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2.71 AVERAGE
2.71 AVERAGE
This was a hard book to get through. I don't like John Bolton. I dont like his politics at all, but I can find points of agreement with him here and there. Over all, I think he's an ass BUT he's not an idiot. There's nothing new here. It's just him going on the record with his service. The shocking thing is simply hearing some one from the Republican party saying it out loud.
It's been a long while since I read a current-events memoir about policy and international relations. I forgot how entertaining and fleeting it is. Right now, this book is enjoyable and insightful. In 4 years it will be irrelevant regardless of if Trump wins re-election.
Trump is painted by Bolton to be so incredibly fly-by-night (citing monetary figures from the air, etc.) that his policy is changing sentence to sentence. For a seasoned ambassador such as Bolton, his frustration jumps out of the text. His attitudes of conservatism and statesmanship are generally in direct conflict with the direction he is getting. My notes during the book noted some of the things that were said that made me go "wait, what?"
Fleeting thoughts:
My husband read this book just before me and before Trump announcing his desire to bring down numbers of troops in Germany. We discussed how Bolton's citation of Trump's numbers in terms of percentage of the GDP of Germany should be reflected and how those exact numbers were cited just last week. (Not cited is the number of service members who's lives were saved because there is an American hospital capable of evacuation care from war zones. Also that a family I know was able to fly to Germany to see their son with a potentially grave injury from Afghanistan when he was touch and go. He survived and barring bad TBI days is doing well, however if he hadn't, you can't really put a number on that ability given to families.)
Bolton points out what we all know: Trump's utilization of twitter is not only making the US a laughing stock but is complicating foreign relations. What is an invitation? What is a proclamation?
Trump is painted by Bolton to be so incredibly fly-by-night (citing monetary figures from the air, etc.) that his policy is changing sentence to sentence. For a seasoned ambassador such as Bolton, his frustration jumps out of the text. His attitudes of conservatism and statesmanship are generally in direct conflict with the direction he is getting. My notes during the book noted some of the things that were said that made me go "wait, what?"
Fleeting thoughts:
My husband read this book just before me and before Trump announcing his desire to bring down numbers of troops in Germany. We discussed how Bolton's citation of Trump's numbers in terms of percentage of the GDP of Germany should be reflected and how those exact numbers were cited just last week. (Not cited is the number of service members who's lives were saved because there is an American hospital capable of evacuation care from war zones. Also that a family I know was able to fly to Germany to see their son with a potentially grave injury from Afghanistan when he was touch and go. He survived and barring bad TBI days is doing well, however if he hadn't, you can't really put a number on that ability given to families.)
Bolton points out what we all know: Trump's utilization of twitter is not only making the US a laughing stock but is complicating foreign relations. What is an invitation? What is a proclamation?
This is dry, boring and not at all revealing. I was neither surprised nor re-motivated in my pursuit of truth from this administration of lies.
We know what motivates him, we know where the gaps in his knowledge are and we know how those gaps put our security as risk.
I am happy I didn’t this this man money and got it from the
Library. And just incase you forget, JB will remind you again and again how much he dislikes Obama (which has zero relevance beyond the first quarter of the book).
We know what motivates him, we know where the gaps in his knowledge are and we know how those gaps put our security as risk.
I am happy I didn’t this this man money and got it from the
Library. And just incase you forget, JB will remind you again and again how much he dislikes Obama (which has zero relevance beyond the first quarter of the book).
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This one is a tougher dry read. I found the organization of the book contributed to this (not committing to grouping all connected major topic arcs together but also not going chronologically). Due to the restrictions from the government as explained in the epilogue, the actual juicy tid bits that would drive many to buy the book are vague while some of the superfluous minutia like what airport the plane refueled at is recalled with the detail of a day planner. This may be because I do not agree with many of Bolton's policies, but the writing style and content seemed self aggrandizing at most points with an overeager editor putting in more "liberal friendly" phrases like "bromance", "selfie", and lyrics from Hamilton to hopefully keep them engaged. Like many White House tell all's, I wonder what people reading this book decades from now will think.
Pompous claptrap by a conservative sycophant unable to consider that there may be a perspective other than his own.
In spite of the widespread (at least in the circles I move in) notion that this is a book either not worth reading and/or best avoided I decided to wade through it. It is perhaps a book not only worth reading but perhaps even semi-essential reading.
This is the mother lode of the sort of thinking that underpins the American tendency towards fascism. But do not expect any analysis or self-reflection. There is not even any hint of self awareness.
Instead of analysis, or even reflection, there is a never-ending litany and gloating when things go the way the author wants it to go, even if he has to pretend that things are going that way. There is no fact that cannot be misrepresented or twisted to say what he, no doubt, sincerely believes it has to say.
When it is in his interest to acknowledge that things are not going the way that he wants them to go, or if he can score brownie points by pretending that they are not going that way, . . . then . . . well . . . you know . . . liberals, Democrats, democrats and Obama. Clinton, too makes an occasional appearance, although it is mostly not clear which one.
Occasionally the dunces he is surrounded by also merits his scorn. Often that is to keep him and his perspective of things firmly in the middle of the story.
In the hands of a less pompous fool, and with less cumbersome abuse of the English language, this might be a fantastic black satire of what happens when the village idiots take control of the village. Told from the perspective of the most tin-eared village idiot of the lot.
Every character in the book is presented as a bumbling, stumbling moron - inadvertently presented as such, or deliberately. Except, of course, your humble narrator. The motley collection of sycophants (of trump, mostly) are also presented as such - inadvertently presented as such, or deliberately. He has a good, almost tailor-made cast of characters at his disposal - a number of highly superstitious fruitcakes, a guy who calls his wife mother, a sanctimonious fat man (two of them), a clown, a mime.
The only redeeming feature of your humble narrator is that he himself is not a sycophant. It is clear that his only connection to trump, and the only reason he is in the government, is a commitment to the vile nonsense that they have in common. Both men demonstrate that being in a leadership position does not make one a leader.
The narrative confirms that trump is perhaps the most flawed individual in a position of power in recent times, but the narrator too comes across as just as flawed, in a less obvious, but more insidious manner.
In spite of the widespread (at least in the circles I move in) notion that this is a book either not worth reading and/or best avoided I decided to wade through it. It is perhaps a book not only worth reading but perhaps even semi-essential reading.
This is the mother lode of the sort of thinking that underpins the American tendency towards fascism. But do not expect any analysis or self-reflection. There is not even any hint of self awareness.
Instead of analysis, or even reflection, there is a never-ending litany and gloating when things go the way the author wants it to go, even if he has to pretend that things are going that way. There is no fact that cannot be misrepresented or twisted to say what he, no doubt, sincerely believes it has to say.
When it is in his interest to acknowledge that things are not going the way that he wants them to go, or if he can score brownie points by pretending that they are not going that way, . . . then . . . well . . . you know . . . liberals, Democrats, democrats and Obama. Clinton, too makes an occasional appearance, although it is mostly not clear which one.
Occasionally the dunces he is surrounded by also merits his scorn. Often that is to keep him and his perspective of things firmly in the middle of the story.
In the hands of a less pompous fool, and with less cumbersome abuse of the English language, this might be a fantastic black satire of what happens when the village idiots take control of the village. Told from the perspective of the most tin-eared village idiot of the lot.
Every character in the book is presented as a bumbling, stumbling moron - inadvertently presented as such, or deliberately. Except, of course, your humble narrator. The motley collection of sycophants (of trump, mostly) are also presented as such - inadvertently presented as such, or deliberately. He has a good, almost tailor-made cast of characters at his disposal - a number of highly superstitious fruitcakes, a guy who calls his wife mother, a sanctimonious fat man (two of them), a clown, a mime.
The only redeeming feature of your humble narrator is that he himself is not a sycophant. It is clear that his only connection to trump, and the only reason he is in the government, is a commitment to the vile nonsense that they have in common. Both men demonstrate that being in a leadership position does not make one a leader.
The narrative confirms that trump is perhaps the most flawed individual in a position of power in recent times, but the narrator too comes across as just as flawed, in a less obvious, but more insidious manner.
slow-paced
I guess, I picked up this book because I wanted to know what was happening in America while Trump was in the role of the president. According to the author that is. When actually reading the book the shifted to finding out what kind of person is John Bolton. Well first impression was that he is an idiot, then that he has tunnel vision, then that he was a mix of both, I ended on that he was a person who was trying to his agenda, but for the good of America, I could be wrong though, I am not really strong in politics. But to be honest most of the people he mentioned seemed like they were trying to push through their on agenda. Well the book did not shed light on any thing specific. I found some of Mr. Bolton's views on other leaders quite bizarre. At one point Mr. Bolton gives his views on China's leader and his views are....well he is just describing a cartoon villain to be honest, which I fond hard to believe.
At some points in book Mr. Bolton would say that someone was lying and his argument to this would be 'But of course we knew better', at this moments I would like more details. I do believe that Mr. Bolton at some points while describing for example an issue never went as far to explain the origins of the this issue, he would just pretend that it just happened and it was necessary to deal with it.
Anyway perhaps for a person who is more friendly with politics this book could be a gold mine, for me it was rather dull and without any inside information, because the news I got during that time period from independent sources provided more critical views than the author.
At some points in book Mr. Bolton would say that someone was lying and his argument to this would be 'But of course we knew better', at this moments I would like more details. I do believe that Mr. Bolton at some points while describing for example an issue never went as far to explain the origins of the this issue, he would just pretend that it just happened and it was necessary to deal with it.
Anyway perhaps for a person who is more friendly with politics this book could be a gold mine, for me it was rather dull and without any inside information, because the news I got during that time period from independent sources provided more critical views than the author.
I believe it is always important to hear both sides of a story. Especially when it deals with something so contentious as this presidency. A lot of times it is easy to jump to unjust and uninformed conclusions otherwise. Even more so when considering this day and age with the internet and sensationalized media setting up echo chambers. That being said, this book felt like a giant pile of bologna. There are several instances where bolton has a laughable defense or says something which is later contradicted in the book. Some of the more memorable moments include:
* Bolton tried to rationally explain away several circumstances and situations that made him and the rest of the cabinet incredibly bad. Some examples:
* Trump did not mention Cohen's search warrants, arrest, nor flipping. Very hard to believe considering he couldn't go a day without tweeting about it.
* Bolton admits to breaking laws/procedures for Trump in his dealings with Turkey as if the means justify the end.
* Bolton regularly blames Democrats, leftists, buerocrats, and other cabinet members for his troubles in the White House. Yet, he never delves into the specifics only citing them as problems. Once going as far as saying religious candles would be "cancelled" because of carbon emissions which is a strawman argument that ignores real arguments and science.
* Bolton says he could not imagine why Flynn would lie about his communications with the Russians. Hm, I wonder if it has anything to do with the reports from the intelligence agencies? Then again, Bolton only acknowledges that Russia may POSSIBLY be running an influence campaign despite the assurances from intel that they certainly were and still are. Later in the book he claims he didn't want to release the intel because he was scared to cast doubt on the US election system. Even more laughable, because every day since the 2020 election Trump has claimed fraud.
* Bolton also paints Trump as being unable to separate his personal relationships from the country's relationships with foreign countries. Yet, at the end he claims that Trump would never have trouble separating his duties and obligations from his reelection campaign concerning Ukraine.
This book is a meek attempt from Bolton to clear his name and cash a check. The one thing that can be accurately gleamed from this book is that Trump is a compulsive liar who is constantly treated with kid gloves and is spoken about like he is a toddler with failing memory. It is truly sad that people continue to stand behind this man when you can easily point to facts published by reputable reporters/journalists (ie Woodward), senior cabinet members (ie Bolton, Mattis), and Trump himself. But as Bolton says in this book, "why let the facts get in the way of a good narrative".
* Bolton tried to rationally explain away several circumstances and situations that made him and the rest of the cabinet incredibly bad. Some examples:
* Trump did not mention Cohen's search warrants, arrest, nor flipping. Very hard to believe considering he couldn't go a day without tweeting about it.
* Bolton admits to breaking laws/procedures for Trump in his dealings with Turkey as if the means justify the end.
* Bolton regularly blames Democrats, leftists, buerocrats, and other cabinet members for his troubles in the White House. Yet, he never delves into the specifics only citing them as problems. Once going as far as saying religious candles would be "cancelled" because of carbon emissions which is a strawman argument that ignores real arguments and science.
* Bolton says he could not imagine why Flynn would lie about his communications with the Russians. Hm, I wonder if it has anything to do with the reports from the intelligence agencies? Then again, Bolton only acknowledges that Russia may POSSIBLY be running an influence campaign despite the assurances from intel that they certainly were and still are. Later in the book he claims he didn't want to release the intel because he was scared to cast doubt on the US election system. Even more laughable, because every day since the 2020 election Trump has claimed fraud.
* Bolton also paints Trump as being unable to separate his personal relationships from the country's relationships with foreign countries. Yet, at the end he claims that Trump would never have trouble separating his duties and obligations from his reelection campaign concerning Ukraine.
This book is a meek attempt from Bolton to clear his name and cash a check. The one thing that can be accurately gleamed from this book is that Trump is a compulsive liar who is constantly treated with kid gloves and is spoken about like he is a toddler with failing memory. It is truly sad that people continue to stand behind this man when you can easily point to facts published by reputable reporters/journalists (ie Woodward), senior cabinet members (ie Bolton, Mattis), and Trump himself. But as Bolton says in this book, "why let the facts get in the way of a good narrative".
what a bunch of narcissistic arseholes...
can we put the whole country on trail for crimes against humanity for electing trump? no? pity...
can we put the whole country on trail for crimes against humanity for electing trump? no? pity...
informative
tense
slow-paced
This book was informative and I liked how Bolton gave as much information as he could. However, at times his writing came off as pretentious and superior, which is why I lowered the rating. Reading books with writing like that can be a struggle.