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2.71 AVERAGE
2.71 AVERAGE
This detailed account from within the Trump presidency from the national security advisor's perspective is an important document. It doesn't matter what your political leanings are; this is history.
This book is one hell of a (horrible) read to get to the final four chapters that make any difference whatsoever. Ultra-conservative to start FINALLY turns into some semblance of higher thinking because Trump's consistently horrid policies, ways of communicating with others, and overall existence as an egotistical misogynistic maniac FINALLY registered for Bolton as possibly immoral, dangerous, and in need of public exposure where he may finally be held accountable for his traitorous actions. Too little too late?
Book 22 was "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir" by John Bolton. Bolton was Trump's National Security Advisor from April 9, 2018 to September 10, 2019. I listened to the Audible Audio version. The narrator did a great job reading the book aloud in a personable way. I felt like I was in a one on one meeting or maybe even having dinner with the author and listening to him talk about his experiences.
It was very interesting to hear Bolton's perspective on his time as an advisor on national security affairs in the Trump administration as well as hear him compare it to other administrations he served in. Bolton is very conservative and comes across as "hawkish" which I think makes his criticisms of the Trump administration and the negative comparisons with the other Republican administrations he served in all the more interesting.
Bolton didn't disagree with the foreign policy goals he was told the administration had, his criticisms are about the extreme chaos and disorganization that stem from what he says are Trump's short attention span, lack of ability to think deeply or understand complex issues, extreme narcissism, lack of respect and consideration for established protocols and even laws, and constant waffling on decisions because whomever strokes his ego the best and talks to him last seems to tend to get what they want until someone else strokes his ego enough to get him to change his mind. Trump is portrayed as grass that is constantly shifting in the wind, which is also how other past employees and associates have often described him.
In this book, I think Bolton comes across as only slightly less narcissistic than Trump. Bolton seems to think he's usually the smartest man in the room and everyone should bow to his intellect. This is apparent in the "tongue in cheek" attitudes expressed in most chapters, as well as in his recollections of conversations with others. Maybe he actually was the smartest guy in the room most of the time. He certainly has extensive experience in international relations and foreign policy, but at the same time, having the attitude that you can always try to learn something new in any situation can be helpful in minimizing blind spots.
It was very interesting to hear Bolton's perspective on his time as an advisor on national security affairs in the Trump administration as well as hear him compare it to other administrations he served in. Bolton is very conservative and comes across as "hawkish" which I think makes his criticisms of the Trump administration and the negative comparisons with the other Republican administrations he served in all the more interesting.
Bolton didn't disagree with the foreign policy goals he was told the administration had, his criticisms are about the extreme chaos and disorganization that stem from what he says are Trump's short attention span, lack of ability to think deeply or understand complex issues, extreme narcissism, lack of respect and consideration for established protocols and even laws, and constant waffling on decisions because whomever strokes his ego the best and talks to him last seems to tend to get what they want until someone else strokes his ego enough to get him to change his mind. Trump is portrayed as grass that is constantly shifting in the wind, which is also how other past employees and associates have often described him.
In this book, I think Bolton comes across as only slightly less narcissistic than Trump. Bolton seems to think he's usually the smartest man in the room and everyone should bow to his intellect. This is apparent in the "tongue in cheek" attitudes expressed in most chapters, as well as in his recollections of conversations with others. Maybe he actually was the smartest guy in the room most of the time. He certainly has extensive experience in international relations and foreign policy, but at the same time, having the attitude that you can always try to learn something new in any situation can be helpful in minimizing blind spots.
These books are usually pretty self serving and this one is no exception. It does shed some light on the workings (and non-workings) of the administration. Bolton takes great pains to confirm his neocon bona fides (i.e. "Don't worry guys, I still think the best ways to solve problems is to blow stuff up") and this distracts from his narrative somewhat.
I've been going through several books on the Trump presidency. This, like all the others, points out some of the many, many flaws of Trump. However, the credibility of the author suffers because according to him, practically everyone is an idiot. The book is clearly meant to tell the author's side of the story, but comes off as sour grapes. The author seems to feel that he is brilliant and utterly without fault, and that almost everyone around him is an incompetent moron. That, and his conservative leanings that cause him to not always be very accurate in his perspective, are quite off putting.
There are a lot of tales about the Trump regime already out there - this one doesn't seem necessary.
There are a lot of tales about the Trump regime already out there - this one doesn't seem necessary.
slow-paced
This book is full of self praise and subtle put downs of people he disagrees with. It's so incredibly boring. I was hoping for more interesting insider information, but it read more like a report on mundane daily activities.
Painful. Bolton is as self-congratulatory as Trump. If he wasn't so pompous, he could have cut 50 pages of text by eliminating the boasting.
The book is interesting insofar as it tells the background, or at least his version, of many of the stories that flooded the news while Bolton was working for Trump. I say for, not with, because he lacked the backbone to either stand up to Trump or be a whistle blower. Instead he chose to be an author.
Not surprisingly, he is condescending to readers and also plugs his other book. While he continuously writes about what a great job others think he was doing, he fails to advise Trump sufficiently on national security, which was his actual job.
The book is interesting insofar as it tells the background, or at least his version, of many of the stories that flooded the news while Bolton was working for Trump. I say for, not with, because he lacked the backbone to either stand up to Trump or be a whistle blower. Instead he chose to be an author.
Not surprisingly, he is condescending to readers and also plugs his other book. While he continuously writes about what a great job others think he was doing, he fails to advise Trump sufficiently on national security, which was his actual job.
informative
slow-paced
Too many other good books to read filled with characters that aren’t despicable
