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2.7 AVERAGE
2.7 AVERAGE
This is not a salacious, gossip-laden memoir about the Trump Administration. It is a straightforward, highly detailed, candid recounting of John Bolton‘s time as President Trump’s national security advisor.
This book is not a “hit piece” against Donald Trump or Republicans. In fact, Bolton spends as much, if not more, time critiquing the policies and diplomacy of the Obama Administration than he does critiquing Trump. The vast majority of the book covers the day-to-day work of Bolton as national security advisor. For the first 100 pages or so, I found he book a bit tedious as Bolton describes in detail the intricacies of negotiations with sundry foreign diplomats, officials, and heads of state as well as the internal policy-making apparatus of the Trump Administration. As the book went on, however, I came to find it very informative and even engaging. More than anything else, I came away from this book with a newfound respect for Bolton—someone with whom I, as a pacifist and liberal, have found myself disagreeing with strongly in the past on foreign policy—and his realpolitik approach to foreign affairs. This memoir shows Bolton to be a dedicated public servant and an American patriot who truly has the best interests of his country at heart.
For those who are looking for a book that will glaringly indict Trump as a corrupt president, there is little in this book that has not been published in other tell-all books of the last few years. What separates this book from other books on the Trump presidency is that it is written by a staunch conservative Republican who never waivers in his commitment to his conservative principles.
Bolton’s prose is blunt and pointed, and he never downplays his opinions, especially in regards to his strong disagreements with the Obama Administration‘s policies and his frustrations with Trump’s fickleness and lack of focus.
Bolton never offers an opinion on whether Trump should have been removed from office. He indicates that he is very disturbed by what he observed during his time working in the Trump Administration, with his view most succinctly summarized in this quote: “This showed the asymmetry of Trump’s view of foreign affairs. He couldn’t tell the difference between his personal interests and the country’s interests” (page 348).
Having now read this book, I am impressed with John Bolton as a man of great integrity, and, surprisingly, I find myself in many ways much more sympathetic to Bolton’s views and approaches to foreign policy.
One final note on Bolton’s style: he has a very dry sense of humor, which made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. As disturbing as much of this book is, it is also quite funny in many places.
This book is not a “hit piece” against Donald Trump or Republicans. In fact, Bolton spends as much, if not more, time critiquing the policies and diplomacy of the Obama Administration than he does critiquing Trump. The vast majority of the book covers the day-to-day work of Bolton as national security advisor. For the first 100 pages or so, I found he book a bit tedious as Bolton describes in detail the intricacies of negotiations with sundry foreign diplomats, officials, and heads of state as well as the internal policy-making apparatus of the Trump Administration. As the book went on, however, I came to find it very informative and even engaging. More than anything else, I came away from this book with a newfound respect for Bolton—someone with whom I, as a pacifist and liberal, have found myself disagreeing with strongly in the past on foreign policy—and his realpolitik approach to foreign affairs. This memoir shows Bolton to be a dedicated public servant and an American patriot who truly has the best interests of his country at heart.
For those who are looking for a book that will glaringly indict Trump as a corrupt president, there is little in this book that has not been published in other tell-all books of the last few years. What separates this book from other books on the Trump presidency is that it is written by a staunch conservative Republican who never waivers in his commitment to his conservative principles.
Bolton’s prose is blunt and pointed, and he never downplays his opinions, especially in regards to his strong disagreements with the Obama Administration‘s policies and his frustrations with Trump’s fickleness and lack of focus.
Bolton never offers an opinion on whether Trump should have been removed from office. He indicates that he is very disturbed by what he observed during his time working in the Trump Administration, with his view most succinctly summarized in this quote: “This showed the asymmetry of Trump’s view of foreign affairs. He couldn’t tell the difference between his personal interests and the country’s interests” (page 348).
Having now read this book, I am impressed with John Bolton as a man of great integrity, and, surprisingly, I find myself in many ways much more sympathetic to Bolton’s views and approaches to foreign policy.
One final note on Bolton’s style: he has a very dry sense of humor, which made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. As disturbing as much of this book is, it is also quite funny in many places.
informative
medium-paced
John Bolton has been a political figure and commentator I have admired for a while. While his hawkish views can be a lot for some, I find them admirable. That being said, I thought this was an insightful look both at the inner workings of the White House and how they were contorted during the chaotic Trump administration. Learning about John Bolton trying to reign in Trump and his often whirlwind views which twisted as the news coverage and whispers of dictators blew was enthralling. The book is much more than simply an airing of grievances or a light scattering of salacious details, Bolton delivered a comprehensive view of why he supported certain policies and the arduous task he had in trying to implement them in a White House that ran up against the wider political bureaucracy which was helmed by a President with no fixed beliefs or moral standing. John Bolton has a clever whit in his writing style where he will poke fun, allude to future events, and even joke about trying to pronounce foreign locations which are hard to simply read in your mind. I really enjoyed this book, and hope to see and read more from John Bolton in the future.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Meh. There was nothing new here. Basically he was happy when Trump agreed with him and angry when he didn't.
This is a DNF. I got about half way through this book before I quit. Basically I read enough to get a clearer picture how idiotic Trump was and how badly he handled things as president, the rest was a bunch details about various events in the presidency where Bolton tried to paint himself as better than he actually was at his job. So glad I bought this a thrift store and didn't give Bolton a cent of my money for this BS.
I’m not going to lie, this book was written by someone who I was dubious about, I was never a fan about what happened with him during the Bush 43 presidency.. This said, he always seemed honest, and straightforward.
This book looks at John Bolton’s 18 months or so as President Trump’s National Security Advisor, a role that I never fully understood. Bolton explains what that role was, pretty well.
This book is rather depressing. It explains what happens what happens in foreign affairs during his life at the NSA, so we learn about the thinking behind the withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, Huawei, ZTE (which I didn’t even realise was an issue), and what happens with the Ukraine, as best Bolton knew it.
It presented President Trump phenomenally badly. I honestly think you’ll end up seeing him as someone who takes criticism badly, so having congressional Democrats snapping at his heals resulted in him overly focusing on what people thought of him for reelection purposes, and trying to present himself as he wanted to be presented, rather than expressing any vision, or view of what needed to be done.
In addition, President Trump is presented as forgetful, and reliant on using ideas that he liked in the moment. This forgetfulness might have be wilful in part, because it didn’t fit with what he believed. His paranoia, and conviction that what he believed was right made it difficult to achieve anything over a longer period, because President Trump will change his mind 3 or 4 times, with no good reason, by the time an issue is raised again.
Finally, it was Churchill who said a fanatic won’t change his mind, and can’t change the question. President Trump is presented as a fanatic over certain issues. The Mexico wall was good. The war in Afghanistan was bad (you’ll not believe what President Trump says in 2021 about staying in if you read this book). NATO funding was bad. It can be fun to wind up the crazy uncle, so he says something stupid, and you can have a laugh about it later. When you say something innocuous in an NSA meeting, and you get a harangue from the President about it, because he’s got a bug up his butt about it, it’s a bad look.
My one real criticism of the book would be that it can concentrate on minutiae on occasions. This is good, given the type of book this is, but it can result in you having to reread things to make sure you didn’t miss something.
Overall though, this book is a decent read.
This book looks at John Bolton’s 18 months or so as President Trump’s National Security Advisor, a role that I never fully understood. Bolton explains what that role was, pretty well.
This book is rather depressing. It explains what happens what happens in foreign affairs during his life at the NSA, so we learn about the thinking behind the withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, Huawei, ZTE (which I didn’t even realise was an issue), and what happens with the Ukraine, as best Bolton knew it.
It presented President Trump phenomenally badly. I honestly think you’ll end up seeing him as someone who takes criticism badly, so having congressional Democrats snapping at his heals resulted in him overly focusing on what people thought of him for reelection purposes, and trying to present himself as he wanted to be presented, rather than expressing any vision, or view of what needed to be done.
In addition, President Trump is presented as forgetful, and reliant on using ideas that he liked in the moment. This forgetfulness might have be wilful in part, because it didn’t fit with what he believed. His paranoia, and conviction that what he believed was right made it difficult to achieve anything over a longer period, because President Trump will change his mind 3 or 4 times, with no good reason, by the time an issue is raised again.
Finally, it was Churchill who said a fanatic won’t change his mind, and can’t change the question. President Trump is presented as a fanatic over certain issues. The Mexico wall was good. The war in Afghanistan was bad (you’ll not believe what President Trump says in 2021 about staying in if you read this book). NATO funding was bad. It can be fun to wind up the crazy uncle, so he says something stupid, and you can have a laugh about it later. When you say something innocuous in an NSA meeting, and you get a harangue from the President about it, because he’s got a bug up his butt about it, it’s a bad look.
My one real criticism of the book would be that it can concentrate on minutiae on occasions. This is good, given the type of book this is, but it can result in you having to reread things to make sure you didn’t miss something.
Overall though, this book is a decent read.
This book is proof that the men in the room, both the writer and the subject, are two of the most arrogant, and self-aggrandizing people who walk this earth. Shamefully, the author chose to profit himself rather than testify before the House of Representatives. You, Mr Bolton, are no Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman.
informative
medium-paced
Regardless of your political leanings, you can walk away from this book knowing Trump made foreign policy decisions on a whim, frequently changing his mind for no apparent reason, was easily swayed by his “friends” (dictators), was not interested in reading ANYTHING, fell asleep in meetings, rambled constantly about conspiracy theories and other bizarre fantasies, and used his influence and power as POTUS for personal gain. Of course, we all already knew this, but it was enlightening to see essentially word for word how some of these conversations played out. My jaw was on the floor at times. That being said, Bolton is arrogant and delivers his opinion on topics as absolute fact. And although the entire point of this book is to criticize Trump’s handling of foreign affairs he sometimes goes soft and lets him off the hook when clearly he was off the rails. Plus, the epilogue really set me off. Talk about delusional! Anyhow, if you are interested in American politics and foreign policy I still think this is worth the read. Just be ready to roll your eyes and take Bolton’s proclamations that he has all the answers and is 100% correct all the time with a grain of salt.
It is truly appalling that someone who purports to be a public servant would maintain silence in the face of so much corruption going on in the same room, however this review is not about John Bolton, but this book he has written. Bolton's perspective comes with the assumption he is the smartest person in the room. Everyone else is a dummy, inexperienced, or otherwise lacking the ability to perceive the nature of evil in the world. That may be what he is going for, but he just comes off as a monstrous, spiteful, warmongering chickenhawk. All of his choices rely on using sticks, and he has no flexibility at all. Therefore, as a diplomat, he is a useless ass, but there is such a lack of self-awareness that you watch him patting himself on the back with "clever" tactics to avoid responsibility and accountability, dodging here and there, always aiming higher, always just a little bit short, mostly because he is entirely untrustworthy and vile, though he trumpets himself a patriot. Along the way, he takes down a whole group of diplomats who are catty to a fault. In the end I really wonder what any of them are doing in government.
That being said, some come off better than others, but the fact we perceive them through the distorted Bolton lens (where his own image is so blurred) lends them no credence. He did keep good notes, however, which would be terrible news for Trump's team, except the book is also such an overwhelming self-indictment of Bolton and his terrible judgment. Do his opinions matter at all? I don't think so. Trump, fwiw, comes off as you likely expect: a man of no morality who is fixed primarily on the public's perception of himself, without genuine beliefs, malleable to a fault, hilariously disloyal, and astonishingly unintellectual.
I hate what this book says about America, but I cannot one-star the book, despite the narrator's self-absorption. I think it is important people read it, because clearly half of America's voters are brainless too. No matter how you feel about Trump (I abhor him), I strongly feel people like Bolton should never be in government. He is a dangerous man who happily has no power anymore and, I hate to admit it, Bolton being out of government is to Trump's credit. :-( That Trump also hired him (after such a long romance when his defects would be glaring) and thought Bolton's ideas worthy at all tells us much about how empty of brains is the room where it happened.
That being said, some come off better than others, but the fact we perceive them through the distorted Bolton lens (where his own image is so blurred) lends them no credence. He did keep good notes, however, which would be terrible news for Trump's team, except the book is also such an overwhelming self-indictment of Bolton and his terrible judgment. Do his opinions matter at all? I don't think so. Trump, fwiw, comes off as you likely expect: a man of no morality who is fixed primarily on the public's perception of himself, without genuine beliefs, malleable to a fault, hilariously disloyal, and astonishingly unintellectual.
I hate what this book says about America, but I cannot one-star the book, despite the narrator's self-absorption. I think it is important people read it, because clearly half of America's voters are brainless too. No matter how you feel about Trump (I abhor him), I strongly feel people like Bolton should never be in government. He is a dangerous man who happily has no power anymore and, I hate to admit it, Bolton being out of government is to Trump's credit. :-( That Trump also hired him (after such a long romance when his defects would be glaring) and thought Bolton's ideas worthy at all tells us much about how empty of brains is the room where it happened.