Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

by Mark Felt, John O'Connor

Mark Felt's role in history was secured when he decided to share his views on the Watergate break-in with a young reporter on the Washington Post named Bob Woodward. He made sure that the greatest political scandal in the twentieth century, which would besmirch an entire administration and bring down a presidency, was revealed in an unchallengeable way. This absorbing account of Felt's FBI career, from the end of the great American crime wave through World War II, 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. It also provides 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 protection it from White House corruption. Much more than a Watergate procedural, A G-Man's Life is about life as a spy, the culture of the FBI, and the internal political struggles of mid-20th century America. Only as he neared the end of his life did Felt confide his role in our national history to members of his family, who then shared it with their lawyer, John O'Connor. The answers to the questions Who is Mark Felt? And why did he risk so much for his country? are brilliantly answered in A G-Man's Life.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Biography, American

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2017

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

[Hrishikesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first completion of 2018, and (given the events of today) what a day to read about a man who went beyond established procedures & protocols to do what he thought was right!

At a personal level, I am hopelessly straight-laced about such things. People "within the system" resorting to vigilantism or activism is a strict no-no for me. But "Watergate" was one such chapter when all that happened was necessary. It also speaks of a simpler time that the POTUS could lose his job on charges that would almost seem listless today.

This book, of course, goes much beyond Watergate. It speaks of Felt's (recently in the limelight, courtesy Liam Neeson) entire career in the FBI. It speaks of his adoration of Hoover, and the institute of which he was a part. There will be many who will disagree with the story here. But all that I can say is, "I understand".

The book has been an absolute page turner.

[Deyth Banger · Rating 5 out of 5]

"December 31, 2017 –
100.0% "As more deeper you go as more it odds it gets."
December 22, 2017 –
15.0% "46:31"
December 22, 2017 –
15.0% "The story gives you slight view of being inside the mind of politicians."
December 22, 2017 –
15.0% "A story build upon drama."
December 22, 2017 –
15.0% "35:48"
December 22, 2017 – Shelved
December 22, 2017 – Started Reading"

[Fran Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about Mark Felt and the FBI.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must for Watergate completists, yet it does not have the visual verve of All The President's Men. What good do goppers in power ever do?

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mostly self-told story of the man whose sense of duty kept him fighting for years to keep the FBI free of political bias.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mark Felt, a.k.a. 'Deep Throat' of Woodward and Bernstein Watergate expose fame provides his autobiography along with the FBI side of the story that brought down President Richard Nixon.
The whistle-blower's tale is interesting, and I'm sure quite factual, but comes after two thirds of the book has been read.
The autobiographical side becomes a eulogy of the FBI, and particularly of J. Edgar Hoover. There are notable differences here from the image portrayed by such writers as Summers and Gentry or opinions held by presidents as far back as Truman, Kennedy and of course Nixon.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of the man known as "Deep Throat" and his collaboration with Woodward and Bernstein as they broke the Watergate scandal.

[Lawanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook read by Michael Pritchard

[Kirk Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it would be more about Deep Throat. Regardless, it was a good look deep into Hoover's FBI.

[Nik Maack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I really enjoyed the movie version. As I often say, movies are ads for books.

This is a very odd book. A very long introduction by John O'Connor summarizes the story from start to finish. This confused me. But this slowly starts to make sense. Most of the book is made up from old chapters from other books, written by Felt. In these chapters, Felt does not ackowledge that he was Deep Throat. They were written before he admitted it. Footnotes and additional text provide information, context, and truth -- and these are also written by John O'Connor. At the end, several epilogues add additional information -- again, written by John O'Connor.

These additions by O'Connor were necessary. Felt was quite elderly and had a poor memory when he finally admitted he was Deep Throat. So he wasn't in any condition to tell us more, or write it.

Felt's own words, therefore, are weird and limited. They're kind of a lie. He portrays himself as a Boy Scout. He's so straight and narrow as to be remarkably dull. I found myself bored, reading along, when I suddenly realized Felt had just told me about capturing a Nazi spy, and he made it boring. Later chapters aren't quite so poorly written, and feature more intrigue. But Felt portrays himself very much as an extremely straightlaced FBI nerd. I can't help but feel like there's a lot he's not saying because it wouldn't be proper.

In the preface, epilogue, and some notes inbetween, O'Connor provides colour and feeling. Felt loves his wife and family, O'Connor tells us, even though Felt carefully omits almost any mention of them in the text. Because the Felt chapters were written before Felt admitted he was Deep Throat, we know he's holding out on us. But it's more than that -- Felt wants to protect family secrets (revealed in O'Connor's texts) and so never describes his emotional life at all. O'Connor therefore comes across as a bit of an apologist, making Felt more human.

The effect of this is quite startling. Felt comes across as a good man, but so much of an FBI agent that he never really got a chance to be a human being. O'Connor actually adds to this feeling, by describing how Felt became human in his later years, after his wife died and he got closer to his kids.

So, oddly, the book is pretty great, almost because of its flaws.

You're probably better off just watching the movie, unless you really want to dive into this stuff.

[Kathleen Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

You think you know the story

But there is so much more. This book will make you proud to be an American. Maybe not so proud of our government at times. Makes you reevaluate the times we live in now. A must-read for anyone who is a history buff. This is a side of the story you probably haven't heard before.

[Nate Hendrix]

So we watched the movie and liked it so, of course, I looked to see if it was based on a book. Sure enough and the book was as good as the movie. I wish that there was more on how exactly he passed information to Woodward. Felt's career covered several very different decades. He seemed like a guy that would have been really cool to talk to, the stories he could tell.

[Rosanne Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing book/story.
Based on the type of reports described by the author, the book was written in a succinct and factual format that appeared to leave out a lot of detail that was later filled in at the end.

[Karlyn Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the movie first, then devoured the book. Both are intriguing. And I was in the Watergate mood 📖

[Joseph Cappelluti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was expecting more material devoted to Watergate scandal but I was not disappointed

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring!!

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mostly self-told story of the man whose sense of duty kept him fighting for years to keep the FBI free of political bias. There are many characters, hard to keep straight at times, but that was Felt's life. He seemed to be a character of the 1960s, one of the old school characters. I enjoyed the story, probably because I lived it without knowing these details.