A review by pyonir
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton

2.0

Going into this book I knew I was going to disagree with Bolton on just about all his political philosophies. What I didn't expect was what a self-congratulating, pompous, bore he'd be. The book is dull...it reads more like a transcript or meeting notes. "At 12:20pm I met with..." "At 3:40pm I received a call from...". Makes for terrible reading. The book can actually be summed up in Bolton's own words, "(finicky readers can look up the actual cost on their own; I don't want facts slowing down the narrative flow)" If that doesn't show you the type of person Bolton is...nothing will. There is no narrative flow and facts? We don't need facts in any administration Bolton is associated with.

Why two stars instead of one? It's a decent portrayal of what the day to day is for a National Security Advisor. Probably a bit more chaotic because of the administration, however. That portrayal could have been done in far less pages and a much more readable way.

Unless you are a hardcore political junkie, skip this. I'm glad I only borrowed the book, so none of my money went to Bolton's pocket.