For half a century, one of political journalism's most extraordinary scenes has remained shrouded in mystery. In Richard Nixon’s final hours in office after the Watergate scandal, the president broke down in tears and asked Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to kneel and pray with him, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reported in their 1976 book, “The Final Days.” For years, political junkies and those across the media industry have wondered how the legendary reporting duo could have obtained such intensely private information.
Decades later, Woodward is ending the speculation. In his forthcoming memoir, “Secrets: A Reporter's Memoir,” he identifies two of Kissinger's top deputies, Brent Scowcroft and Lawrence Eagleburger, as sources for that specific scene. And they are hardly the only longtime confidential sources Woodward is unmasking.
Most of the names Woodward divulges in the memoir—who provided him with often sensitive and classified information—are now deceased, leaving the reporter as the sole proprietor in their disclosure. While the revelations offer a fascinating behind-the-curtain look at some of the most renowned reporting in American history, Status has learned the decision has…
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