The Great Coverup: Nixon and the Scandal of Watergate

by Barry Sussman

The Washington Post city news editor who broke the story twenty years ago reconstructs the Watergate scandal from the failed break-in at the Democratic headquarters to President Nixon's resignation. Reprint.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Historical

319 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Charlie Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good, some dry. A lot of detail especially considering it came out right when Nixon resigned. Good Watergate book for a Watergate junkie such as I.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike, "All the Presidents Men," this book (Sussman was Woodward and Bernstein's Boss at the Washington Post) is more of a, "Follow the money," narrative and reads like a timeline--but it is very engaging. The book tracks the secret payments from a slush fund set up in the re-election coffers of Nixon's campaign to pay for break in's of offices belonging to political rivals, in addition to the infamous Watergate job. With the approval of Nixon, this group broke into anyone's office they deemed subversive or a political threat to the President to include planting fake stories in newspapers about opponents and their families. All the while lashing back at the media for reporting on the break in's as being disloyal and un-patrioric to the President. The levels of subversion from the nation's highest office and the blindness turned by both parties and most of the media of the day was shocking and incredibly sad.

[Daniel Silliman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the single best book on Watergate. All the President's Men is amazing, but it's really about reporting and the story of breaking a story. Sussman, the city editor at The Washington Post, narrates the cover-up, chronologically but concisely laying out events from the arrest of the burglars through the pardon. Very well done.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barry Sussman was the main editor for Woodward Bernstein so his book provides not only a granular look at presidential corruption but haunting conversations about obstruction of Justice that is ringing so loudly in the Jan. 6 case. MUST READ NOW as we see the current cases of Oval Office corruption emerging from the former Trump Adminstration.

[Zak Kizer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially “Watergate for Dummies”, The Great Cover-Up is probably the most accessible yet comprehensive summation of America’s greatest political scandal one can find in print.

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really informative, and shed a lot of light on a low point in American politics. This was written by Barry Sussman who was city news editor for The Washington Post in 1972 when the Watergate break-in first occurred. He worked with Woodward and Bernstein during their initial coverage of Watergate and the subsequent coverup. I found this book fascinating for several reasons. First, it really highlighted my own ignorance of the whole Watergate affair (then again, how many Americans know where the whole '-gate' suffix comes from nowadays?). Specifically, I had no idea that while the break in at the Democratic offices was in 1972, Nixon didn't resign until '74, and was re-elected in one of the most lopsided Presidential victories ever in between the two events! In this time of 24 hours news coverage, internet and tweets, it's almost impossible to think of a scandal taking 2 years to fully resolve. Also, I had very little knowledge of the extent of the dirty politics and corruption that Nixon was involved with beyond the simple break-in. Really, the break-in was fairly inconsequential, but the investigation of it led to the uncovering of a whole agenda of shady practices designed to lead to the re-election of Nixon and to the punishment of his enemies. I was surprised that the "Deepthroat" informant that is so ingrained in US pop culture was hardly mentioned in this book. Sussman portrayed him as someone who would confirm findings or reassure Woodward and Bernstein that the leads they were following were real. Finally, the whole process of the reporters' investigation of Watergate was captivating. It's difficult to think about trying to research people and events without Google, and to read about the staff having to comb through volumes of "Who's Who" trying to identify names that had come up was amusing, since I could do the same thing in seconds now.

Finally, while we can safely assume that politics has always been dirty, and perhaps other Presidents have done things as bad as Nixon or worse, Watergate has proven to be a tipping point in the American Public's trust in the government. We are now two generations since the scandal, and still the perception of government is that most, if not all, politicians are incredibly corrupt at worse and self-serving at best. I believe this has led to the abandonment of politics for many of this countries best and brightest, leaving us to choose between the best of "who cares" in many of our elections. Watergate is a great example of the Executive Branch running amok, and the difficulties of trying to rein it back in.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave a very informative timeline as to the events leading up to the Watergate break-in and also all the corruptions involved with Nixon and his presidency. I finished the book with a completely disgusted feeling overall. The public never really has a clear picture of what is going on inside the White House and the "who's scratching who's back" that leads to decisions from The Chief. If you were already cynical about government and congress, this book will make you even more so.. Although the silver lining in this is that the public opinion was finally recognized and carried out. (besides Nixon getting prosecuted) I just hope that the President, Congress and Government overall do not continue to operate following those corrupt practices.... but I haven't quite convinced myself of that truth. I think maybe the public is just back to being naive and kept in the dark about 90% of what is going on.

[Kent Hinckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read about a despicable time of our government. They lie and lie, and once caught, where are the apologies from the ardent and implacable defenders? Even today? Barry Sussman brought back the scandals, but I liked his quote at the end given by Saul Bellow in his novel, Herzog:

"In every community there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don't mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably the most dangerous people seek the power."

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I knew too much for this book to be very interesting. It was told by the city desk editor of the Washington Post, and lacked all the drama of All the Kings Men and all the detail of Blind Ambition. It got good reviews elsewhere, though.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I attended a seminar where Sussman spoke about the Post's coverage of Watergate. This is definitely the most detailed account I've ever read regarding Watergate. It does go beyond the Post's role, and the details seemed to weigh down the narrative as well.