Scan barcode
sbenzell's review against another edition
3.0
Better than the last in the series.
Interesting parts toward the end about Kushners bottleneck role in the WH. Would response have been better over the summer if Kushner hadn’t been transitioning to campaign mode?
Trump is portrayed as never planning more than a few days into the future, and as having no ability to empathize with anyone outside of his base. He has filtered those who loathe him from the team and is now surrounded almost completely by yes men (Graham and Gaucci excepted).
The last sentence made me lol
Interesting parts toward the end about Kushners bottleneck role in the WH. Would response have been better over the summer if Kushner hadn’t been transitioning to campaign mode?
Trump is portrayed as never planning more than a few days into the future, and as having no ability to empathize with anyone outside of his base. He has filtered those who loathe him from the team and is now surrounded almost completely by yes men (Graham and Gaucci excepted).
The last sentence made me lol
tamaralgage1's review against another edition
5.0
I am a student of history. Although not the head of the class, I do try to make an effort to understand and learn what I did not know before. In this regard, the author has laid out for history to read the events during this presidency. After 17 interviews with the President himself, the events, strategies, resources, and results have been captured for future reference. I am not sure there is anything I have read that will alter anyone's opinion that have lived through the last few years. But, time will tell how history will judge these events.
Favorite quote from the book: "Each of us gets to choose the person we want to be, and the way we want to be treated, and the way we treat others" - - - Rex Tillerson
Favorite quote from the book: "Each of us gets to choose the person we want to be, and the way we want to be treated, and the way we treat others" - - - Rex Tillerson
ebazilereads's review against another edition
4.0
I can't recall the last time that I felt like I was reading history as I lived it. This was an interesting account of the Trump presidency that managed to be both panoramic and intimate. It is such a surreal experience to begin seeing the history we've been living in recorded in a way that acknowledged its momentousness. I am grateful to Bob Woodward for helping me weave the chaos of of the last few years into a narrative with a clear structure.
I know that some of us are feeling very, very, very over politics - I think for me, however, this supported me in feeling more grounded in the events of the present and recent past. I enjoyed the number of direct quotes from President Trump and that his participation, through 18 interviews, was clearly an integral part of the completion of this biography.
I know that some of us are feeling very, very, very over politics - I think for me, however, this supported me in feeling more grounded in the events of the present and recent past. I enjoyed the number of direct quotes from President Trump and that his participation, through 18 interviews, was clearly an integral part of the completion of this biography.
melisacabelloc's review against another edition
4.0
If this book were fiction, I would give it one star because it’s simply too much. But it isn't, and it was so weird to relive the last couple of years.
Written by Pulitzer award-winning journalist, Bob Woodward, the book covers Trump's impeachment process (the first one), his interactions with Russia, Iran, and North Korea, his relationship with (then) Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and (then) Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, how we almost went to war, and the first half of 2020, including Black Lives Matter and COVID. Among the main things, Woodwards reports how President Trump was aware and understanding of the dangers of the coronavirus but still chose to downplayed it in public, a move that received criticism because of the number of people in the USA that did not take the virus seriously.
This is definitely the type of reporting that I would expect from Woodward, who is not only one of the most famous and respected journalists in the USA but also the most experienced when it comes to presidents (in his own words, he has written books on 20% of the Presidents- being every single one of them since Nixon). He is also the only journalist with this much access.
Nevertheless, I do wish I could change the date of publication of this book. This is because of two things: first, I would've published the transcripts and audio of President Trump acknowledging the dangers of COVID-19 as soon as he got them. Although I can see his logic behind not doing it (he claimed that he didn't see what difference it would make), he did receive a lot of criticism, saying that publishing that sooner could have saved lives. I personally believe he could've at least try. Second, I would also wait a few more months for the general publication of the book so it could have included the election and Trump's last months in office, especially considering the Capitol's terrorists and his second impeachment. But perhaps that can be another book.
Overall, I do think this book is worth reading, yet it might be better to do so while one is in a good mental state, considering it is set in 2020.
Written by Pulitzer award-winning journalist, Bob Woodward, the book covers Trump's impeachment process (the first one), his interactions with Russia, Iran, and North Korea, his relationship with (then) Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and (then) Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, how we almost went to war, and the first half of 2020, including Black Lives Matter and COVID. Among the main things, Woodwards reports how President Trump was aware and understanding of the dangers of the coronavirus but still chose to downplayed it in public, a move that received criticism because of the number of people in the USA that did not take the virus seriously.
This is definitely the type of reporting that I would expect from Woodward, who is not only one of the most famous and respected journalists in the USA but also the most experienced when it comes to presidents (in his own words, he has written books on 20% of the Presidents- being every single one of them since Nixon). He is also the only journalist with this much access.
Nevertheless, I do wish I could change the date of publication of this book. This is because of two things: first, I would've published the transcripts and audio of President Trump acknowledging the dangers of COVID-19 as soon as he got them. Although I can see his logic behind not doing it (he claimed that he didn't see what difference it would make), he did receive a lot of criticism, saying that publishing that sooner could have saved lives. I personally believe he could've at least try. Second, I would also wait a few more months for the general publication of the book so it could have included the election and Trump's last months in office, especially considering the Capitol's terrorists and his second impeachment. But perhaps that can be another book.
Overall, I do think this book is worth reading, yet it might be better to do so while one is in a good mental state, considering it is set in 2020.
joegisondi's review against another edition
3.0
Like reading about your plane going down while you’re on the plane that you thought had avoided a disaster while people kept yelling, “We’re still in the sky so we must be ok” only to find out the pilot is trying to drive it into the ground because he’s an asshole and thinks no one should be given the gift of flight if he’s not the pilot all while yelling into his phone “I’m sitting in the front of the plane so I’m the pilot! Look at these wings on my shirt!” and nobody stopped to ask, “Does he know how to fly this thing?” and the female flight attendants whisper about being raped in the bathroom as they fall to the front of the veering downward plane.
Fuck this guy.
Fuck this guy.
jammasterjamie's review against another edition
4.0
I decided to read this book because I found that the news was really editorializing and cherry-picking quotes and I wanted to get the proper context for myself. Firstly, I want to give Woodward kudos for keeping his opinions mostly out of the text except for when they were pertinent to the conversations he was having with Trump, and for reserving his judgment until the epilogue. Secondly, most of the reporting you're seeing is actually not exaggerated or hyperbolic - Trump said all of these things and the context has all been correct. Pretty egregious stuff. But, they're his own words and Woodward delivered them fairly. The other stuff in the book about Mattis, Kushner, and the others was enlightening and well told, and they all actually come across as mostly competent and like people trying to their best to hold the course despite the ever-changing windstorm that is Donald Trump.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars = Fantastic and easy to recommend.
"Trump is so controversial....He’s the kind of person that would inspire crazy people.” - Marsha Coats
Well written and fairly balanced, but the depressing truth of our current presidential matter is a serious downer. Just a few more weeks to go until America has real leadership again.
-------------------------------------------
First Sentence: During the Top Secret President’s Daily Brief the afternoon of Tuesday, January 28, 2020, discussion in the Oval Office turned to a mysterious pneumonia-like virus outbreak in China.
Favorite Quote: Twenty percent of the president’s staff think they are “saving the world” from the president.
"Trump is so controversial....He’s the kind of person that would inspire crazy people.” - Marsha Coats
Well written and fairly balanced, but the depressing truth of our current presidential matter is a serious downer. Just a few more weeks to go until America has real leadership again.
-------------------------------------------
First Sentence: During the Top Secret President’s Daily Brief the afternoon of Tuesday, January 28, 2020, discussion in the Oval Office turned to a mysterious pneumonia-like virus outbreak in China.
Favorite Quote: Twenty percent of the president’s staff think they are “saving the world” from the president.