Bob Woodward

Legendary Pulitzer Prize-Winning Investigative Journalist; Associate Editor, The Washington Post; and Author, 21 Bestsellers

Bio

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 andspeech audiences provide a view of Washington they’ll never get elsewhere. Woodward has written about the last tenU.S. presidents and chronicled how the power of the presidency has evolved. He is author of 21bestselling books –15went to #1 –more thanany contemporary nonfiction writer. His bestseller, Fear: Trump in the White House, is the deepest dive ever made into the first months of any American president. His 20thbook, Rage, went behind the scenes of the Trump presidency like never before. His 21stbook, Peril(co-authored with acclaimedreporter Robert Costa),looksat a perilous time in American history –thetransition between the Presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. 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 forThe Washington Postwhere 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’tbe 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 gettinginsiders 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 Housesold 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.

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 forThe Washington Postwhere he’s worked since 1971. He has won nearly every American journalism award, and the Postwon 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.

BobSchieffer of CBS News said "Woodward has established himself as the best reporter of our time. He may be the best reporter ofall time."Lloyd Green wrote in a review for The Guardianthat Fear“depicts a White House awash in dysfunction, where the Lord of the Fliesis the closest thing to an owner’s manual.” The Weekly Standardcalled Woodward “the best pure reporter of his generation, perhaps ever.” In 2003, Al Hunt of The Wall Street Journalcalled Woodward “the most celebrated journalist of our age.” In listing the all-time 100 best non-fiction books, Timemagazine 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 History2006-2008(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 astory 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.

SPEECH TOPICS

HOW WE GOT HERE – LESSONS FROM TEN PRESIDENTS

Now reporting on his tenth American president, Bob Woodward’s remarkable perspective is unmatched in journalism. The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter takes audiences on a journey as only he can. From Nixon to the present, Woodward provides firsthand insights from having penetrated the White House, the Supreme Court, the CIA, the Pentagon, the Congress. He 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. 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. In the time since he uncovered the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein in 1973, Woodward has worked to shine a light on the inner-workings of secret government. In all, he has written 21 nonfiction bestsellers – 15 of which went on to become #1; more than any modern-day author.