Downie: 'Wash Post' Woodward Excerpts To Run Sunday and Monday

By: Joe Strupp Bob Woodward's new book, "State of Denial" (Simon and Schuster), will be excerpted by The Washington Post in two front page pieces on Sunday and Monday, Executive Editor Leonard Downie, Jr. told E&P today.

"Our readers get the first shot at everything," Downie said about the book, which includes tidbits such as Henry Kissinger's advising George W. Bush and a contention that violence against U.S. forces in Iraq is worse than previously thought. "We are taking out of the book and giving to readers what we consider the most important things in the book they have not seen."

Woodward is to appear on "60 Minutes" Sunday night and CBS began releasing excerpts from that interview today. The book deals with the White House and its conduct of the Iraq war in recent years.

Downie, who declined to offer specifics about the two-part excerpt, said he is still editing it and has read the entire book. He said the excerpts were initially put together by Woodward and assistant managing editor Bill Hamilton, with further editing by Downie. "There are multiple drafts like anything that goes in the paper," he said. "As usual, we don't use direct excerpts from the book, there will be two pieces based on the material in the book."

Downie noted that Woodward's latest is one of several recent books by Post staffers to be excerpted in teh newspaper, citing Karen Deyoung's biography of Colin Powell, "Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell," which will be the subject of a Washington Post Magazine cover story on Sunday. He adds that last week the Post carried excerpts from Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone."

"In most cases, much of what is in the books has appeared in the Washington Post," Downie said of the staff-written works, including Woodward's. "But there are some nuggets of things that never appeared in the Post, but will now appear at the same time as the book. But our readers will get a first shot for $1.50 on Sunday, 35 cents on Monday, not for what the book costs."

Downie adds that the criticism of Woodward for his approach to the book reporting taking precedence over newspaper reporting is unfounded. "Everyone wants to make it unique," he said of the Post's relationship with Woodward. "But it is like other books that are done by Washington Post reporters. It is not something I am concerned about."