Rating: 
Summary: Jimmy Carter gets a bumb rap
Review: On the whole, I found this book informative and interesting. Woodward's central thesis is that none of the five Presidents following Nixon learned the basic lessons of Watergate: 1) if there is questionable activity, release the facts as early and completely as possible and 2) do not allow outside inquiries to harden into a permanent state of suspicion and warfare.I do not think, however, that Jimmy Carter's presidency is guilty of this charge. Nothing in the chapters devoted to Carter shows that Carter tried to cover up any misdeeds. Indeed, the only misdeeds alleged were those of two subordinates, Bert Lance and Hamilton Jordan, and in both cases the misdeeds were found to be untrue or greatly exaggerated.
Rating:
Summary: Very dull- but interesting- historical account of scandal
Review: I was quite disappointed when I finally sat down to read this book that I'd bought a while ago. As a relatively partisan conservative, I found the book valuable in the following ways: 1) The historic account of scandal in the presidency from Nixon through Clinton is fascinating. There is a tremendous amount of detail. 2) This book should be a must read for graduate students in political science. The means by which different presidents have handled scandals (Reagan: play dumb; Clinton: lie; Nixon: throw grenades; Carter: whine... etc) is really a worthwhile account. In the end, this book was quite a disappointment because all it really ammounts to is a chronicling of presidential scandal. Nothing more. Woodward's observations in the last portion of the book are very simplistic, amateurish, and could've been drafted by any 1st-year political science student. In all, I was disappointed at the lack of direction the mountain of data was given. And oh yeah, this book is VERY VERY DRY. It is as boring as Woodward is.
Rating: 
Summary: Liberal Press Finger Pointing With No Answers
Review: Bob Woodward, revered for his work in breaking the Watergate scandal, tries to take the higher ground and make a mockery of the Presidency. Never once does he suggest the press went too far and not once does he offer a solution to the downward trend in the Presidency that he writes of. This book is all commentary with interspersed quotes to make the uninformed reader believe Bob Woodward's views to be fact. To the reader beware...check your history books and keep your mind sharp. Anyone can point the finger--but the truly good book would offer a way out, a way forward, and a fair look at each of these men and the treatment they endured at the hands of a liberal press.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary Study of What Makes Presidential Bombs Tick
Review: I have just read the preceeding readers' comments on this extraordinarily well crafted, intelligent and idealistic book. Many remind me of a snowboarder chat room on AOL. The fact is that Woodward is our most hard-working close observer of the Washington Condition and it is axiomatic with his work than you are not spoon fed a polemic or tripped by a hidden agenda. His presumpion is that the reader was there too, read the news at the time, and will profit from learning--as he does--what actually happened behind the scenes. Accuracy is that pursuit is hard to come by and he is the gold standard. (Matt Drudge, reported here to have thrown the book away, is a gossip columnist). The issue of Woodward's unnamed sources is absurd: the test is this: does anyone successfuly deny his reporting? Consider that in almost every case of a source talking forthrightly about his former boss, the source needs not only anonymity, but a one-year period during which he will have to actively deny it (because the people in his former inner circle will suspect it was him). Kissnger for example repeatedly said there was no truth the "Prayer scene"--and then, years later, put in in his own memoirs. When criticizing Woodward bear in mind that he occupies a fairly small piece of the Washington political landscape in having no axe to grind, no newspaper column to promote, and no TV show to host. He parlays nothing. He does not beg access to his sources, he powers in--there are no deals. Sources talk to him, often dozens of times, with ample opportunity to correct and explain, because they have no choice: he is talking to everyone and they can't hide. In a body of work characterized by profound accuracy in the smallest details he has shown that a simple determination to unearth what actually happened, moment to moment, as the republic forges forward, sideways, or into catacylsmic reverse, is the highest calling of the working reporter. If you have doubts that in 20 years "Shadow" will be the clearest view of the present time, go back and read "All The Presidents Men," and see how it holds up. And if you have read Frank Rich's attack on Woodward in the New York Times, do stop and smile and ask yourself if one newspaper writer has ever attempted asassination on another out of any motive other than an abiding and fulminating jealosy.
Rating: 
Summary: Has Bob Woodward lost his edge?
Review: The first half of this book provides some insightful tidbits about the Nixon, Ford and Carter years. However, the second half seems to be a rehash of Woodward's work covered in The Commanders and the various Clinton scandal books. Woodward appears to be trying to validate his contribution in coverage of the Watergate coverup and its subsequent impact on history. What Woodward fails to mention is that it is a different world today than in the 1970's, with 24 hour news coverage, papparazzi, high tech yellow journalists, etc., and their collective impact may be why the last few Presidents have had such a rough time. The author should go back to his roots and remember why he became a journalist in the first place. All the President's Men and The Brethren were excellent political studies, and made for compelling reading. It has been many years since Woodward has produced anything worth reading. This book is a disappointment--but when based on his recent work it is not a surprising disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Fading Fast
Review: Poor Boob Woodward is fading fast. This isn't investigative journalism, but an in depth look inside the head of a Washington insider - Bob himself. Woodward sullies Gerald Ford, calling him out of touch due to his lifestyle of golf tournaments and chartered jets, etc. I assume Bob is living it up in the hood somewhere, right? An ear to the ground while donning a backwards cap, eh? Bob also cracks on George H.W. Bush for not finding happiness. Is this man a shrink or a journalist? What happened to reporting? This book reports little, but shows a lot. Such as how the chattering class in D.C. is so connected that we rarely hear anything contrary. Matt Drudge dumped this book in the trash on his show and was right to do it. Poor Woodward, he used to be on top of his game, the best in town, but now he's fading fast. In fact, he's a shadow of his former self.
Rating:
Summary: claptrap
Review: I sensibly did not part with money for this book. I sat in a comfortable chair in a bookstore and read most of it while I was on home leave this summer. I am truly dismayed that journalism can sink this low. Why even bother with the first amendment when the titular heads of this profession use tactics like these? there are quotation marks everywhere where none should be; informed sources are cited for every quote; there is no scholarship; broad sweeping statements abound; even the writing is poor. I am a Democrat and I took offense at the way Bush was treated. To add insult to injury Woodward in the Author's Notes hands all the credit for the book to a young graduate of Yale for doing all the work and writing and for having such a "deep" understanding of Watergate. A person learned in any subject would never claim to have a deep understanding of his or her subject of expertise. Yet, Woodward gives a 26 year-old, who he even cites as being born the year of Watergate, kudos for knowing it all. Woodward has gone dotty and I am ashamed for his profession. In a way I guess it is a good thing for the future of democracy and free speech for it to sink to this level. There is no way to go but up. We will have to do it in spite of the press.
Rating:
Summary: A fairly enjoyable read, but is it good history?
Review: Alas, it seems that Woodward's reputation has taken a slight nosedive with his latest book. Right off the bat there is a problem: the photo on the cover may have been doctored. I recall reading somewhere that at no time did all five men sit in a row at Nixon's funeral, even if (?) they were all technically "there." But it's better than having them all standing side by side, since the other four guys tower over 5'8" Carter. But I digress... The thesis of this book seems to be "Look, no president since Nixon truly learned a darned thing from the lessons of Watergate. They all lied and as a result their reputations are less than stellar." Well, knock me down with a feather. I'm only partially pleased insofar as being a Republican, Reagan was portrayed less as a "great Satan" and more as just a guy who was starting to have a little Alzheimer's around the edges. His successor, Bush, comes off as kind of petty and out-of-touch with America. But come on, the only reason Clinton won was that Perot entered the race and siphoned off a lot of moderate Republicans and/or conservative Democrats whom the Republicans had taken for granted since November 5, 1980. I just digressed again... As for Clinton, well, nothing in this book truly shocked me. It's hard to believe all this poop went down only a little more than a year ago; it already seems like yesterday's news and frankly I look more forward to Clinton's memoirs about 20 years from now even though I know he'll basically just say it was all partisan.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for non americans to understand inside poltics
Review: I think this book gives foreigners a great opportunity to understand the insides of American politics and the system and environment in which American President's evolve since the Watergate scandal. Bob Woodward is clearly an insider in the game of Washington politics and put into words a complex web of half truths, lies and the inner works of the American system.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps Bob Woodward's fame led me to expect too much.
Review: Aside from a few inside tidbits, there did not seem to be very much that was new in this volume. Since I am a news junkie, maybe I already new much of what the book covered. Knowing that people in high places use profanity is not particularly shocking; however, that knowledge is no substitute for substantive inside information. At times, expletives serve as the really new inside information. Due to possible Clinton fatigue, the sections on Presidents Ford and Carter held my interest the most. But again, much of the information was like putting a new frame on a painting completed long ago. While I respect the author enormously, it could be an impossible task for him to perform a second act after his outstanding efforts on the Nixon matter.
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