The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat

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The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 760 ratings · 121 reviews

In Washington, D.C., where little stays secret for long, the identity of Deep Throat -- the mysterious source who helped Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein break open the Watergate scandal in 1972 -- remained hidden for 33 years. Now, Woodward tells the story of his long, complex relationship with W. Mark Felt, the enigmatic former No. 2 man in the Federal Bureau of Investiga...more

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Published July 6th 2005 by Simon & Schuster Audio (first published 2005)

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Jun 07, 2009 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s not often that I’ll finish a book in two sittings. Since my work requires close attention to copy, or at least, attention to copy, I’m usually in no state to focus at the end of the day, so my reading time tends to be restricted to half an hour on the bike at the gym, first thing in the morning.

But I was recommended Bob Woodward’s The Secret Man a week ago—got it from the library, and finished it in two days. It’s a fascinating study, not just of the journalist’s craft, but also of the rela...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

Poor Bob Woodward. He is the nation's most famous investigative reporter, and he gets scooped on the story he's been prepared to tell for 30 years__the identity of Deep Throat. Woodward rushed The Secret Man into print shortly after Felt exposed himself as Deep Throat to Vanity Fair magazine. It's no surprise, then, that critics complained the book offered little additional insight and shed almost no light onto the motives of Felt, who suffers from dementia. At its best, the book can be inspirin

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Dec 16, 2012 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I would say that this book is of interest mainly to Watergate buffs. The identity of Deep Throat has tantalized that small but persistent community for decades. Several books have been written about him. Both in the book and the movie "All the President's men", he is portratyed as a brooding, moody insider with divided loyalties. In other words : a human being.

The first part of the book, which Woodward had apparently written in advance, explains how Woodward met and cultivated Deep Throat. Ther...more I would say that this book is of interest mainly to Watergate buffs. The identity of Deep Throat has tantalized that small but persistent community for decades. Several books have been written about him. Both in the book and the movie "All the President's men", he is portratyed as a brooding, moody insider with divided loyalties. In other words : a human being.

The first part of the book, which Woodward had apparently written in advance, explains how Woodward met and cultivated Deep Throat. There was something innocent in this story : a young naval officer (Woodward), forced to spend time in a waiting room in the White House, strikes up a conversation with fellow visitor, an older gentleman with an air of command. Upon hearing that this person, W. Mark Felt, is a high-ranking FBI official, Woodward launches into mentor-mentee mode, asking him questions about possible career paths. They stay in touch, with Mark Felt playing the role of mentor. And when Watergate happens, Woodward turns to his friend for inside information, which is sometimes given, sometimes refused, and sometimes provided in such ambiguous terms that the reporters don't know what to do with it, or end up misinterpreting it (like the famous story naming Haldeman as one of the people controlling the secret fund). This part was a fascinating memoir of how people form relationships, and how these evolve over time and according to circumstances. Mark Felt comes across as a character full of contradiction, someone who admired Hoover but couldn't stand the attempts to politicize the FBI. He had authorized some illegal break-ins himself, but was disgusted over the dirty tricks perpetrated by the Committee to Re-elect the President.

The second part is less interesting. Woodward finds out that the aging Felt is suffering severe memory loss. When Felt's family decides to make it public that Felt was Deep Throat (for reasons that I was never able to fully grasp), Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee wrestle with their conscience about whether they should confirm this or not - this has to do with the commitment they made that they wouldn't reveal Deep Throat's name until after his death. Felt isn't dead but he doesn't remember his past. No one can really figure out whether he's fine with his role as Deep Throat being made public or not. So there is a lot of hand-wringing and agonizing over this, and I skimmed over that part.

I don't think the mysteries of Watergate will ever be exhausted, but I was very satisfied to see one of its major questions resolved.

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May 30, 2010 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 11th-grade

Since I'm in AP History I decided to take my time to read about the Watergate scandal during Nixon's presidency because government corruption fascinates me in a way that it demonstrates how flawed our nation really is. Even though our nation is suppose to represent democracy and freedom, the actions of past presidents do not exactly depict those qualities.

During the Nixon presidency, he hired people in his committee to break into the Democratic National Committee. They wanted to bug them so tha...more

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Oct 30, 2009 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, non-fiction, history

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Jul 17, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies, history, politics

I wasn't even in the womb when the Watergate story broke. However, the Judicial committee did pass articles of impeachment on Richard Nixon on my first birthday! Regardless of that, I can't appreciate the effect of Watergate on the people who were around at that time. Still, I do remember growing up, that we would use the term "Deep Throat" in the context of secrets and unknown subjects, without a proper understanding of where the term came from.

I do, however, remember the announcement in 2005 t...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bob Woodward's story of his relationship with the famed "Deep Throat" of the Watergate scandal is an easy, but fascinating read. In the course of his telling of how he first met former #2 man at the FBI, Mark Felt (dubbed Deep Throat by Woodward's peers at the Washington Post), the strange friendship that developed between them, and the nature of their clandestine activities during Watergate, one learns interesting details about how the FBI worked at the time and the extent of corruption in the...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Jason Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a quick read - first two chapters before bed, the rest in a few hours the next evening. Somehow, Bob Woodward needed to write this book. The greatest mystery in the history of journalism, and a tale only he could tell. Disappointingly, both to me and Mr. Woodward, we don't learn a great deal about the motivations of Mr. Felt, as Woodward, respecting the privacy of his confidential source, arrives at Felt's door after the onset of dementia. Woodward offers his theories of the man kn...more

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Sep 03, 2011 Mazola1 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came across The Secret Man in the book bin at my local 99 Cents Only store. That struck me as a sad fate for a book written by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist dealing with one of the most mysteris of the 20th century, the identity of Woodward's fabled Watergate secret source, Deep Throat. I thought it was perhaps an appropriate resting place. The book is several years old, pales by comparison with All The President's Men, and Deep Throat's identity had already been revealed by the time Woo...more I came across The Secret Man in the book bin at my local 99 Cents Only store. That struck me as a sad fate for a book written by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist dealing with one of the most mysteris of the 20th century, the identity of Woodward's fabled Watergate secret source, Deep Throat. I thought it was perhaps an appropriate resting place. The book is several years old, pales by comparison with All The President's Men, and Deep Throat's identity had already been revealed by the time Woodward wrote the book. Nonetheless, for 99 cents, I thought I'd give it a read. It proved to be worth my time, but not for the reasons I thought.

The Secret Man can be looked at as a stripped down rehash of the Watergate story with the focus on Woodward's dealings with Deep Throat. It is that, but it is also a tale that highlights the role that chance plays in our lives. As almost everyone who cared knew when this book came out, Deep Throat was Mark Felt, effectively the number two man at the FBI when Watergate first broke. Bob Woodward was a young reporter for the Washington Post. That is well known. What is less well known is how inexperienced Woodward was. This iconic investigative reporter, credited with helping to bring down a President and inspiring legions of college students to enroll in journalism school, never went to journalism school himself and flunked his first job interview with the Post.

Assigned to the police beat, a post regarded as far from important or prestigious, he was in the right place at the right time, perfectly positioned to help turn as a "minor burglary" into the story of the century. That can be looked at as lucky, and it was, but Woodward's hard work and determination were also essential ingredients. He got a lucky break and made the most of it.

That perhaps wouldn't have happened if Woodward hadn't met Mark Felt purely by chance some years before. This was an accidental encounter at the White House, where both were sitting in a hall waiting to meet other people. Both happened to be Navy men, and struck up a conversation which ripened into something of a casual friendship. The rest is history. But the chance nature of the initial encounter certainly provides ripe ground for wondering if the Watergate story would have played out diffently if it had never happened.

As told by Woodward, Felt was something of a reluctant source. This is not surprising. After all, Felt swore Woodward to secrecy, and kept his own silence even after retiring from the FBI, and watching as Woodward went on the win great fame and celebrity, write best selling books, win the Pulizer Prize, and see uber Hollywood star Robert Redford play him in a blockbuster movie.

This brings us to the most enigmatic secret of all, one which bedeviled Woodward, and onb which he never resolved: Why did Mark Felt leak secret information to Woodward? Woodward hints at some possible reason, including patriotism, disgust with how the White House was trying to use the FBI to squelch the Watergate investigation, anger that Nixon appointed politcal hack L. Patrick Gray to replace J. Edgar Hoover rather than himself. Woodward obviously feels he never did figure out Felt's motivation, and that this is a secret that the secret man took to the grave.

Another intriguing problem is why this secret remained secret for 30 years. Woodward's book mentions finding White House memos which mention that Felt was leaking to the Post. But still, even such a central Watergate figure and Nixon White House insider as John Dean guessed wrong. Woodward says it was obvious -- if you knew. As with many secrets, sometime they are in plain sight, but only if you know.

In sum, I enjoyed this book, not so much for the story and the writing as for the things it made me think about.

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Jan 07, 2009 annemm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I still haven't sought out that famous car garage in Rosslyn where Woodward met Deep Throat at 3am. Woodward is quite revealing, and self-revealing, in this hastily written book, rushed to publication soon after the elderly Mark Felt revealed himself to be the famous source of Watergate.

Woodward could have used the opportunity to further capitalize on the mythic status of his mysterious source. Throughout his long career he admits other sources have spilled their secrets easily b/c they know he...more

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Mar 25, 2010 Stuart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Over 20 years ago, I saw "All The President's Men" on TV and shortly afterward read the book and books by participants of the Watergate Scandal. "The Secret Man" is the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle; who was "Deep Throat". Bob Woodward used to say that if you knew who "Deep Throat" was it was obvious, if you didn't know, it was not obvious".

Both Woodward and William Mark Felt, Sr. denied that Felt, number 2 at the FBI during the Watergate years, was "Deep Throat" until Felt broke the story hi...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat, Bob Woodward lays down the Watergate history and then spends the rest of the book detailing his struggle with revealing the identity of Deep Throat, the source that helped him and Carl Bernstein understand and unveil the scandal. If you're unfamiliar with the subject, this would make a nice companion read to A G-Man's Life: The FBI, Being "Deep Throat," and the Struggle for Honor in Washington. Both books share much of the same information...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Joni rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-not-kids-lit, non-fiction

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Jul 08, 2012 Linda Riebel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

According to his 1970s Washington Post reporting partner Carl Bernstein, Woodward is “prone to complete his homework before it is due or even assigned.” So he had prepared much of this book before the death of the man they called Deep Throat, a government official who secretly helped the two young reporters break open Nixon’s Watergate conspiracies. Woodward had promised Mark Felt, “the secret man,” confidentiality as long as he lived, but Felt relented shortly before his death and we learned th...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Shesh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I FINALLY got around to reading this book (which has been on my "to read" shelf) about Mark Felt 5 or 6 years after my daughter Kaci met him. "Deep Throat's" daughter, Joan, was Kaci's Spanish teacher at either Sonoma State or Santa Rosa Jr College. On the last day of class Joan took her students to the home she shared with her father, ex-FBI agent Felt. By this time his memories of the whole Watergate debacle had faded to nothingness but Kaci still gave him a hug for me and a big "Thank You!" T...more

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Jan 30, 2009 Jay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Being fascinated with the Watergate scandal and the whole downfall of a president, I was very intrigued to find out who this person was. The book gives a decent synopsis of the watergate break in, no where near the amount of information that was in "All The President's Men," but a good review. I have to say after all these years of guessing who this person was, I was a little disappointed. Disappointed in the fact that it all seemed too simple. An FBI man with all this information, friends with...more

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Aug 24, 2009 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: journalism students, people interested in the history of the Watergate scandal

Read this in two short sittings and one longer sitting. Well written, in a style that's a kind of blend between personal narrative and newspaper nonfiction. I enjoy Woodward's writing style, but it's not for everyone. Only one note: if you are not at least vaguely familiar with the Watergate scandal and Woodward/Bernstein/Deep Throat's involvement in it, then you will be lost. This book reads a bit like an appendix to "All the President's Men," explaining the story behind and the final revelatio...more

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Jul 07, 2009 Steven Kent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: features-an-evil-republican

Touching, but certainly not an essential read. Most of the information in this book is released in better detail in All The President's Men and The Final Days. The revelation that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat," can be found on the inside flap.

This book is interesting because you learn the mechanics of Woodward's relationship with Felt and you have the details of their reunion toward the end of Mark Felt's life.

The final question of whether or not Felt was an authentic American hero remains for the...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

This book takes you behind the scenes of how Woodward met Deep Throat, the development and struggles in their relationship, and ultimately with the decisions made regarding revealing Deep Throat's identity. The book was written by Woodward, except for the last chapter which Bernstein wrote. It asks a lot of hard questions about what it means to have a confidential source and what lengths you should go to to protect that source.

I would not read this without first reading All The President's Men a...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Marie Gase rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Jul 02, 2009 Darren Battaglia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having been just a small kid during Watergate, most of my knowledge was formed many years after. Though, according to my knowledge, I was enthralled by the proceedings on television.

The story of Woodward and his relationship with Deep Throat - how he kept the identity of his informant secret over 30 years, the details of their meetings, the manner in which Felt led Woodward in the Post's investigation was an intriguing read. I need to read All the President's Men next for the context and true un...more

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Jun 24, 2009 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bob Woodward does an excellent job of following the chronology of this convoluted story and explaining what happened behind the scenes as the Watergate story unfolded. It helped me understand the events of that time better. I really want to read Mark Felt's book, The FBI Pyramid from the Inside, which is out of print and selling for $200! However, a new book, by Felt's lawyer in collaboration with the aging Felt, whose dementia had robbed him of memory, A G-Man's Life, is described as an abridge...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For anyone who read All the President's Men (thats me) or who has committed most of its movie version to memory (thats me again!) the back story behind the mysterious Deep Throat is an almost must-read. With Woodward's gift for concise yet introspective storytelling, The Secret Man is a smooth story that almost entirely quenches the thirst of anyone who wants to know more about what happened in that Rosslyn parking garage on so many nights in the early 70s.

The flaw that lessened my enjoyment of...more

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Aug 26, 2009 charlie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For fans of All The President's Men (book or movie), this is a must read and a really fun follow-up since it to some extent retells the story filling in the gaps now that we know who Deep Throat is. But it also contains some interesting ruminations on the ethics of revealing a journalistic source, especially when the source is now mentally incapacitated. Its a bit slight for a book (versus a long magazine article) and clearly rushed to capitalize on the news when it originally broke, but still e...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Deena rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Can't believe I'm just now reading this. Oh well. Several things struck me. First, it was very sad that Felt had virtually no memory of his role in Watergate, or really much else, as he got older. Second, I don't understand why the daughter and lawyer didn't consult Woodward before they gave the story of Deep Throat to Vanity Fair. After all the years of protecting his identity, but more importantly, after all of the consultations he had with the daughter to ensure that if the secret was exposed...more

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Nov 07, 2008 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, biography

A look at Woodward's odd relationship with the man known as Deep throat, his attempts to figure out why Mark Felt helped with the Watergate investigation, and his thoughts about journalists' responsibilities to their sources. The rule is not to reveal deep background sources until they give the reporter permission, or they're dead. Woodwardrecounts how many sources were willing, even eager, to tell him what they knew because they trusted him. This helped me see how Stansfield Turner (in "Veil")...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Anshul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Politics lovers

Shelves: i-have

I had always wondered about Watergate scandal and I got a chance to clear some air about the mysteries in this book...though the book primarily deals with the main character who supplied Bob and Carl (the Washington posts journalists who played a major role in bringing out the crime and abuses under President Nixon's time)...and whoa! what a solid man the guy is...you have to read the book to see the entire episode from his perspective...

It reads like a true revealing book of the main character...more

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Jan 13, 2008 Marsha rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: History lovers

Had recently finished "All the President's Men" so I wanted to check this one out. As others have said on this site, the book seemed a bit rushed but it was educational to a point. I didn't agree with how they identified Deep Throat b/c my thinking is that he (Mark Felt) was not competent to reveal himself as the source. Let me know what you think about that if you read the book. I think he should have remained anonymous until his death or if he had given permission for his name to be made known...more

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Sep 17, 2007 Nathan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Not such a big deal, after all.

Shelves: history, nixon-craziness, history-politics, history-crime

Bob Woodward kept the secret for years, never revealing who "Deep Throat" (no, not that one) really was. Then the man revealed himself as Mark Felt, former F.B.I. assistant director, and Woodward was finally free to tell the whole story. Rather than write a comprehensive book about Felt, or investigate Felt the way he'd investigated Nixon, or even write a coherent story about the event, Woodward rushed out The Secret Man. It is obvious that he was trying to cash in on the temporary media flurry...more

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Oct 06, 2007 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: current-events

Both Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein write better as a duo than either does individually. While it is known this book was rushed into print when Mark Felt revealed his identity, it still could have used a better editor. Having just read "All the President's Men", this book fills in the gaps that are left in that book with some new information. However, the chapters other than the 72-73 Felt/Woodward meetings are slow going.

I found the concept of confidentiality of sources as framed by Bob Woodw...more

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About Bob Woodward

Robert "Bob" Upshur Woodward is an assistant managing editor of The Washington Post. While an investigative reporter for that newspaper, Woodward, working with fellow reporter Carl Bernstein, helped uncover the Watergate scandal that led to U.S. President Richard Nixon's resignation. Woodward has written 12 best-selling non-fiction books and has twice contributed reporting to efforts that collecti...more

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“Well, just because someone might be a source doesn't necessarily make them Deep Throat” — 1 person liked it

“Reagan was read portions of his own diary, and he said something I'll never forget: "It's like I wasn't president at all". Very sad. As I reflected about this i was sure that I didn't want to badger Mark Felt in the same manner. i didn't want Felt to have to say, in effect, "It's like i wasn't Deep Throat at all".” — 1 person liked it

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