"Secret Man" was available early in Joplin

A big deal has been made about some book outlets prematurely putting journalist Bob Woodward's latest book, "The Secret Man," on the shelves before today's scheduled release date.
I didn't check all of the retail outlets in Joplin, just one, because I wasn't looking for a story, I just wanted a copy of the book. It was already on sale at Books-A-Million Saturday. Though some of the early reviews have savaged the book, I found it fascinating and, as always with Woodward writing, compelling.
Those who are interested in journalism should find a way to read this book. There may have never been a better account of how journalists use sources and how sources use journalists. Woodward does not make himself out to be a hero; it is a warts-and-all account of the most famous anonymous source in history.
Anyone who has had a relative or friend who suffers from Alzheimer's or other dementia, will be touched by Woodward's accounts of his meetings with Mark Felt during the past few years. The man remembers almost nothing about the Watergate days. I read the account with the same kind of sadness I had when I read how Ronald Reagan during his final years did not remember anything about his eight years as president of the United States.
The book is a great companion-piece to "All the President's Men," which may be the greatest book about the process of reporting that has ever been written.