2 Awards

Woodward has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes during his 32 year career. In 1973, the Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for his and Bernstein's reporting on Watergate. In addition, Woodward was the lead reporter for the Post's articles on the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks that won the National Reporting Pulitzer in 2002. He also was awarded the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2003.

Woodward is widely regarded as one of the top reporters of the last half-century, and has earned trust and accolades from government officials and journalists of all political persuasions. In 2003, Al Hunt of The Wall Street Journal called Woodward "the most celebrated journalist of our age." The Weekly Standard called him "the best pure reporter of his generation, perhaps ever." And in 2004 Bob Schieffer of CBS News said “Woodward has established himself as the best reporter of our time. He may be the best reporter of all time.”

3 Style & Criticism

Woodward uses a distinct approach to writing non-fiction. In preparation, he tries to obtain the maximum amount of information on his subject, through interviews, documents, transcripts, and recordings. He then uses this information to re-create the event in the form of a story with an omniscient narrator, present tense events and dialogue. His books read like fiction novels, and are often very visually descriptive, and feature strong characterization. This style has earned Woodward a wide readership and commercial success, as well as a fair share of literary critics who consider his prose awkward and his approach inappropriate for his subject matter.

Woodward's style makes wide use of background and deep background information from sources, meaning they provide material on the condition that it not be attributable to them. This style has been criticized for encouraging sources to avoid speaking on the record where they can be held more accountable. Some critics say Woodward's style allows the biases and beliefs of his sources to steer the narrative and that those who talk to Woodward are painted more favorably than those who don't. Yet Woodward is famously secretive about naming his sources, and they rarely come forward themselves, so it is often impossible to know with certainty who gave information to Woodward and who did not.

The narrative, reporting-driven style of Woodward's books also draws criticism for rarely making conclusions or passing judgment on the characters and actions that he recounts in such detail. Joan Didion concluded that Woodward writes "books in which measurable cerebral activity is virtually absent."[1] Others praise his detached and evenhanded style for allowing readers to absorb the facts and come to their own conclusions. The New York Times Book Review said in 2004 that “No reporter has more talent for getting Washington’s inside story and telling it cogently.”

Woodward's dual role as newspaper journalist and book author has opened him up to occasional criticism for sitting on information for publication in a book, rather than presenting it sooner when it might affect the events at hand. In The Commanders ( 1991), for instance, he indicated that Colin Powell had opposed Operation Desert Storm, yet Woodward did not publish this fact before Congress voted on a war resolution, when it may have made a difference.

Woodward has also been accused of exaggeration and fabrication by other journalists, most notably regarding Deep Throat, who some have contended was a composite character based on more than one Watergate source, and later regarding Woodward's deathbed interview with former CIA Director William J. Casey. Critics have said that Woodward's interview with Casey could not have taken place as written in the book Veil and that he fabricated the scene.

Despite these criticisms and challenges, Woodward's record as an authoritative and balanced journalist has stood up well over time. The publication of a Woodward book, perhaps more than any other contemporary author's, is treated as a major political event that dominates national news for days.

4 Books

Woodward has co-authored or authored ten #1 national best-selling nonfiction books, more than any other contemporary American writer. They are:

• All The President's Men ( 1974) about Richard Nixon and Watergate
• The Final Days ( 1976) about Nixon's resignation
• The Brethren ( 1979) about the United States Supreme Court in the Warren Burger years
• Wired ( 1984) on the comedian John Belushi and the Hollywood drug culture
• Veil ( 1987) about the CIA's "secret wars" during the reign of William J. Casey
• The Commanders ( 1991) on The Pentagon, the first Bush administration and the Gulf War
• The Agenda ( 1994) about Bill Clinton's first term
• Shadow ( 1999) on the legacy of Watergate
• Bush at War ( 2002) about the path to war with Afghanistan following September 11
• Plan of Attack ( 2004) about how and why President Bush decided to go to war with Iraq

Woodward's two other books, also national best-sellers, are:

• The Choice ( 1996) about Clinton's re-election bid
• Maestro ( 2000) about Fed chairman Alan Greenspan

Newsweek magazine has excerpted five of Woodward's books in cover stories; 60 Minutes has done segments on five; and three have been made into movies.

Woodward lives in the Georgetown section of Washington. He is married to Elsa Walsh, a writer for The New Yorker, and has two daughters.

Woodward, Bob Woodward, Bob Woodward, Bob

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