Watergate years. The book makes it quite clear how frustrated Woodward is that he can only guess at Felt's motivation, or how he managed the logistics of their secret relationship from his end. Even after the revalations of Deep Throat's identity, and an account in which Woodward says he has held back nothing, some parts of the story are likely to remain a mystery forever.
A must read for Watergate addicts, but it definitely left me wanting more. I imgagine Woodward feels the same way.
Posted by rickbeyer at July 7, 2005 05:11 PM
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