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Favorable
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Boston Globe David Gergen
While his retelling is often choppy and adds little to our knowledge about the crimes and betrayals, Woodward's account is eye-opening as he describes the slow and tortuous building of trust between two men -- reporter and source -- who brought the web of deceit into public light.
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Favorable
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New York Observer Mark Feeney
The Secret Man on display in The Secret Man is as much Bob Woodward as Mark Felt. No, more: Just as Mr. Felt helped Messrs. Woodward and Bernstein to reveal the intricacies of Watergate, so he now helps Mr. Woodward to reveal the intricacies of Bob Woodward. [11 Jul 2005, p.20]
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Favorable
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The Independent Cal McCrystal
Somewhat short of spectacular, yet much more than an arresting footnote to the affair.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Book Review Christopher Hitchens
Bob Woodward's latest book is the best short discussion of this distinction - between the reporter as private eye and the reporter as stenographer - that has ever been published.
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Favorable
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Washington Post Bill Emmott
Compelling and highly readable.
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Favorable
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The Economist
Compelling reading.
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Favorable
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The Globe And Mail [Toronto] David M. Shribman
The irony is that there are so many life lessons in so short a volume. [6 Aug 2005, p.D5]
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Favorable
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Chicago Tribune David J. Garrow
A thoughtful, revealing retrospective on a relationship that was far more awkward and troubled than the myth of Deep Throat ever suggested. [7 Aug 2005]
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Mixed
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Daily Telegraph Harry Mount
The book's juiciest bits have already appeared in the papers. Any Watergate expert will not find much new here.
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Mixed
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USA Today Bob Minzesheimer
It's fascinating and frustrating, revealing and disingenuous, self-critical and self-serving.
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Mixed
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The New York Times Michiko Kakutani
''The Secret Man'' provides an intriguing if not fully satisfying portrait of the real-life relationship between Mr. Woodward and Mr. Felt, and it reaffirms the vital role that confidential sources play in keeping the public informed.
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Mixed
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Entertainment Weekly Mark Harris
The Secret Man is a stirring, sometimes even moving book, a lucid footnote to All the President's Men that, in its very stiffness and honorable refusal to push beyond facts into guesswork, reminds us that the world is remade by flawed, ordinary men as often as by heroes.
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Mixed
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Los Angeles Times Ronald Brownstein
Intermittently engaging but ultimately slight. [5 Jul 2005]
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Unfavorable
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San Francisco Chronicle David Kipen
Woodward is to be applauded for at least trying to depart from his usual anonymous, stenographic style and write in a confessional voice. If only he had the necessary linguistic equipment for it. We're left with a book that tells us little about Watergate that we don't already know, and more about Woodward than we really want to.
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Unfavorable
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Daily Telegraph Stephen Robinson
The narrative is strangely lifeless.
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