Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Watergate: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Watergate: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Watergate: A Novel
    Ebook586 pages8 hours

    Watergate: A Novel

    By Thomas Mallon

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    From one of our most esteemed historical novelists, a remarkable retelling of the Watergate scandal, as seen through a kaleidoscope of its colorful perpetrators and investigators.
     
    For all the monumental documentation that Watergate generated—uncountable volumes of committee records, court transcripts, and memoirs—it falls at last to a novelist to perform the work of inference (and invention) that allows us to solve some of the scandal’s greatest mysteries (who did erase those eighteen-and-a-half minutes of tape?) and to see this gaudy American catastrophe in its human entirety.
     
    In Watergate, Thomas Mallon conveys the drama and high comedy of the Nixon presidency through the urgent perspectives of seven characters we only thought we knew before now, moving readers from the private cabins of Camp David to the klieg lights of the Senate Caucus Room, from the District of Columbia jail to the Dupont Circle mansion of Theodore Roosevelt’s sharp-tongued ninety-year-old daughter (“The clock is dick-dick-dicking”), and into the hive of the Watergate complex itself, home not only to the Democratic National Committee but also to the president’s attorney general, his recklessly loyal secretary, and the shadowy man from Mississippi who pays out hush money to the burglars.
     
    Praised by Christopher Hitchens for his “splendid evocation of Washington,” Mallon achieves with Watergate a scope and historical intimacy that surpasses even what he attained in his previous novels, as he turns a “third-rate burglary” into a tumultuous, first-rate entertainment.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateFeb 21, 2012
    ISBN9780307907080
    Unavailable
    Watergate: A Novel
    Author

    Thomas Mallon

    Thomas Mallon is the acclaimed author of several novels and nonfiction books as well as a collection of essays. A frequent contributor to The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, and other magazines, he lives in Washington, D.C.

    Related to Watergate

    Related ebooks

    Political Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Number Two

      May 16, 2023

      Number Two
      4 min read

    • Article

      Vintage Violence

      Oct 19, 2021

      Vintage Violence
      4 min read

    • Article

      Dog Whistle

      Aug 17, 2022

      Dog Whistle
      2 min read

    • Article

      In 'A Good American Family,' A Son Details How The Red Scare Upended His Father

      May 14, 2019

      Pulitzer prize-winning David Maraniss immerses himself in family records and interviews with relatives of others to piece together how his parents paid for supporting communism in their youth.

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Particular Brand Of Orange County Politics Is Exiting Stage Right

      Dec 10, 2018

      LOS ANGELES - There was the congressman from Fullerton who read the particulars of "male homosexual sex" into the Congressional Record in an effort to put the brakes on gay rights. There was the representative from Tustin who warned of a communist pl

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Very Compatible Odd Couple

      Feb 13, 2024

      A Very Compatible Odd Couple
      13 min read

    • Article

      Unimpeachably Yours

      May 21, 2019

      Unimpeachably Yours
      4 min read

    • Article

      ‘American Democracy Will Continue To Be Tested’: Peril Author Robert Costa On Trump, The Big Lie And 2024

      Sep 26, 2021

      It is nearly half a century since Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein became the world’s most famous journalistic double act, immortalized by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in the film All the President’s Men. But Woodward’s latest book, about the dec

      7 min read

    • Article

      Bobby, All in All

      Jun 6, 2018

      Bobby, All in All
      2 min read

    • Article

      Steve Chapman: How Republicans Went Soft On Communism

      Jun 18, 2018

      If you had told Ronald Reagan in 1988 that in 30 years, the president of the United States would be chummy with communist dictators in China and North Korea, eager to please a brutal Kremlin autocrat and indifferent to the needs of our military allie

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Klansman’s Horrific Reign

      Aug 15, 2023

      A Klansman’s Horrific Reign
      12 min read

    • Article

      Jonah Goldberg: Trump Using US History As A Cudgel In The Culture War

      Jul 7, 2020

      I didn’t watch President Trump’s weekend speeches live. It was a holiday, so I chose to take one. As a result, I first learned about them from the reactions they elicited. As usual, it was like “Rashomon” for the Trump era. According to the Washingto

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Elephant In The Room

      Aug 17, 2022

      The Elephant In The Room
      13 min read

    Reviews for Watergate

    3.5/5

    96 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      (Writing this review as I watch the "Snowflake Day" episode of Daniel Tiger.) This is my favorite kind of historical fiction, that focuses more on the supporting cast. Reading Michael Shaara's _The Killer Angels_ in high school started my obsession with Civil War history, because of its insight into the lives of minor figures Joshua Chamberlain, Daniel Sickles, and James Longstreet. Mallon's _Watergate_ pays quite a lot of attention to Rosemary Woods (Nixon's secretary) and Fred LaRue, an advisor from the deep South with his own sordid past.

      Mallon's Nixon is more sympathetic and inscrutable than one would expect, considering he is the main figure in this kind of stupid episode in American history. The entire scandal was predicated on a petty burglary, which is quaint considering the fraudsters and traitors currently in power, who seem intent on destroying our system of governance. There is no discussion 0f the tapes that revealed Nixon's (and Billy Graham's) anti-semitism and racism. Regardless, Mallon effectively captures the slowly building sense that the break-in, and ensuing coverup, would eventually topple Nixon's presidency.
    • 4/5
      One would think that there is nothing new to say about the Watergate scandal, now ancient history to most Americans, but Thomas Mallon’s historical novel proves this point wrong by a considerable margin. His book, WATERGATE, is an utterly enthralling look back at events and a Presidency that altered American history forever, from some never before considered perspectives. Mallon’s book is a reimagining of the scandal, told from the view of many characters, all principle players to some extent in the scandal. I think the genius of the book is that Mallon creates fictional versions of Nixon and his people which seem totally real, they live and breathe and rage and hurt, all while feeling utter dismay that things have taken such a turn.Mallon’s book is not a particularly long one and the narrative flows smoothly from one character to the next; this is not a “and then this happened” retelling of historical events, it does help if the reader has at least a working knowledge of the scandal and who was who and where they were at certain points in the story. Those unfamiliar with history may have to do a lot of wiki-ing before they reach the last page, but Mallon does provide a list of players at the beginning of his book that helps a lot.What I found so striking about WATERGATE was Mallon’s sympathetic portrait of so many characters who have been written off as villains or worse, fools, by most historical accounts; he does not apologize for their actions or carry water like so many of the “Nixon didn’t do anything wrong” bitter enders, but lets us see them as they, perhaps, saw themselves. It is a refreshing take; one thankfully free of the snark and irony so prevalent in much contemporary political fiction. In the pages of Mallon’s book, we meet a flawed Richard Nixon who lives in perpetual fear that his many, many enemies will yet find a way to bring him down, a fear that infected his White House and all who were part of his inner circle. There is a fascinating portrait of Pat Nixon, the woman who was always so reserved in public, never letting her mask slip, yet capable of surprising secrets in private. There is John and Martha Mitchell, an incredible mismatch of a marriage, one that crumbled under the weight of revelations of his criminal activities as head of Nixon’s re-election campaign. Equally memorable is Rose Mary Woods, Nixon’s long time and ever loyal secretary, the person responsible of the infamous 18 ½ minute gap on one Nixon’s incriminating tapes. Mallon comes up with a surprising and poignant explanation for this act and what was on the tape, one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th Century. Another interesting relationship explored is the marriage of outward tough guy E. Howard Hunt and his formidable wife, Dorothy, who skillfully negotiated with the men in the Nixon White House to get hush money for her family after her husband’s arrest for his role in the break in. Every reader’s favorite is Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the daughter of Theodore and Washington’s long time Grande Dame, who sees through everyone, yet holds a deep affection for Richard Nixon, whose act of kindness in an hour of need is not forgotten. Mallon does an exceptional job with his women characters, making them every bit as compelling as the men who were on the front pages. Much space is given to Fred LaRue, the genial Southerner who became the White House’s bagman after the Watergate break in; in Mallon’s hands, this relativity minor character in history, takes front and center often in the narrative. Like many of the others involved in Watergate, LaRue simply cannot understand how his life, which was on such a successful trajectory, has taken such a wrong turn, but is helpless in the face of impending disaster as one illegal act and lie leads to another with the inevitable set down with the Federal Attorney waiting at the end. Like most of the characters in Mallon’s book, LaRue suppresses a private pain they would never dare show in public; only a brief reunion with long ago love offers him any solace as the firestorm engulfs the Nixon Administration. If there is a real villain in this book, it is the fatuous Elliot Richardson, who thinks he will walk over Richard Nixon’s political corpse to the Oval Office.I would never claim that Mallon’s book is history, there is plenty in the historical record that condemns Nixon and his crew as the most corrupt, venal and downright mean group of characters to ever hold power in America (and I include Donald Trump in that judgment), but as historical fiction, the book is of the highest order, making us see very familiar history in a different light. I am a self published author of two alternate history novels, both featuring a fictional Nixon among others, and I fully respect the hard work and attention to detail Thomas Mallon must have put in to write this book. All readers of good fiction should seek it
    • 4/5
      I guess you could call this historical fiction. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Watergate scandal, from the break-in of the Democratic Campaign Headquarters to the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency. The story is told from several unusual points of view, including Fred LaRue (the "bagman"--he distributed the hush money for the burglars to ensure their silence), E. Howard Hunt (the Republican aide in charge of the burglary, ex-CIA agent, and the link to the White House), Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Pat Nixon, Rosemary Woods, and others. All the larger than life characters are there: the out-of-control Martha Mitchell, the dour Henry Kissinger, the stern H.R. Haldeman. Each of the characters becomes human, and even Nixon is rather sympathetically portrayed. Unlike her public persona as "Plastic Pat", Pat Nixon is developed as a warm and loving woman, who incidentally is carrying on an affair. (This is one element that Mallon in the afterword points out was entirely made up by him.)This entire novel--more fact than fiction--is entirely believable and despite the scandal's horror and tragedy at the time, the novel is strangely entertaining. It is plotted like an intricate thriller, moving seamlessly from one point of view character to the next. When Mallon fills in the blanks he comes up with entirely plausible theories and details. One caveat I have is that the novel assumes some background knowledge on the part of the reader, or at least a passing familiarity with the gist of the scandal. And, if you have a decent grasp of the facts, either from living through the scandal (as I did, spending the summer enthralled with the Watergate hearings), or from reading, it would seem to me that the novel would be so much more rewarding. For example, knowing how stunning the discovery of the 18 minute gap on the tapes (or even how stunning the discovery that Nixon secretly taped everything said in his office) would enhance a reader's appreciation of the explanation Mallon imagines for that erasure.Highly recommended.
    • 2/5
      Hmm. Fun mostly thruout; in the heads/minds of the characters in the Watergate drama including Dick and Pat, some of the burglars, a lot of Howard and Dorothy Hunt and Fred LaRue, Martha Mitchell, and a lot of Alice Longworth who is pretty delightful. 3/4 of the way in, I read a review of the book and found out a little that made reading the rest much, much less delightful. Besides there is no one character that shows any kind of opposing view of what's going on. All the principals depicted are treated way too lightly. The writing is mostly a pleasure, but, if I may go way overboard, the obliviousness of what exactly was done and was happening at the time was a little like going on a picnic with Hitler on a sunny Autumn day in late 1944. Fun with Problems.
    • 3/5
      My expectation for the book was different than what the book provided so my review and rating are partially based on the fact that I expected black humor, and while there was some, that was not the focus or intention of the book as a whole.

      Watergate was a topic of conversation and argument in my household. Nightly the news would rehash the latest details of the affair and discuss the idea of the president's impeachment. Talk shows and current affairs shows spent hours debating every angle and all the players involved.

      My take on historical fiction is that it should illuminate an event or an idea, weaving a fictional tale within the facts and then at the end, it stimulates the reader to want to find out more. If I was a reader a generation removed from these events, I would find it difficult from this novel to figure out what had happened.

      I was not as emotionally impacted by the book as I had hoped to be. Watergate and the president's resignation was a very emotionally affecting event. The book made it seem almost insignificant. The other thing that would muddy the water for a reader without context would be the lack of viewpoint provided by most of the major players.

      Hen and story of Alice Longworth Roosevelt, Pat Nixon and Rose Woods. Alice provided the long view of history. She had spent time in the White House as a child of a President and a cousin of a President and through her memories was able to put the events into am historical context and human context. Her narration was also valuable as a Washington insider.

      Pat Nixon was wonderful. You got the sense of her strength in the face of adversity and her role in bringing out the positive traits that Nixon had to offer while not short changing herself. The story of her affair was well told and really jived with the character as written. Her views on her daughters was also fascinating and in line with what I have read about them as well.

      Rose Woods was the most interesting and well rounded of all. Her loyalty as an employee and friend; her faithfulness to the man as opposed to the job or office; and finally, the idea that perhaps the tape was erased due to Rose being pissed off at am insult taped in the Oval Office, had the ring of truth making the fiction seem less so.

      This book is worth the time but I would suggest that if you don't have a background idea of what went on, you might miss the true emotional impact and importance of the events the book discusses.
    • 2/5
      I really wanted to like this book (a fictionalization of the watergate scandal). I love the watergate story and know a pretty good deal about it. My friend and I have dressed up as Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward for two separate costume parties. We've visited many watergate related sites in dc. But this just made me want to reread all the president's men. It was clear that the author had extensive knowledge of not only watergate but the histories of each person and of the time period. So much so that he seemed determined to exhaustively show off this knowledge at the expense of a good, forward moving plot (even though you'd think you'd have a perfectly good one already built in). Also if I knew less about watergate, this book would have made absolutely no sense to me.

      I should also add that I was so determined to liked this book that I stayed up until 3 reading it, got halfway through and decided I'd given it the benefit of the doubt and could stop. My general fatigue is not making this the best written review in the world.

      It gets two stars because it was so historically accurate.
    • 5/5
      The title is self-explanatory. This is a perfect novel for someone like me, who's always found the topic fascinating. The characters are fully fleshed-out, with plausible motives. I don't know how much is fictionalized and how much actually happened, particularly with the dialogue. And the biggest surprise was John Mitchell, who ends up being pretty sympathetic. I just loved this book, and will be looking for more of Mallon's work.
    • 4/5
      impressive. plausible and debatable.
    • 3/5
      I listened to this as an audio book. I enjoyed the recap the events, but as usual, I'm bothered by the novelization of real individuals who lived through recent events. I'm distrustful of the story as described; if the author was confident about their research, why not write non-fiction?
    • 4/5
      As a journalist, I’ve struggled in some previous attempts to immerse myself in historical fiction. The problem has been especially glaring when I delve into historical periods or events that I yearn to know more about.Perhaps my problem could be best illustrated with an analogy. To me, devouring historical fiction can sometimes be similar to sitting down at a burger joint and having the chef tell you that the juicy hamburger you’re about to enjoy is 90 percent pure beef – and 10 percent synthetic meat. Hmmm. Was that bite I just took the real thing? Or did it have a disproportionate amount of “fake stuff” blended into it? I’m starting to think that bite tasted kind of funny…But I’m rambling. You get the idea why I approached Thomas Mallon’s novel Watergate with some hesitation. After all, I lived through the era – albeit as a teenager. My stint in journalism school was filled with class discussions about Woodward and Bernstein, dissections of their landmark tome All the President’s Men and screenings of the movie version. Many of students enrolled in journalism studies in the late 70s were there because they had become enthralled with investigative arenas dominated by characters like Deep Throat (the Washington informant – not the adult film icon.)Despite these concerns, I loved Mallon’s book. His brilliant ability to show how tiny blunders can change the course of history kept me interested through the final chapters. The author’s vivid depictions of Nixon, John and Martha Mitchell, Rose Mary Woods and – the book’s central character – Fred LaRue, gave me a new perspective and a rekindled interest in this political tragedy. True, I found myself continually asking “okay, is that twist what really happened?” Or wondering how much license Mallon took with the proclivities of this character or that character. But to the author’s credit, my preoccupation with avoiding fake meat took a holiday. I enjoyed reliving some of Watergate’s milestone moments – even relishing the literary license that Mallon took in imagining what some of the key players were thinking, and how they were feeling.I’m quite sure that many historians will take issue with Mallon’s theory that Nixon had no advance knowledge of the burglary that changed history. I’m not sure I even buy this premise, and I was founder of a tiny local group called “Kids for Nixon” back in the early 70s. Please cut me some slack. I was 12 or 13 at the time!If you’re interested in the Watergate saga, pick up Mallon’s work. And just enjoy the burger. Don’t obsess over the recipe.
    • 4/5
      When I first heard about Thomas Mallon's fictional take on the Watergate scandal, my first reaction, revealing my extreme old age, was "too soon?" I wondered why Mallon would try his hand at this material when most of the nonfiction books about the subject read like thrillers anyway. I needn't have worried, because Mallon creates something new and worthwhile, and makes you feel sympathy for some of these long-reviled characters. Aside from Nixon himself, most of the major players in the scandal - Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean, Mitchell - are cameos, while the substantial characters, such as Fred LaRue, are less well known to the casual reading public. That choice allows Mallon freedom to invent, and the tale he spins is an engrossing one. The actual Watergate affair was, of course, a masculine business, but Mallon gives women some starring roles in this book, including Pat Nixon (her story is definitely fictionalized here), Rosemary Woods, and the bitingly funny Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Old-school Watergate aficionados will pick out some factual errors, but nothing that should hinder enjoyment of the story.
    • 4/5
      A very good fictional rendition of all that Watergate meant to the country. Interesting glimpses into Pat Nixon and her husband.