BOOK CLUB
I Read Every Bob Woodward Book. Here's How They Stack Up.
Yes, I ranked them—even ‘Fear.'
By CHRIS SUELLENTROP September 07, 2018
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THE FRIDAY COVER
The Friday Cover: A collage of photos of prominent people from the news in 2018.
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Flies should choose their walls carefully. That's my main takeaway from reading 20 Bob Woodward books in the past four weeks. No one can beat Woodward at getting the story of the White House from the inside, from the perspective of the decision makers as they saw themselves. People tell Woodward things they shouldn't, from the alarming (Trump aides swiping memos from his desk) to the mundane (Nixon trying to gnaw open a childproof cap on a pill bottle with his teeth). He may be the sole practitioner of a form that occupies a space between journalism and history, one that tries to balance immediacy with detail. When he's onto a good story—the resignation of a president, Iran-Contra, America's post-9/11 wars—there's no one better, or at least no one better who's faster.
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