Reading Bob Woodward

The agreement with Felt, Woodward writes, "was that there would be no identification of him, his agency or even a suggestion in print that such a source existed." This seems pretty unambiguous. Still, Woodward called Felt, who had recently retired, and asked "very gingerly" if he would consider letting his name be used.

"He exploded," Woodward writes. "Felt made me feel shame. I wondered how I could even have made such a request."

Felt's name wasn't used. But for the first time, his existence was publicly acknowledged.

"It never really crossed my mind," Woodward writes, "to leave out the details of Deep Throat's role."

Two Ambitious Men

It was a decision that would weigh on each of them for decades.

After Felt retired, he was caught up in an investigation of illegal FBI break-ins at the homes of friends and relatives of members of the Weather Underground. He wrote a memoir that almost no one read. He went on trial for the illegal activity and was convicted in November 1980, but was pardoned a few months later by President Reagan. He then disappeared from public life, except when his name was floated as a possible identity for Deep Throat.

As for Woodward, he drove himself as hard as ever in the years following Watergate, maintaining and even increasing his fame. From his base at The Post, he turned out news-driven, nonfiction books that made heavy use of anonymous sources: on the Supreme Court (with Scott Armstrong), on the CIA, on the Pentagon, on the Clinton and Bush White Houses. Woodward books are published to enormous fanfare, usually including an exclusive appearance on a television show such as "60 Minutes" and extensive excerpts in The Post. Most have risen straight to the top of national bestseller lists. According to his publisher, more than 7 million Woodward books are now in print.

Given the portrayal in "All the President's Men" and the way Woodward's world had diverged from Felt's, it's hardly surprising that the two men's relationship could not be sustained. It bothered Woodward nonetheless.

In the early days of their connection, he'd seen the older man as a kind of combination friend and father figure. Now, it wasn't clear that Felt wanted to know him at all. Woodward writes at some length about the pain this caused.

"All the President's Men" came out in the spring of 1974 and became a No. 1 bestseller. The proud co-author called Felt, "dying to know what he thought," but Felt hung up as soon as he heard his voice. Woodward found himself imagining the worst -- was Felt so depressed he might kill himself? -- but thought it more likely he'd "go public and denounce me as a betrayer and scum who had exploited our accidental friendship."

Nixon resigned later the same year. Woodward was afraid to call Felt, though "the nagging incompleteness of the relationship was painful for me."

The movie version of the book was released in 1976. Hal Holbrook played Deep Throat. Again, Woodward was tempted to call Felt, or to do one of his "show-up-on-his-doorstep routines." But "I was basically gutless. I did nothing."