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A Conversation with Bob Woodward
In the time since he uncovered the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein in 1973, BOB WOODWARD has worked to shine a light on the inner-workings of secret government. In all, he has written 22 nonfiction bestsellers – 18 of which went on to become #1 New York Times bestsellers; more than any modern-day author. Woodward’s content is tailored to the interests of the audience and is an in-depth, non-partisan, fact-driven analysis of America’s current state through the lens of history.
Author Talk: 'War'
With unrivaled, inside-the-room reporting, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner BOB WOODWARD shares the sections of his newest book, War, which tell the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars—Ukraine, the Middle East, and the struggle for the American Presidency. In this enlightening engagement, Woodward reveals the extraordinary complexity and consequence of wartime back-channel diplomacy and decision-making to deter the use of nuclear weapons and a rapid slide into World War III.
Information on book buys and signings is available upon request.
How We Got Here – Lessons From Ten Presidents
BOB WOODWARD’s remarkable perspective is unmatched in journalism. The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter analyzes the successes and messes of the presidents he’s covered and offers important lessons – about governing, about presidential leadership during economic, military, and national crises, about the expanding powers of the presidency, and about the role of the media.
Bob Woodward's Peril is a New York Times and Amazon Bestseller
Iconic, award-winning investigative journalist, and bestselling author BOB WOODWARD's newest book Peril, debuted at #1 on The New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists - Woodward’s fifteenth #1 bestseller. Peril recounts for history the inside story of the transition between the presidencies of Donald Trump and of Joe Biden. The depth of the information Woodward reveals is testimony to his 50-year reputation as investigative journalism’s preeminent reporter. Inside sources trust Woodward, giving him information that no other reporter is able to uncover. More than 200 people at the center of the turmoil were interviewed, resulting in more than 6,000 pages of transcripts – and a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink. Woodward takes audiences deep inside the Trump White House, the Biden White House, the 2020 campaign, and the Pentagon and Congress, with vivid, eyewitness accounts of what really happened. With the book an instant bestseller, Woodward has been sought-out for fascinating, insightful interviews on PBS News Hour, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Meet the Press. In-demand to speak on the reporting behind his book and the state of the American presidency, Woodward is consistently heralded for his riveting speaking, including reviews such as: "Bob did an excellent job, he was absolutely outstanding! Many have commented that his keynote was the best they have experienced..." (American Marketing Association)
Bob Woodward gained international attention when he and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal in 1973. Since then, he’s worked to shine a light on the inner-workings of secret government. Woodward’s factual, non-partisan revelations to readers and speech audiences provide a view of Washington they’ll never get elsewhere. Woodward has written about the last ten U.S. presidents and chronicled how the power of the presidency has evolved. He is author of 22 bestselling books – 16 went to #1 – more than any contemporary nonfiction writer. His 21st book, Peril (co-authored with acclaimed reporter Robert Costa), was a deep dive into a critical time in American history – the transition between the Presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. His latest work, The Trump Tapes, is an audio book containing the complete recordings of his 20 interviews with Donald Trump over four years. He’s taken this never-before step to give the public a chance to hear for themselves the words of the president and key advisers. In his speeches, Woodward looks at the expanding powers of the presidency and the important lessons that can be learned from the presidents he’s covered. He can also assess the role of the media and how well it is (or isn’t) doing its job. Audiences will be awe-struck by insights from this living journalistic legend. Currently associate editor for The Washington Post where he’s worked since 1971, Bob Woodward has won nearly every American journalism award including two Pulitzers.
Former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wished he’d recruited Woodward into the CIA, “He has an extraordinary ability to get otherwise responsible adults to spill [their] guts to him…his ability to get people to talk about stuff they shouldn’t be talking about is just extraordinary and may be unique.” Therein lays the genius talent of Bob Woodward.
No one else in political investigative journalism has the clout, respect, and reputation of Woodward. He has a way of getting insiders to open up in ways that reveal an intimate yet sweeping portrayal of Washington and the political infighting, how we fight wars, the price of politics, how presidents lead, the homeland security efforts, and so much more. His work is meticulous and draws on internal memos, classified documents, meeting notes and hundreds of hours of recorded interviews with most of the key players, including the president. This is why Fear: Trump in the White House sold more than 1.1 million copies in its first week in September 2018 – breaking the 94-year first-week sales record of its publisher Simon & Schuster – and nearly 2 million copies in hardback, ebook and audio in the first four months.
In October 2022, Woodward did something he’d never done before; he released the complete recordings of his 20 interviews with Donald Trump in audiobook form titled, The Trump Tapes. The audiobook is unique in that the listener gets the opportunity to hear his lengthy and raw interviews as well as exclusive commentary during some of the interviews – to provide vital context or clarification. The Trump Tapes is considered by Simon and Schuster “…as historically important as the Frost/Nixon interviews.”
As a speaker, Woodward pulls the curtain back on Washington and its leaders to captivate audiences with stories that are sometimes surprising, at times shocking, and always fascinating. He blends stories that are both up to the minute and from the past (to provide historical context). Woodward speaks as he writes – crisp and concise – and helps people get behind the spin to understand what’s really going on in the halls of power in an age of 24-hour news, social media, and snarky politics.
Professionally, Bob Woodward is currently associate editor for The Washington Post where he’s worked since 1971. He has won nearly every American journalism award, and the Post won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for his work with Carl Bernstein on the Watergate scandal. In addition, Woodward was the main reporter for the Post’s articles on the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks that won the National Affairs Pulitzer Prize in 2002.
Bob Schieffer of CBS News said "Woodward has established himself as the best reporter of our time. He may be the best reporter of all time." Lloyd Green wrote in a review for The Guardian that Fear “depicts a White House awash in dysfunction, where the Lord of the Flies is the closest thing to an owner’s manual.” The Weekly Standard called Woodward “the best pure reporter of his generation, perhaps ever.” In 2003, Al Hunt of The Wall Street Journal called Woodward “the most celebrated journalist of our age.” In listing the all-time 100 best non-fiction books, Time magazine has called All the President’s Men, by Bernstein and Woodward, “Perhaps the most influential piece of journalism in history.”
Woodward has co-authored or authored 15 #1 national best-selling non-fiction books. They are: All the President’s Men (1974) and The Final Days (1976), both Watergate books, co-authored with Bernstein; The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court (1979) co-authored with Scott Armstrong; Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi (1984); Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981-87 (1987); The Commanders (1991); The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House (1994); Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate (1999); Bush at War (2002); Plan of Attack (2004); State of Denial: Bush at War Part III (2006); Obama’s Wars (2010); Fear: Trump in the White House (2018); Rage (2020); and Peril (2021) co-authored with Robert Costa. Woodward’s other national bestselling books are: The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate’s Deep Throat (2005), The Choice (1996), Maestro: Greenspan’s Fed and the American Boom (2000), The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 (2008), The Price of Politics (2012), and The Last of the President’s Men (2015). Newsweek magazine has excerpted six of Woodward’s books in headline-making cover stories; “60 Minutes” has done pieces on eight of his books; and three of his books have been made into feature films.
In November 2017, the online learning portal MasterClass released “Bob Woodward Teaches Investigative Journalism.” In it, Woodward reveals the lessons he’s learned during his career, teaching students what truth means, how to uncover it, and how to build a story with it.
Woodward was born March 26, 1943 in Illinois. He graduated from Yale University in 1965 and served five years as a communications officer in the U.S. Navy before beginning his journalism career at the Montgomery County Sentinel (Maryland), where he was a reporter for one year before joining the Post.
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