A G-Man's Life: The FBI, Being Deep Throat, and the Struggle for Honor in Washington

by Mark Felt, John D. O'Connor, John O'Connor

This absorbing account of Mark Felt's FBI career--from the end of the great American crime wave through World War II and the culture wars of the 1960s--and his conviction for his role in penetrating the Weather Underground, provides a rich historical and personal context to the "Deep Throat" chapter of his life. Felt's personal recollections of the Watergate scandal (which he wrote in 1982 and kept secret) in which he explains how he came to feel that the FBI needed a "Lone Ranger" to protect it from White House corruption, shed light one of the most mysterious public figures of our time.

Genres: History, Biography, Politics, Nonfiction, American History, Memoir, Biography Memoir

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2006

About the author

William Mark Felt, Sr. was an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who retired as the Bureau's Associate Director in 1973. After denying his involvement with reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for 30 years, Felt revealed himself to be the Watergate scandal's whistleblower, "Deep Throat," on May 31, 2005.

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was the deal with that interminable introduction?! It went on forever and yet went nowhere. Get by that and you're in for a treat!

Mark "Deep Throat" Felt, the man who made it possible for Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein to discover the truth behind Watergate, has written a fairly captivating memoir in A G-Man's Life.

Felt was an FBI agent from the earlier days of the bureau who rose up through the ranks to become one of its top officials. Many of the FBI stories he relates are nothing earth-shatteringly revealing. One senses that although Felt is retired from the FBI, he still would not give up its secrets without damn good reason, at least not to regular citizens like you and me. So what we get are very entertaining (though basically feel-good) stories about cases Felt was assigned to. Much of the book is devoted to his hero J. Edgar Hoover, the founding father of the FBI, a man Felt admired almost sycophantically. Almost, I say, because it's apparent Felt was his own man and viewed Hoover as his boss and not an entirely infallible one.

While the FBI cases were entertaining, what I liked was seeing how his career affected his personal life. How does such a need for secrecy affect a family? Clearly it's not an easy life for the agent, nor their loved ones. Imagine how difficult it must have been for the man who - at the time - was seen by some as a betrayer of the FBI and his own country's president.

Those readers who make it their business to snoop into all this spy/spook/secret agent stuff probably won't find anything in here they don't already know, but for the rest of us Felt offers up a few eye-openers making A G-Man's Life well worth the reading...just skip over that introduction. Trust me, you won't miss a thing.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mark Felt was "Deep Throat". The guy who brought Nixon down. The lone voice of truth in a time of dark, dark lies and a government that was covering up a cover-up. He was an FBI agent, a close assistant to J. Edgar Hoover, and one of the few candidates to replace the famous cross-dresser after he died. He should be regarded as an American hero in a fair world. But this is not a fair world. Despite Felt's best attempt to portray himself in the best light, it is hard to square his questionable memory with that of countless other books that more factually examine the events of Watergate. Worse, his justifications for being the most famous whistle blower in American history ring about as truthful as your average Donald Rumsfeld press conference. If Felt was really the principled, stand-up guy he wants us to think he is, he'd have resigned from office as soon as the cover-up started and gone public, instead of leaking half-truths to a dozen different journalists and sending the country into a confused panic that barely kept up with the legitimate investigation. Despite all the flowery re-examinations of Felt and Deep Throat, nothing changes the Occam's Razor-tight fact that Felt was most likely leaking for revenge, purely for getting passed over for the Director's spot. The final story of Watergate has not been written yet, and in the end, not much revealed in this self-serving, anti-climactic heap of words adds anything to what we already knew, or already suspected. Just more fog for the haze.

NC

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again I have a problem with a subtitle. In this case it's the part about "being Deep Throat". This memoir was written in the 1980s, prior to Mark Felt coming out as Deep Throat. So he doesn't write about being Deep Throat. The editor/cowriter/family friend adds a subchapter based on his best guesses, but all Felt says is that he talked with Woodward several times. That's it - one sentence. By the time Felt came out as Deep Throat in the 90s, he was already beginning to suffer from dementia and losing his memory.

As a memoir of a G-man, it's a fine, if biased, book. Felt was a very by-the-book guy, very proud of the FBI, and an admirer of J. Edgar Hoover. It's interesting to read his take on things. This book is not, however, about being Deep Throat.

[Agostinho Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Felt (Twin Falls, 17-08-1913 – Santa Rosa, 18-12-2008) agente de FBI narra a história desta agência através do seu ponto de vista como herdeiro de John Edgar Hoover (Washington, D.C., 01-01-1895 a 02-05-1972) administrador do FBI em mais de 30 anos de serviço.
Aos 91 anos, Felt revelou à revista “Vanity Fair” que durante sua gestão como diretor associado do FBI ele havia sido a falada fonte anónima conhecida como "Garganta Profunda" que forneceu aos jornalistas do “The Washington Post” Bob Woodward e Carl Bernstein pistas importantes sobre o escândalo Watergate, que acabou levando à renúncia do presidente Richard Nixon em 1974.
O consentimento dessa associação, só aconteceu 30 anos após a sua reforma da agência, no entanto muitos desconfiavam que ele seria a fonte do “The Washington Post”, inclusive o presidente Richard Nixon.
No entanto Bob Woodward sentiu-se traído aquando do lançamento livro “A G-Man's Life” em 2006, considerou eticamente errado que Mark Felt com apoio da sua família e seu advogado John O'Connor terem usado Felt já com nítidas falhas de memória que mal se lembrava do caso Watergate, e demente, tivesse concordado em quebrar o seu voto de sigilo, sendo essa a razão de Woodward não ter colaborado neste livro e tenha lançado pouco tempo depois “O Homem Secreto - A história do garganta funda do caso Watergate”.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a reprint of a 1979 memoir by “Deep Throat” Mark Felt. While there are a few editorial additions at the beginning and end from the co author, they don’t seem to be in Felt’s voice as he had significant medical issues at the time of publication. The insight of a devout Hooverite is interesting, but the material tends to be inaccurate at some points as Felt lied to protect his identity at the fine of original publication..

[East Greenbush Community Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an engrossing account of one man who truly made a difference. However, there was some confusion as to how much was added by co-suthor, John O'Connor, after Felt's identity as Deep Throat was revealed.

[Patrick Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea how interesting Felt's career before Deep Throat was. This book and its posthumous editing/additions provides an extremely thorough history of the man an his motivations.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thought of that secret resting with that man all these years is chilling.
Reads a little slow at the end.

[Wajih M'zoughi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A G man's G. Mark Felt's career is seriously great. He's a hero. He did what he did for the good of his country. Always read about "Deepthroat" and the watergate scandal. The book is just too good.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history that culminates in the Watergate investigation, but also provides an interesting perspective on JFK, Robert Kennedy, MLK, Hoover, Nixon, and several in the FBI.

[Karen]

Most of the info is in the preface. The writing of the actual memoir is weak, and a little slow moving. Kind of a let down to the greatest reveal in US journalism.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Felt objected to the term "Deep Throat"-thinking that it meant that he was continuously leaking to Bob Woodward and of course, objecting to the connection with the Linda Lovelace movie of the same name. It appeared that Mr. Felt didn't feel that he leaked anything to Woodward (even testifying under oath that he did not)-but that rather Felt always maintained that he confirmed what Woodward already knew.

It is very evident that the Felt family are trying to reframe the Watergate story where it wasn't a duo of journalists overcovering story-but it was their dad and grandfather who risked his career to keep the integrity of the US democratic principles still intact.

Felt was a Hoover man-rising to the number #2 position. His visits with Woodward happened soon after Felt was passed over for L. Patrick Gray which the book described as lackluster. In the end, Mark Felt was convicted for ordering tapping with the Weather Underground. The pressure of that conviction drove his wife to suicide.

And at the end of his life, after Felt moved to California to help his daughter who was a single mother with three sons, raise her family-you feel kindly towards a man who was trying to come to grips with his biggest contribution of his life.

[Wilson Trivino · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ultimate G-man, Mark Felt lived inside the FBI world while rising to the top echelons. He was a close confidant and assistant to Herbert Hoover and a patriot.
But his loyalty was not to the bureaucracy world of the FBI but to the ideals of a nation in which he served. This led him to the most important pivotal role which was press informant. Now he comes clean and to how the world knew of his alias Deep Throat.
Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein went on to expose the inner world of Richard Nixon which eventually served as a tipping point in the President’s resignation from the highest office.
Written with John O’Connor at a point where Felt’s mind was not as clear as it once was, Felt shares the most intimate details of the world he loved- the FBI.
A fascinating read on an era that is quickly disappearing inside the annals of history.
This book is a peek behind the veil of the FBI, in an era that they were known as G-men.
Felt’s book is a fascinating firsthand account of that behind the scenes world of the FBI.
In the end is Felt a patriot or traitor? You decide.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

A G-Man's Life: The FBI, Being "Deep Throat," and the Struggle for Honor in Washington by Mark Felt and John D. O'Connor (Public Affairs 2006) (Biography). This is the autobiography of "Deep Throat", the unnamed source who gave Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post the scoops that kept the Watergate Conspiracy unraveling. Mark Felt was an FBI agent who helped bust the Weather Underground and helped send Richard Nixon into exile and disgrace. He has interesting tales to tell. My rating: 7/10, finished 2006.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting for me because I was in junior high and high school while all this was going on and I never paid attention. Of course this is told from one man's perspective, but he seems like he has a lot of integrity and seems believable. It was worth reading even though this is not my kind of book usually.

[Dean Hamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book demands attention just because of the Watergate connection, but it is much more a personal account of Felt's career as an FBI agent than a juicy exposé of parking garage meetings with Bob Woodward. It was plodding at times, yet I still found it much more interesting than Woodward's book on Felt, "The Invisible Man." I'm not sorry I bought it.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good history lesson on "Deep Throat" (Watergate) and how a U.S. Presidency almost came totally apart. The question why Mark Felt was the informant was never really answered other than it was his "duty."

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting how much has changed. It seems like today political figures are able to get away with so much intrigue, and no one calls them on it, either from the investigating agencies or the media. A lot has changed since Watergate, that's for sure

[Mirm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting confession of "Deep Throat" and description of the inner-workings of the FBI from the Nazi era to the 70s.

[Jim Lindgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting but Felt was not a very interesting guy; and he was goo gung-ho for Hoover for my taste.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

It could have been a great book or even a good book. Instead, it is neither. The blame belongs to both Felt and O'Connor.

[Debra Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather boring life from the man who was deep throat.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as much info about Watergate as I would have liked.

[JohnD]

never finished