The Watergate, Joseph Rodota
The Watergate, Joseph Rodota
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The Watergate
Inside America’s Most Infamous Address

Author: Joseph Rodota

Narrator: Bronson Pinchot

Unabridged: 12 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/20/2018

Synopsis

Since its opening in 1965, the Watergate complex has been one of Washington’s chicest addresses, a home to power brokers from both political parties and the epicenter of a scandal that brought down a president. In The Watergate, writer and political consultant Joseph Rodota paints a vivid portrait of this landmark and the movers and shakers who have lived there.Watergate residents—an intriguing casts of politicians, journalists, socialites and spies—have been at the center of America’s political storms for half a century. The irrepressible Martha Mitchell, wife of President Nixon’s attorney general and campaign manager John Mitchell, captivated the nation with a stream of outrageous interviews and phone calls from her Watergate duplex. Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia put aside their differences many a New Year’s Eve to celebrate together at the Watergate, dining on wild game hunted by Scalia and cooked by Ginsburg’s husband. Monica Lewinsky hunkered down in her mother’s Watergate apartment while President Clinton fought impeachment; her neighbor US Senator Bob Dole brought donuts to the hordes of reporters camped out front. Years after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted chamber music concerts in her Watergate living room, guests remembered the soaring music—and the cheap snacks.Rodota unlocks the mysteries of the Watergate, including why Elizabeth Taylor refused to move into a Watergate apartment with her sixth husband; reveals a surprising connection between the Watergate and Ronald Reagan; and unravels how the Nixon break-in transformed the Watergate’s reputation and spawned generations of "-gate” scandals, from Koreagate to Deflategate.The Washington Post once called the Watergate a “glittering Potomac Titanic." Like the famous ocean liner, the Watergate was ahead of its time, filled with boldface names—and ultimately doomed. The Watergate is a captivating inside look at the passengers and crew of this legendary building.

About Joseph Rodota

Joseph Rodota is a writer and consultant who has worked at the highest levels of politics in Washington, DC, and California. He worked in the Reagan White House and as a top aide to California governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and other outlets. He lives in Sacramento, California, where his play Chessman, about the final days of the “Red Light Bandit” Caryl Chessman, premiered at B Street Theatre.

About Bronson Pinchot

Bronson Pinchot is an experienced narrator and actor who has appeared in multiple films and television shows. His film and television credits include Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop, True Romance, and Perfect Strangers. A lover of Greek Revival architecture and soft shell crab, he currently resides in Manhattan.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Joseph on March 11, 2018

My first trip back to D.C. forty years ago a friend took me to the JFK Center and the "infamous" Watergate; I still recall the Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche store and other trendy shops in the mall area. This book brings me back to those immediate post-Watergate days, that political scandal indeed ma......more

Goodreads review by Doug on April 18, 2018

This is a MUST READ for anyone remotely interested in architecture, politics, or history. I loved every page of it and look forward to whatever topic Rodota tackles next!......more

Goodreads review by Gregory on June 17, 2018

I had dinner in a restaurant of the Watergate hotel in the mid-eighties, I don't recall what I had or even what the name was, but during my meal I do remember that an older woman was sitting several tables away. There was an elaborate ceremony being played out over and over again at her table. After......more

Goodreads review by Rory on November 16, 2018

Joseph Rodota is my favorite kind of historian. He knows that we know that this book bearing his name on the cover shows either his passion or at least his fierce interest in the history of the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. He doesn't need a long-winded introduction like other historians ten......more

Goodreads review by Alexis on November 19, 2020

This was such an amazing and informative book. From the conception of the idea of The Watergate Complex to the present nothing was missing. This one of the most comprehensive and accurate historical accounts I have ever read. If you are a history buff this book is perfect for you, it’s an excellent......more

Quotes

“Tells the story of this incredible ‘city within a city’…[and] invites the reader to be a fly on the wall.” Kate Andersen Brower, New York Times bestselling author

“As author Joseph Rodota shows in his excellent new book The Watergate: Inside America’s Most Infamous Address, life in the Watergate didn’t always match the hype of its developers, although the intrigue inside the buildings often outstripped anyone’s imagination…[He] captures the absurdity of some of the Watergate’s most notorious residents…taking readers inside the hulking buildings to show the people and characters inside.” USA Today (★★★½ out of four)

“Does a good job of mixing historical facts with personal anecdotes to tell the story of what was both the most famous and most infamous hotel in Washington, DC.” Washington Independent Review of Books

“Meticulously chronicles the buildings’ biography, including gossipy accounts of various residents (from socialite Anna Chennault to Monica Lewinsky) and, of course, details of the historic burglary.” Washingtonian

“A fascinating account, part history, part society page, which will appeal to a wide audience of general readers and those intrigued by architectural history.” Library Journal (starred review)

“Entertaining, gossip-filled….The author profiles the personalities and interior design choices of many famous, and sometimes notorious, Watergate residents: politicians, lawyers, doctors, diplomats, and businessmen…A richly detailed history of a site awarded landmark status.” Kirkus Reviews

“Mixes history, finance, and high-level political gossip to evoke the Watergate complex’s mystique.” Publishers Weekly

“Sure to appeal to architecture and political junkies alike…a thorough and thoroughly engrossing insider account of this legendary Washington address.” Booklist

“If walls could talk…Joseph Rodota reports what those in the world-famous Watergate complex have been discussing. Read for yourself—you won’t be disappointed.” John W. Dean, former Nixon White House counsel and New York Times bestselling author

“Joseph Rodota gives us the definitive history of the Watergate complex. Crime sleuths, politicos, fans of the rich and powerful, architects, gossipers, and renters everywhere will find The Watergate a fascinating and rewarding read. Rodota’s extraordinary eye for juicy detail made me feel as if I were peeking over the shoulders of the Watergate residents—and burglars. If you think you knew the Watergate story, you haven’t read this.” Donna Brazile, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee and New York Times bestselling author

Awards

  • USA Today Pick
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