The Last of the President's Men

Woodward, Bob

ISBN 10: 1442394323 ISBN 13: 9781442394322

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2015

Synopsis

Bob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in this “intimate but disturbing portrayal of Nixon in the Oval Office” (The Washington Post).

“Four decades after Watergate shook America, journalist Bob Woodward returns to the scandal to profile Alexander Butterfield, the Richard Nixon aide who revealed the existence of the Oval Office tapes and effectively toppled the presidency...Woodward re-creates detailed scenes, which reveal the petty power plays of America’s most powerful men...a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour” (Kirkus Reviews). In The Last of the President’s Men, Woodward reveals the untold story based on forty-six hours of interviews with Butterfield, supported by thousands of documents—many of them original and not in the presidential archives and libraries—and uncovered new dimensions of Nixon’s secrets, obsessions, and deceptions.

“This volume...amplifies (rather than revises) the familiar, almost Miltonian portrait of the thirty-seventh president...as a brooding, duplicitous despot, obsessed with enemies and score-settling and not the least bit hesitant about lying to the public and breaking the law” (The New York Times). Today, The Last of the President’s Men could not be more timely and relevant as voters question how much do we know about those who are now seeking the presidency in 2016—what really drives them, how do they really make decisions, who do they surround themselves with, and what are their true political and personal values? This is “yet another fascinating gift to history by DC’s most relentless reporter” (Politico).

About this title

Review

An Amazon Best Book of October 2015: Watergate junkies may think they know all there is to know about Richard Nixon and the inner circle behind Watergate and its aftermath, but journalist Bob Woodward – one half of the team that made that whole sorry business public in the first place – has one more Watergate card to play: The Last of the President’s Men is a short and riveting look into the files and memory of Alexander Butterfield, who was Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman’s deputy during that time. Probably best known to political junkies as the one who revealed that Nixon taped all conversations in the Oval Office, here Butterfield gives Woodward access to files and photos even the seasoned journalist had never seen before; while the resulting book doesn’t necessarily tell us anything we didn’t know about the foul mouthed, paranoid 37th president, it recalls his behavior with such specificity you can’t help but be upset all over again. This is more engaging, in its disturbing way (Nixon’s vulgarities and general ugliness of manner somehow shocked this usually unshockable reader), than the more wonky of Woodward’s recent tomes – and it’s plenty enlightening about an era we thought we already knew. – Sara Nelson

About the Author

Bob Woodward is an associate editor at The Washington Post, where he has worked for forty-seven years. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first for the Post’s coverage of the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, and second in 2003 as the lead reporter for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored or coauthored eighteen books, all of which have been national nonfiction bestsellers. Twelve of those have been #1 national bestsellers. 

Campbell Scott directed the film Off The Map, and received the best actor award from the National Board of Review for his performance in Roger Dodger. His other films include The Secret Lives of Dentists, The Dying Gaul, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and Big Night, which he also co-directed.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1442394323
• ISBN 13: 9781442394322
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 7