10/03/06: “ In the Beginning was the Word . . . and the Word was Woodward.”

“In the beginning Woodward created the heavens and the earth.”

State of Denial (2006), Bob Woodward’s fourteenth book, is everywhere. Few books make the covers of our magazines. Then again, few authors are as popular as Bob Woodward.

Bob Woodward is one of our most famous and celebrated authors. He has written thirteen best sellers and has shared two Pulitzer Prizes. He chronicles the Beltway’s most hidden secrets. Seemingly, he has access to our demons. And we love to read about it.

Here is our history according to Woodward:

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
The Choice (1996) about Clinton's re-election bid
Maestro (2000) about Fed chairman Alan Greenspan
The Secret Man (2005) about Deep Throat revealed as Mark Felt.
State of Denial (2006) turmoil inside the Bush Administration and its Iraqi policy

These books have made Woodward millions. Millions of readers have made Woodward our most famous historian. He is not immune, however, from criticism. Our appetites for salacious details blind us to Woodward’s most obvious fault - “Can you substantiate any of this?” His response? “I’m Woodward . . . do I need to?”

In hindsight, many of Woodward’s books look sloppy. Conversations manufactured that never took place fill his books. Facts are frequently misplaced, misguided and manipulated to serve his readers. Tragically, his brand of investigative journalism once thought to fulfill an important watchdog role, now merely serves as a junkyard dog. Read with caution.

His first book, All the President's Men (1974), served as a political assassination of Richard Nixon. Much of it was true. Much more of what he wrote, however, has now been revealed to be false or blatantly wrong. Nevertheless, his characterizations of that time period are taught in classrooms around the world as truth. H.R. Haldeman, one of the besmirched, said: “Because history is more art than science, it is remembered now only as it was chronicled then; this unfortunately is not always as it actually happened.”

We should expect more from our historians, even those who are celebrities. We can do a better job representing the facts. Perhaps being a celebrity author is more important than the facts.

“And vain killed able.”