Summary of Rage

Bob Woodward

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Editorial Rating

The rating – what does it mean?

At getAbstract, we summarize books* that help people understand the world and make it better. Whatever we select for our library has to excel in one or the other of these two core criteria:

Enlightening – You’ll learn things that will inform and improve your decisions.

Helpful – You’ll take-away practical advice that will help you get better at what you do.

We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Our rating helps you sort the titles on your reading list from solid (5) to brilliant (10). Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. Here's what the ratings mean:

10 – Brilliant. A helpful and/or enlightening book that, in addition to meeting the highest standards in all pertinent aspects, stands out even among the best. Often an instant classic and must-read for everyone.
9 – Superb. A helpful and/or enlightening book that is extremely well rounded, has many strengths and no shortcomings worth mentioning.
8 – Very good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style.
7 – Good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that combines two or more noteworthy strengths, e.g. contains uncommonly novel ideas and presents them in an engaging manner.
6 – Notable. A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. is particularly well structured.
5 – Solid. A helpful and/or enlightening book, in spite of its obvious shortcomings. For instance, it may offer decent advice in some areas while being repetitive or unremarkable in others.

*getAbstract is summarizing much more than books. We look at every kind of content that may matter to our audience: books, but also articles, reports, videos and podcasts. What we say here about books applies to all formats we cover.

Qualities

Eye Opening
Bold
Hot Topic

While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. Therefore, we use a set of 20 qualities to characterize each book by its strengths:

Applicable – You’ll get advice that can be directly applied in the workplace or in everyday situations.
Analytical – You’ll understand the inner workings of the subject matter.
Background – You’ll get contextual knowledge as a frame for informed action or analysis.
Bold – You’ll find arguments that may break with predominant views.
Comprehensive – You’ll find every aspect of the subject matter covered.
Concrete Examples – You’ll get practical advice illustrated with examples of real-world applications or anecdotes.
Controversial – You’ll be confronted with strongly debated opinions.
Eloquent – You’ll enjoy a masterfully written or presented text.
Engaging – You’ll read or watch this all the way through the end.
Eye opening – You’ll be offered highly surprising insights.
For beginners – You’ll find this to be a good primer if you’re a learner with little or no prior experience/knowledge.
For experts – You’ll get the higher-level knowledge/instructions you need as an expert.
Hot Topic – You’ll find yourself in the middle of a highly debated issue.
Innovative – You can expect some truly fresh ideas and insights on brand-new products or trends.
Insider’s take – You’ll have the privilege of learning from someone who knows her or his topic inside-out.
Inspiring – You’ll want to put into practice what you’ve read immediately.
Overview – You’ll get a broad treatment of the subject matter, mentioning all its major aspects.
Scientific – You’ll get facts and figures grounded in scientific research.
Visionary – You’ll get a glimpse of the future and what it might mean for you.
Well structured – You’ll find this to be particularly well organized to support its reception or application.

Recommendation

In the summer of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic raged on, Americans faced mass unemployment, rising inequality and a national race-relations crisis. US President Donald Trump’s flawed handling of these crises parallel his personal proclivities and shortcomings, argues renowned investigative journalist Bob Woodward. Woodward uses interviews with Trump and others to establish that not only did the president fail to warn the American public, early on, about the danger of COVID-19, but he deliberately did the opposite. As of the end of October 2020, some 225,000 Americans have died.

About the Author

Bob Woodward is an American investigative journalist. He started working for The Washington Post as a reporter in 1971, and currently holds the title of associate editor. He has authored or coauthored 20 books, all of which have been national non-fiction bestsellers. Fourteen have been #1 national bestsellers.

Summary

On January 28, 2020, President Trump’s national security advisor explicitly warned him of the danger the coronavirus outbreak posed to America’s national security.

At a presidential briefing in January 2020, the national security adviser Robert O’Brien informed President Trump, “This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency.” At that point, most American officials, including the president, regarded the outbreak in China as posing little risk for Americans.

At that same Oval Office meeting, deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger aired a dire factual warning. Pottinger knew China well and spoke Mandarin – he had been in China as a reporter during the SARS crisis of 2003. According to Pottinger’s sources, the virus was spreading quickly from one person to the next, even from people who did not exhibit symptoms. This was a major public health crisis for America, made worse by the fact that China had misled the world about its own struggle to contain COVID-19. Pottinger asked one expert in China whether this would be as bad as SARS in 2003.“Don’t think SARS 2003,” the expert replied. “Think influenza pandemic 1918,” which killed...

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