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boxilot 's review for:
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir
by John Bolton
Okay you guys, it is sort of hard rating non-fiction books as it is, but this was.... wow this was something else.
I didn't really go in thinking I'd agree with John Bolton and his world views but... damn. This guy. This guy is a despicable, horrible, arrogant, self-centered piece of shit. He is completely without any self-reflection, incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions and I cannot believe I went out of this disliking someone's political approach more than Trump's, but here we are.
Never mind that this book was sold on the premise that it had some juicy deets, which it didn't, by the way. There was just so much spite in it, it was metaphorically dripping from the pages. Every other sentence was interrupted with an "unlike Obama", which was just... so pointless 99% of the times it happened. I'm here to read about the Trump administration, I don't give a shit what Obama may or may not have thought six years ago during his desicion making, mr. John Bolton. And when he wasn't raging against Obama he was throwing shade at General Mattis to such a degree I nearly squirmed with second hand embarrassment. Hard to believe these guys are in their 70's, to be honest. Having already read [b:Rage|53317913|Rage|Bob Woodward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597575057l/53317913._SY75_.jpg|81657197] by Bob Woodward, which details Mattis' side of the story, it makes John look like an obsessed and spiteful ex in retrospect.
Anyway... Besides Obama and Mattis, John also hates Europeans, Iran and climate politics, amongst other things. He spends a lot of time detailing how much he hates agreements between nations and how much he loves breaking them. He never really explains what he wants to do after all these acts (that have taken years and a lot of negotiation to write and agree upon) are broken though. Consequences doesn't apply to John, you see.
There are a lot of things I can say about this book, which I suppose has its value in that it carefully details the depravity of the mind that sought to cut USA away from all her allies, but nothing of it is positive. It is quite telling that not once, not once across these some 600 pages, does John spare a single thought to the people of either USA or any other country. The countries are just pieces on a boardgame, insignificant beyond their ability to be pushed around.
I'll end all this by giving you some of my favourite quotes:
"Kelly had also told me that, in the course of the Pompeo negotiations, Paul said I was "the worst fucking decision" Trump had made. Kelly replied, "He seems like a nice guy to me," which set Paul off on another tirade. It all made me proud." John loves it when people call him names, especially names that colour him as someone who delights in bringing pain and destruction. Don't have to be a psychologist to raise a worried eyebrow at that.
Not to forget, John pulled USA out of the Paris Agreement with this as the extent of his understanding of climate change:
"[While talking] basically all we did was produce carbon emissions that simply contributed to global warming, which the Europeans professed to be concerned about."
"Trump also unsigned the Paris Agreement on climate change, a move I supported. That deal had all of the real-world impact on climate change of telling your prayer beads and lighting candles in church (which someone will try to forbid soon because of the carbon footbrint of all those burning candles)."
Again, John claims that the Paris Agreement has no substance, but won't detail as to why it does not. This is a common theme for all the agreements that he wants USA to pull out of. He simply just doesn't like it, is all. I mean, he complains the entire time that Trump is a dimwit, that he doesn't understand how to negotiate or to conduct himself as the president of the United States, yet John Bolton insists on pulling out of every and all agreements.... well who the fuck do you think have to negotiate new deals then, Mr Bolton sir? Trump?? Because it sure isn't you, because the second you're out of one deal you just move on to the next.
And of course, John has the maturity of a six year old:
"Marcon opened their bilateral meeting by talking about a "European army," as he had been doing publically earlier, which a large number of other Americans were fully prepared to let the ungrateful Europeans have, without us."
There are of course a bunch more, but I don't really want to spend more time and effort on this book than I already have. One thing is for sure thought, it was really chilling to read the account of a bunch of man-children trying to run one of the most powerful countries in the world like it was their little G.I Joe playdolls. With no grace and no empathy, it all reeked of something pathological.
I didn't really go in thinking I'd agree with John Bolton and his world views but... damn. This guy. This guy is a despicable, horrible, arrogant, self-centered piece of shit. He is completely without any self-reflection, incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions and I cannot believe I went out of this disliking someone's political approach more than Trump's, but here we are.
Never mind that this book was sold on the premise that it had some juicy deets, which it didn't, by the way. There was just so much spite in it, it was metaphorically dripping from the pages. Every other sentence was interrupted with an "unlike Obama", which was just... so pointless 99% of the times it happened. I'm here to read about the Trump administration, I don't give a shit what Obama may or may not have thought six years ago during his desicion making, mr. John Bolton. And when he wasn't raging against Obama he was throwing shade at General Mattis to such a degree I nearly squirmed with second hand embarrassment. Hard to believe these guys are in their 70's, to be honest. Having already read [b:Rage|53317913|Rage|Bob Woodward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597575057l/53317913._SY75_.jpg|81657197] by Bob Woodward, which details Mattis' side of the story, it makes John look like an obsessed and spiteful ex in retrospect.
Anyway... Besides Obama and Mattis, John also hates Europeans, Iran and climate politics, amongst other things. He spends a lot of time detailing how much he hates agreements between nations and how much he loves breaking them. He never really explains what he wants to do after all these acts (that have taken years and a lot of negotiation to write and agree upon) are broken though. Consequences doesn't apply to John, you see.
There are a lot of things I can say about this book, which I suppose has its value in that it carefully details the depravity of the mind that sought to cut USA away from all her allies, but nothing of it is positive. It is quite telling that not once, not once across these some 600 pages, does John spare a single thought to the people of either USA or any other country. The countries are just pieces on a boardgame, insignificant beyond their ability to be pushed around.
I'll end all this by giving you some of my favourite quotes:
"Kelly had also told me that, in the course of the Pompeo negotiations, Paul said I was "the worst fucking decision" Trump had made. Kelly replied, "He seems like a nice guy to me," which set Paul off on another tirade. It all made me proud." John loves it when people call him names, especially names that colour him as someone who delights in bringing pain and destruction. Don't have to be a psychologist to raise a worried eyebrow at that.
Not to forget, John pulled USA out of the Paris Agreement with this as the extent of his understanding of climate change:
"[While talking] basically all we did was produce carbon emissions that simply contributed to global warming, which the Europeans professed to be concerned about."
"Trump also unsigned the Paris Agreement on climate change, a move I supported. That deal had all of the real-world impact on climate change of telling your prayer beads and lighting candles in church (which someone will try to forbid soon because of the carbon footbrint of all those burning candles)."
Again, John claims that the Paris Agreement has no substance, but won't detail as to why it does not. This is a common theme for all the agreements that he wants USA to pull out of. He simply just doesn't like it, is all. I mean, he complains the entire time that Trump is a dimwit, that he doesn't understand how to negotiate or to conduct himself as the president of the United States, yet John Bolton insists on pulling out of every and all agreements.... well who the fuck do you think have to negotiate new deals then, Mr Bolton sir? Trump?? Because it sure isn't you, because the second you're out of one deal you just move on to the next.
And of course, John has the maturity of a six year old:
"Marcon opened their bilateral meeting by talking about a "European army," as he had been doing publically earlier, which a large number of other Americans were fully prepared to let the ungrateful Europeans have, without us."
There are of course a bunch more, but I don't really want to spend more time and effort on this book than I already have. One thing is for sure thought, it was really chilling to read the account of a bunch of man-children trying to run one of the most powerful countries in the world like it was their little G.I Joe playdolls. With no grace and no empathy, it all reeked of something pathological.