Joseph Rodota

Joseph Rodota’s new book The Watergate tells the story of this iconic building and its most famous residents over the span of more than 50 years. The Watergate called itself “a city within a city” and offered residents a wide array of amenities — from a barber shop and beauty salon to a wine shop and grocery store, all on the premises. It offered residents privacy, luxury and security, including 14 cameras in one building alone. After the break-in that took place in the early hours of June 17, 1972, however, the Watergate – and American politics – would never be the same.

Rodota, a Sonoma County native, has worked at the highest levels of politics in Washington, DC and California. He worked in the Reagan White House and as a top aide to California governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post and other outlets. He lives in Sacramento, California, where his play Chessman, about the final days of the “Red Light Bandit” Caryl Chessman, premiered at B Street Theatre.