One of the best-kept secrets of the Washington world was finally revealed in 2005, when W. Mark Felt, a retired FBI agent, was identified as the insider source referred to as "Deep Throat" in Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's 1970s Watergate saga, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. This revelation freed Woodward to publish THE SECRET MAN, which fleshes out the previous accounts, providing new facts, and which tries to get a fix on the man who appears to have gained nothing from his bold actions. Woodward struggles to find the motive behind Felt's actions: Was it career disappointment, after having been passed over twice by Nixon for the top FBI job; or was it something to do with Nixon's misuse of the bureau? Woodward reports how, after Felt resigned, their relationship was strained, and that Felt "exploded" when asked for permission to be identified in ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. Felt hung up on Woodward, and many years passed before they spoke. In 2002, Woodward finally interviewed Felt, who remembered very little, and who we are told suffers from dementia. Woodward goes on to discuss the use of confidential sources by journalists and his own struggle to keep Deep Throat's identity secret. Woodward has been sitting on this information for decades, and the public has been anticipating the added dimension, flavor, and context that he brings to a history lesson that seems acutely relevant today.
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