Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate - Hardcover

Alicia C. Shepard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471737615 ISBN 13: 9780471737612

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2006

Synopsis

Based on new interviews and never-before-seen archival materials, Woodward and Bernstein takes a fresh, thought-provoking look at this unlikely journalistic duo. Thrown together by fate or luck, Woodward and Bernstein changed the face of journalism and the American presidency. For the first time, Shepard separates myth from reality as she traces the lives of the iconic journalists before and after Watergate.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

On Sunday morning, June 18, 1972, only Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein showed up in the Washington Post newsroom to work on the strange story of the Watergate break-in. Neither one was particularly glad to see the other. Though they shared a fascination with the story, the only other thing they shared was a mutual distrust. But their synergistic partnership allowed them to do something neither could have done alone—and the results were historic.

After Watergate—the most important event for journalism, politics, and the presidency in the past one hundred years—Woodward and Bernstein became living legends throughout the world, leaving in their trail an indelible high-water mark that every American journalist has had to confront since. Their lives should have been golden from there—but how do you live the rest of your life knowing you've peaked by your thirtieth birthday?

Woodward and Bernstein told you what happened in All the President's Men; now, in Woodward and Bernstein, award-winning journalist Alicia Shepard tells you the rest of the story, including more about the recent dramatic revelation of Deep Throat's identity. Shepard takes a fresh, thought-provoking look at the duo known as "Woodstein." For the first time, Shepard separates myth from reality as she traces the life lessons of these iconic journalists before and after Watergate.

Even in their early days, their differences were clear: Woodward was straitlaced with a strong midwestern work ethic. Bernstein was a streetwise college dropout who worked his way up the newsroom ladder through raw talent. Bernstein was quick at seeing a story and knowing what it should be; Woodward made sure it got done and done well. Woodward was eager to please, inquisitive, and highly disciplined; Bernstein, while brilliant, was also irresponsible, with poor work habits that got him into trouble. He was on "probation" at the Washington Post when he was ordered to work through a weekend—his lucky break.

Shepard sorts through the lessons of their divergent paths, detailing how Bernstein's career stalled and fizzled while Woodward soldiered on to become the biggest brand in the newspaper business. Shepard's riveting tale is the sum of more than 175 interviews and never-before-seen archival materials, including the Watergate papers the pair sold to the University of Texas for $5 million. Woodward and Bernstein recalls the thriller-like pacing of All the President's Men while weaving together the long-awaited details the pair left out over thirty years ago.

From the Back Cover

"Here is the story of the two reporters who cracked the Watergate cover-up. How they did it and what has happened to them since makes for fascinating reading."
—Sam Donaldson, ABC News Correspondent

"Alicia Shepard has written a brilliant biography of two giants of American journalism. Her book offers penetrating new insights into the complicated relationship between her two subjects—both during their early days as they pieced together the Watergate scandal and over the years as their careers took very different paths. If All the President's Men was the ultimate work of journalistic sleuthing, Shepard's Woodward and Bernstein should be placed right next to it on every bookshelf. It is likely to endure as the definitive account of the lives of two men who changed journalism forever."
—Michael Isikoff, Investigative Correspondent, Newsweek

"Alicia Shepard has long been one of the nation's most important writers on journalism. Now she turns her attention to two of history's most famous journalists. Her book is a winner—penetrating, fascinating, and remarkably balanced."
—Gene Roberts, former managing editor, The New York Times

"Even those who think they know Watergate and Woodstein will find delicious surprises in this engaging book. Those who've always wondered what the fuss is about will find an even-handed, comprehensive answer. All will be powerfully reminded that dogged reporting from an outsider's perspective is a democratic essential—and that those who succeed gloriously at it may one day wake up insiders."
—Geneva Overholser, Professor, Missouri School of Journalism, and former ombudsman, The Washington Post

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0471737615
• ISBN 13: 9780471737612
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288