A G-Man's Life: The FBI, Being Deep Throat, and the Struggle for Honor in Washington - Softcover

Felt, Mark; O'Connor, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586484435 ISBN 13: 9781586484439

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2007

Synopsis

Mark Felt's role in history was secured when he decided to share his views on the Watergate break-in with a young reporter on the Washington Post named Bob Woodward. He made sure that the greatest political scandal in the twentieth century, which would besmirch an entire administration and bring down a presidency, was revealed in an unchallengeable way.

This absorbing account of Felt's FBI career, from the end of the great American crime wave through World War II, the culture wars of the 1960s, and his conviction for his role in penetrating the Weather Underground, provides a rich historical and personal context to the "Deep Throat" chapter of his life. It also provides Felt's personal recollections of the Watergate scandal, which he wrote in 1982 and kept secret, in which he explains how he came to feel that the FBI needed a "Lone Ranger" to protection it from White House corruption. Much more than a Watergate procedural, A G-Man's Life is about life as a spy, the culture of the FBI, and the internal political struggles of mid-20th century America.

Only as he neared the end of his life did Felt confide his role in our national history to members of his family, who then shared it with their lawyer, John O'Connor. The answers to the questions Who is Mark Felt? And why did he risk so much for his country? are brilliantly answered in A G-Man's Life.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Felt lives in San Diego, CA. John O'Connor is a director in Howard Rice's Litigation Department. His practice focuses on product liability, intellectual property, and business tort litigation. He earned his law degree at the University of Michigan, and his A.B. at Notre Dame University. He lives in San Francisco.

From AudioFile

Felt's role as "Deep Throat," the insider who led reporters to break the Watergate scandal, is the excuse for this book, but the longest and best part is his memoir of life as a straight-arrow FBI careerist who rose nearly to the top, a Hoover loyalist so devoted to the Bureau that he helped undo a president to preserve its independence and integrity. Michael Prichard's voice is not the prettiest, but he's skilled and experienced, and his no-nonsense but expressive reading serves this tough, principled, and conservative author well. Sections about the revelation of Felt's secret and his old age are tacked on but do add an interesting dimension. W.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1586484435
• ISBN 13: 9781586484439
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400