The Best Watergate Scandal Books

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Updated December 12, 2017 20.9K views
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Watergate Scandal Books

List of best books about the Watergate scandal, including jacket cover images when available. All these popular books on Watergate scandal are sorted by popularity, so the highest rated books are at the top of the list. This well-researched Watergate scandal bibliography includes out-of-print titles and generally contains the most popular, famous, or otherwise notable books - fiction or non-fiction - about the Watergate scandal. If you're looking for a list of top books on Watergate scandal then you're in the right place.

The list you're viewing contains books like Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate and All the President's Men. You should be able to answer the question, "What are the best books about the Watergate scandal?" after checking out this list.

This greatest Watergate scandal book list contains various bits of information, such as the author's names and what genre the books fall under. Most of these Watergate scandal books can be bought on Amazon with one easy click.

Bob Woodward, Daniel Cohen, and G. Gordon Liddy have all written books about Watergate scandal.

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  • All the President's Men
    1

    All the President's Men

    Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward
    53 votes
    • First Published: 1974
    • Subjects: Nixon White House tapes, Watergate scandal, Watergate burglaries
    • Genres (Book): Non-fiction
    • Original Language: English Language
    All the President's Men is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists investigating the first Watergate break-in and ensuing scandal for The Washington Post. The book chronicles the investigative reporting of Woodward and Bernstein from Woodward's initial report on the Watergate break-in through the resignations of H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, and the revelation of the Nixon tapes by Alexander Butterfield in 1973. It relates the events behind the major stories the duo wrote for the Post, naming some sources who had previously refused to be identified for their initial articles, notably Hugh Sloan. It also gives detailed accounts of Woodward's secret meetings with his source Deep Throat whose identity was kept hidden for over 30 years. Gene Roberts, the former executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and former managing editor of The New York Times, has called the work of Woodward and Bernstein "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time." A film adaptation, produced by Robert Redford and starring Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, respectively, was released in 1976.
  • Watergate
    2

    Watergate

    Daniel Cohen
    18 votes
    • Subjects: Watergate scandal, United States of America, Late 20th Century, Richard Nixon, History of the United States
  • Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate
    3
    • First Published: 1999
    • Subjects: Lewinsky scandal, Watergate scandal
    • Genres (Book): Non-fiction
    Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate is a 1999 book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, written with a narrative voice while utilizing firsthand interviews and news reports for its historical basis. For the 608-page book, Woodward used extensive notes and also interviewed President Ford, President Bush's chief of staff, James Baker, and other people of focus. Its five sections cover: Gerald Ford - The pardoning of Richard Nixon Jimmy Carter - The scandals involving administrative officials Bert Lance and Hamilton Jordan Ronald Reagan - The Iran-Contra Affair George H. W. Bush - The decisions behind the first Gulf War, "Passportgate" and the firing of Naval Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett Bill Clinton - Whitewater controversy, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones and Clinton's impeachment trial The book's final 300 pages cover Bill Clinton's administration. Nearly 100 pages are devoted to Reagan's administration. The book largely delves into the personal discussions that each president had during each issue, with no holds barred regarding profanity. Shadow was written with the research help of Jeff Glasser.
  • Silent Coup
    4

    Silent Coup

    Len Colodny
    17 votes
    • First Published: 1992-01
    • Subjects: Watergate scandal
    • Original Language: English Language
    Silent Coup is a book written by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin, in which they contend that former Nixon White House counsel John Dean orchestrated the 1972 Watergate burglary at Democratic National Committee headquarters to protect his future wife Maureen Biner by removing information linking her to a call-girl ring that worked for the DNC. The first edition was published in 1991, followed quickly by an expanded second edition in January 1992. The authors also argued that Alexander Haig was not Deep Throat, but was a key source for Bob Woodward, who as a Naval officer had briefed Haig at the White House in 1969 and 1970; it was later revealed FBI deputy director Mark Felt, who was confirmed as Deep Throat in 2005, became Woodward's key source after his partner Carl Bernstein was able to locate hush money in Miami, Florida.
  • Nightmare
    5

    Nightmare

    J. Anthony Lukas
    9 votes
    • Subjects: Espionage, Watergate scandal, United States of America, Late 20th Century, Richard Nixon
    • Genres (Book): True crime
  • Will
    6

    Will

    G. Gordon Liddy
    11 votes
    • Subjects: Watergate scandal, United States of America, Late 20th Century, Richard Nixon, History of the United States
    • Genres (Book): Biography, Fiction, Autobiography