This autobiography, assembled from Felt's 1979 memoir, The FBI Pyramid from the Inside
, other unpublished writings and reminiscences by family and friends, has little to say about his role as Deep Throat. Felt barely alludes to his connection to reporter Bob Woodward (an addendum by O'Connor, Felt's lawyer, fleshes out the relationship), focusing instead on the performance of the FBI, where he was second-in-command during the Watergate probe. His leaks, he hints, were a strategy to keep the investigation from being derailed by White House stonewalling and interference from FBI director and Nixon loyalist L. Patrick Gray. Felt also recounts intriguing if undramatic anecdotes from his early FBI career, paints a hagiographic portrait of J. Edgar Hoover and defends his authorization of warrantless break-ins in the investigation of the Weather Underground. Throughout, his ostensible motive is always to safeguard the nation while preserving the FBI's integrity and professionalism (although one glimpses a subtle, ambitious careerist behind the square-jawed crime fighter). As history attests, Felt's is a valuable insider's perspective, but due to an aging memory, it's not always complete. (Apr.)
Correction: Our review of Miss American Pie
(Reviews, Mar. 6) misstated author Margaret Sartor's hometown. She grew up in Montgomery, La.
