Bob Woodward

By Lily Allder

Biography Robert U. Woodward was born on March 26, 1943 in the town of Geneva,Missouri and was raised in Wheaton. He went to Wheaton Community HighSchool, and later attended Yale University on an NROTC scholarship. After hereceived his B.A. in 1965, he spent four years as a Naval officer. In 1970, hewas discharged as a Lieutenant after serving as an aide to the Chief of NavalOperations, Admiral Thomas H. Moorer.

He had a two week trial at The Washington Post, but fired because helacked experience as a journalist. After a year working at the MontgomerySentinel, he reapplied to The Washington Post. He was given the job in

Augustof 1971.

Bob Woodward lives in the Georgetown section of Washington, and liveswith his wife, Elsa Walsh, who writes for the New Yorker. They have twodaughters.

Becoming a Journalist

"I called my father and said I'm not going to law school, but have this jobat a newspaper he had never heard of. And my father said probably theseverest thing he has ever said to me. He said, 'You're crazy.' So he didn'tthink it was a good idea.“

Bob Woodward applied to many law schools after his time as a NavalOfficer, but he also applied to the Washington Post. After getting turneddown, he was still interested in becoming a journalist. He got a job with theMontgomery Sentinel to gain experience and knowledge as a reporter. Aftera year training at the newspaper, he left and joined The Washington Post inAugust of 1971.

Highlights of his Career

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to investigate theburglary of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee inWashington D.C. office building called Watergate on June 17, 1972. The workthe two men did became known as the first of many political dirty tricks ofthe Nixon reelection committee. They wrote a book called “All the

President’sMen.” It became a #1 bestseller and was later turned into a movie starringRobert Redford as Woodward, and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein. The tworeporters wrote a second book called “The Final Days “ which covered theperiod from November of 1973 until President Nixon resigned in August of1974.

Highlights Cont.Woodward has written four detailed accounts of

George W. Bush’s reign in office. The book titles areBush at War (2002), Plan of Attack (2004), State ofDenial: Bush at War, Part III (2006), and The WarWithin: A Secret White House History (2006-2008). Hehas interviewed Bush a total of four times for morethan seven hours total.

Highlights Cont. Woodward has twice contributed to collective journalistic efforts that

were awarded The Pulitzer Prize. In 1973, The Washington Post won thePulitzer Prize for Public Service. Bob Woodward was the lead reporter forPost’s articles on the aftermath of September 11 attacks that won theNational Reporting Pulitzer in 2002. In 2003, he was awarded the Gerald R.Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2003. In 2003, AlHunt of The Wall Street Journal called Woodward "the most celebratedjournalist of our age.“

Known For…Bob Woodward is mainly

remembered for his work in investigating the

Watergate Scandal.

Views“I have written things that Republicans and Democrats and all kinds of

figures have either hated or felt very uncomfortable about. Because in doingthese long projects and books, you get close to the bone. And they're notcalling me up and asking me for dinner. “

“I think journalism gets measured by the quality of information itpresents, not the drama or the pyrotechnics associated with us.”

“The Washington Times wrote a story questioning the authenticity ofsome of the suggestions made about me in Silent Coup. But as a believer inthe First Amendment, I believe they have more than a right to air their views. “

Views Cont. “When you practice reporting for as long as I have, you keep yourself at a

distance from True Believers. Either conservatives or liberals or Democrats orRepublicans. “

“When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, yousee who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making. “

“The legislator learns that when you talk a lot, you get in trouble. You have

to listen a lot to make deals. “

WorkDoubt, Distrust, DelayThe Inside Story of How Bush's Team DealtWith Its Failing Iraq Strategy

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/06/AR2008090602691.html

Works Citedhttp://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/

woo1bio-1

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/bob_woodward.html