The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington.

• Author: Fischer, Raymond L.
• Position: Book review

THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS: 50 Years Reporting in Washington

BY ROBERT D. NOVAK CROWN FORUM, NEW YORK 2007, 638 PAGES, $29.95

Contrary to the implication Robert D. Novak associated with the Devil, the book title comes from a label given Novak in the 1960s by his friend John Lindsay. A writer for The Washington Post and later Newsweek, Lindsay suggested the moniker to reflect Novak's "grim-visaged demeanor" and "unsmiling pessimism about the prospects for America and Western civilization" Being a "pessimist by nature," Novak explains, "is why I have spent my life as a journalist."

Novak has two reasons for writing his autobiography: as he nears 80, he wants to share intimate details from his many years of reporting; an equally important motivation involves his need to explain in full his involvement in the Valede Plame CIA leak scandal. Novak devotes two chapters to the Plame fiasco. He blames Pres. George W. Bush's enemies in the CIA, Democrats, and the "left out-riders in the news media" for exaggerating and escalating a trivial incident into a scandal that had "no basis in fact," causing Novak personal distress, as it undermined his relationship with CNN; kept him off "Meet the Press" for two years; resulted in a loss of income and substantial legal fees; and subjected him to constant abuse from journalism ethics critics, colleagues, friends, and, especially, bloggers.

Considered one of the finest but most controversial political reporters in the country, Novak started his writing career in high school, pursued journalism at the University of Illinois, and left academia one credit short of graduation to begin 50 years of writing "the stories behind the stories" The book details interesting scoops, scandals, and personal encounters with "the movers and shakers" in Washington. Truly a "Washington insider," Novak shares information about his writing and TV experiences, his relationship with Rowland Evans, and, most importantly, how politics and journalism operate in the nation's capital. He confides his journalistic philosophy: to tell "the world things people [do not] want [him] to reveal" and "to make life miserable for hypocritical, posturing politicians."

Novak finds politics and politicians to be untrustworthy. He characterizes several presidents, most of whom he disliked--especially the Democrats. He found it "hard to love" any presidential candidate and, with the exception of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, "no president had entered...