A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Twenty-five years ago, after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, Gerald Ford promised a return to n... read full description
reviews
Dec 28, 2010
Bird Brian
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It all comes down to this: when Gerald Ford became President, he pardoned Nixon of any and all crimes he may have committed in office! Ford's reasoning was that "the spectacle of putting a [former] President through a trial and sentencing would be too traumatizing to the American public". Funny, nobody was worried that the Nurenburg trials would be too traumatizing to the German public. I guess American officials figure we're a bunch of emotionally fragile adolescents.
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Nov 12, 2007
Fostergrants
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when i finished this book i was glad i did. glad i finished it not really glad i read it. yes i learned sooooo much about how everyone in politics and government lies and snitches and covers up. bob woodward is brilliant at sniffing out salacious DETAILS and reporting them - and i suspect that most members of the press would love to have a watergate of their very own on which to become famous. i learned that even the leader of the free world writes down in his diary what he wore that day or reme
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May 21, 2010
Steve
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The book is not so much about the legacy of Watergate as it is about the Special Prosecutor function, and whether or not it has become a phantom 4th branch of government. At times Woodward delves in to way too much detail to suit my tastes. To summarize: Ford was unprepared and ill-suited to be president and made his biggest mistake a few days before he became president--he discussed the possiblity of a Nixon pardon. Carter's mistake was that he overdid it in running against Watergate--he pro
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Jan 03, 2007
Kim
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This shows, in more detail than I had found in any other single book, the rippling effect of Watergate on contemporary politics. It is quite eye opening, for those not in the know (like me).
May 11, 2010
Eric
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Bob Woodward, he who with Carl Bernstein and their pens brought down the Nixon White House, wrote "Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate" more or less as an epilogue to that damnable chapter of American history. Through careful research, extensive interviews and eloquently journalistic prose, Woodward traces the long, reaching pall that the aftermath of Watergate forever cast on the commanders in chief who followed RMN in the Oval Office. With the Independent Counsel la
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Sep 17, 2007
Nathan
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As analysis, Bob Woodward's Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate leaves a lot to be desired. He fails to articulate a clear narrative linking the various political scandals he covers together, and the intended point of the book gets somewhat lost in the exposition leading to the Clinton impeachment. However, as history, this may be one of Woodward's most interesting and important works. Woodward traces scandal after scandal in the year following Watergate, and he attempts to descr
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Feb 08, 2009
Kevin
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We start the day after Watergate and follow each of the Presidents through their terms. The book shows how the media and public opinion of the Presidency has changed since Watergate. Also it shows the way each of the Presidents treat sensitive issues in the wake of Watergate. Scandals (or maybe just rough patches) affecting Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton are examined in great detail. Fascinating information on all except Clinton. I've read and heard so much about him it was a
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Sep 09, 2010
Erik
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More instant history from Bob Woodward and his assistants, although this particular book does attempt to do some historical reflection. It's along the lines of the story which made him and Carl Bernstein famous, viz. presidential corruption, and this account ranges from Nixon to the time of composition. There are no great insights, just the growing sense as one reads that all presidents are corrupt.
Nov 28, 2008
George
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i think bob woodward is a tool. his writing is practically drooling over presidential authority and he lacks any credibility. Only useful if you're tracking the development of the Independent counsel or the ethics and government act thoroughly. Even then you're just getting a lament for the loss of the imperial presidency. this dude's perspective was useful about as long as all the president's men lasted. ugh...
Jan 09, 2009
Neil
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So far this is a great birds-eye view of how national politics has been driven the last 30 years by the legacy of Nixon's Watergate scandal and specifically by the presence of the office of the Independent Council.
This is the first book I've ever read that made me get angry with Jimmy Carter and feel sorry for Ronald Reagan.
This is the first book I've ever read that made me get angry with Jimmy Carter and feel sorry for Ronald Reagan.
Jan 07, 2009
Erik
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Really enjoyed this one. A fascinating "behind the scenes" look at (the missteps of) the Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush (Sr.), and Clinton administrations. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American Presidential politics.
Jan 16, 2011
Bruce
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Woodward follows the crises of the administrations from Carter to Clinton and how the presidency was altered by the Watergate Affair.
Jan 02, 2011
Molly
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I thought this book did an amazing job of examining the presidency and how Nixon's Watergate has effected each one since.
Aug 05, 2011
VERY interesting look at big-picture trends over the decades and how they play out with the personalities of each administration.
Dec 17, 2007
Camille
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We've had this book for a long time, but I was never interested enough to pick it up. Once I did start reading it, though, it was hard to put down. It was mostly about how the effects of Watergate have substantially changed the conditions under which a president has to operate. It was very eye opening for me. I learned a lot about past political events/scandals that I had heard about but never actually took the time to learn about.
Dec 06, 2007
Woodward is an old school journalist and everything he writes is exhaustively researched and as unbiased as he can possibly be (everybody is a little bit biased). This book is his take on how each president after Nixon was affected by the Watergate scandal. I was particularly interested in the Clinton section since I remember all of that clearly.
Jan 21, 2008
Joe
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A good contemporary historical perspective of presidential administrations since Nixon's fiasco of Watergate and the growing difficulty of effective governance from Presidents since then.
Dec 16, 2009
Steven
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Interesting read about the legacy of Watergate and how political scandal impacted the administrations of Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
Sep 07, 2008
Jett
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dense, but informative and authored by a journalism giant. How did Woodward get all these documents from U.S. presidents?
May 10, 2008
Michelle
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Kinda long but pretty good for a political writing. It helps put things in context that are going on today.
Feb 11, 2012
Feb 04, 2012
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