Bob Woodward
Fear
Trump in the White House
Simon & Schuster, 2018
Was ist drin?
President Donald Trump is so volatile, even his top advisers don’t trust him to make decisions.
Recommendation
Donald Trump’s closest advisers are terrified to let him make decisions, writes famed journalist Bob Woodward. Senior staff and advisers have, for instance, made sensitive documents – including a letter ending the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement – disappear from Trump’s desk in an effort to contain the president’s capricious impulses. Such subterfuges – which, Woodward notes, amount to an “administrative coup d’état” – were necessary to prevent political chaos, the White House officials reasoned. Beyond such bombshells, Woodward’s chronicle offers less-than-charitable assessments of Trump’s psyche and emotional stability. Despite these harsh conclusions, Woodward acknowledges Trump’s popular appeal, and offers a more even-handed account of the president than that served up by Michael Wolff in Fire and Fury. Yet readers who have delved into Wolff’s book, Joshua Green’s Devil’s Bargain, or James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty will spot common themes about Trump’s volatile temper and general lack of knowledge. While always politically neutral, getAbstract recommends this account to readers seeking insight into the US president.
Summary
About the Author
Bob Woodward is an American political journalist who has worked for the Washington Post since 1971. He and Carl Bernstein shared the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for the reporting on the Watergate scandal. Woodward’s other books include All the President’s Men, Obama’s Wars and The Brethren.
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