BREACH

Woodward: Biographer ‘Used’ Bradlee

To get information for new book on Post editor.

In Jeff Himmelman’s biography of Ben Bradlee, he wrote about two of the biggest influences in his life: Bob Woodward and Ben Bradlee. But even though Himmelman concedes in his book, Yours in Truth: A Personal Portrait of Ben Bradlee, that “writing about your mentor’s mentor is a trickier proposition than it seems,” the reaction by Woodward and Bradlee—and many of their friends in the inner Washington circle—have completely shut Himmelman out, with Woodward saying Himmelman was “utterly dishonest in his reporting.” Bradlee’s wife, Sally Quinn, said she has “nothing to say about Himmelman,” but Woodward says Himmelman “shamelessly used” Bradlee. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, a longtime friend of the Bradlees, said the Bradlees were “absolutely mortified” by the book’s personal details and feel “utterly betrayed.”