Tow #8 All The President's Men... A book in review

Drama. Suspense. Action. All are great things that occur in All The Presidents Men. The best part? It all really happened. As I read this book and witnessed the uncovering of the Nixon scandal by two incredible reporters, I felt as if I was uncovering something myself. My discovery? Nonfiction CAN be interesting! Imagine that! Reading this book was like reading a great spy novel, it had humor and suspense, even sarcasm. The way the authors presented the novel made it interesting, yet also informative. 

One thing that kept interest was the use of an all knowing third person in the story's retelling. Despite the personal story coming from the two reporters who actually discovered it, the story is told from an overarching point of view. However, this does not limit the detail with which the story is told. The authors add emotion and response very well, especially through thorough imagery.

The imagery in the story was able to let audiences connect to the story and immerse themselves in it. They can really see the “uniformed policemen, shirt-sleeved detectives with snub-nosed thirty-eights... and prosecutors” (58) who surrounded the case. The readers can really feel the confusion that struck authors as the story unfolds, as if they were there themselves. 

Another thing I felt was interesting, at least from a stylistic standpoint, was the beginning. Before the book starts, a “cast” is given, as if it were a play, a list of people who were integral to the story line or the actual events. This served to organize the reader and serve as a reference point for them. Each time someone new was called upon (often quite literally) to be interviewed or questioned, the list could be referenced, explaining why exactly that person was being interviewed. It also allowed the authors to avoid having to explain who each person was, and get to the point without skipping around it. This reflects the often blunt style of journalistic writing that the authors are very familiar with. On that note, I quite liked that aspect, as it didn’t take away from the story, and instead only added to it.

Overall, the story of the watergate scandal was depicted quite well in this novel. It was a different approach, perhaps different from the one that I would have used, but it worked. It was a riveting story told in a riveting way that will continue to capture the attention of readers for a very long time.