All the President's Men

First, I'm sorry to have read two literary journalistic works back to back. They're usually more dense, and heavy material. I was assigned All the President's Men for my POSC 101 (Political Science 101) class this past quarter, and just finished it this spring break. It was an unintentional coincidence.

All the President's Men, as I said, is a journalistic work done by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. It is the complete story of uncovering the Watergate scandal, and the Nixon administration by the two authors, or reporters for the Washington Post. To be honest, I had very little background information on Watergate. Before reading this, I associated Nixon with some sort of illegal activities. Something like listening to tapes, wiretapping. I wasn't actually sure, but it was 'apparently' a big deal. I was so uninformed of the complete immensity dealing with Watergate. It is difficult for me to look at All the President's Men as historical truth. Shocking facts about the abuse of government, the lack of respect for the press and civil servants, and the nature of the Nixon Administration was unexpected. I, now, understand the natural lack of trust between the people and government. I understand why people say that politicians only want power. Unfortunate, but true All the President's Men opened my eyes to internal political turmoil. 

Bernstein, left, and Woodward in the Post's news room
during the course of the Watergate scandal.

Bernstein and Woodward were an unexpected team, and had no idea what they had gotten themselves into on June 17, 1972. The Watergate Hotel staff found five men burgling the Democratic Headquarters room with bugging equipment. That is it. This is what undermines a White House Administration, a president, and unspoken organization of political power. It is over a year of non-denial denials, secret sources, and vague hints a vast array of people that Watergate is turned into the downfall of President Richard Nixon. 

Because of this, and all of the information in the book, it was difficult to follow. At times I had to google a name, just to clarify his, or her, role in the story. There is a plethora of names involved, and some are not as important as others. Following the trail of one clue to the next is what moves the scandal along. It is dense, and thick. But all of the information is important. I am so grateful to have read this, but it was challenging. I would not be able to read this in a sitting. However, the descriptions of visible emotion of various actors was incredible. Understanding the emotional state of the President's men, the civil and innocent servants, and the press was easy. The authors made the realities of the situation very clear. I will most certainly be thinking about this book for a long time.

I have been told that there is a film, and I'm curious to watch it. I have a feeling that the story of Watergate might be easier to follow in film. Each name has a face, and each face's actions are seen. I look forward to watching it.

Inspired to be a reporter,
Emily