All the President's MenAll the President's Men
Score Classic
What it's about
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two young Washington Post reporters, tell how they followed the story of a simple burglary at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate building all the way to the White House. With help from a secret source known as Deep Throat, their reporting uncovered the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.
Why it's worth reading
It spent 20 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and is on TIME's list of the 100 best nonfiction books. It's the most famous work of investigative journalism in American history.
You'll love it if you liked
The Best and the Brightest
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley StartupGood to know
It reads like a detective story, published months before Nixon resigned. The film adaptation is a classic too.
By the numbers
- Readers64 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller62 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #86 of the 198 history books we rank
- #159 of the 762 classics we rank
- #487 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is All the President's Men worth reading?
Yes. It spent 20 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and is on TIME's list of the 100 best nonfiction books. It ranks #487 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 78.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is All the President's Men about?
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two young Washington Post reporters, tell how they followed the story of a simple burglary at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate building all the way to the White House. With help from a secret source known as Deep Throat, their reporting uncovered the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.
How long does it take to read All the President's Men?
About 9 hours (352 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after All the President's Men?
If you liked it, try The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow or Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou.