Bob Woodward (1) (1943–)

Fear is the establishment's answer to Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. Where Wolff is a gossip rag arsonist who relied heavily on Steve Bannon's version of events, Bob Woodward is, well, he's Woodward. He took down Nixon and has written books on every subsequent president. Fear relies on hundreds of hours of transcribed interviews on deep background, and reading between the lines its easy to huess his sources are mostly "responsible adults" who have left the administration: Priebus, Porter, show more Cohn, Tillerson, Dowd, and Senator Lindsey Graham. The picture he paints of Trump is less salacious, but no less damning.

According to these men, who were once close to Trump and who have fallen from grace, the president is an idiot, a rage-filled child, a reckless gambler, a lazy slob addicted to cable news, a bullying narcissist, and an inveterate liar. If there is any fixed star in Trump's universe, it's that if you're not screwing someone, you're being screwed.

Woodward covers the first year or so of Trump's presidency, focusing on the intrigue around the oval office, and the seesawing attempts to find a strategy on Afghanistan, North Korea, and trade. The results are either wise men restraining the worst impulses of a mad king, or an administrative coup by the Deep State, depending on how you feel. The book opens with Gary Cohn stealing a memo off Trump's desk to prevent him from blowing up a vital US-Korea trade agreement, which is probably the most dramatic example, but again and again, his aides have to reign in Trump's emotionally driven decisions, ranging from declaring victory in Afghanistan and turning it over to Erik Prince and the mercenary army formerly known as Blackwater, starting a nuclear war with North Korea, or demolishing the post-1945 consensus on free trade, no matter the cost. Of course, these men are not some Obama-holdover Deep State. They're men Trump appointed, praised, and mostly refused to fire. Despite that idiotic anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, they are not the resistance inside the administration. They are Trump's instruments, and his dishonor stains them.

The revolving door outside the Oval Office is interesting, but Woodward doesn't have much to say about the things that really matter about Trump. How much racism comes from him, and how much from ethnonationalist ghouls like Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller? The Mueller investigation drives Trump crazy, but is there fire beneath all the smoke? What of the real harms that dismantling the 'administrative state' of EPA regulations, educational standards, and SNAP assistance brings? What about the judges? How about the dead of Hurricane Maria? The utter nonsense spewed at ongoing campaign rallies? What is up with Jared Kushner? Is there, contrary to all the evidence, any actual depth to the man?

The only humanizing touch is that Trump refuses to meet with the families of soldiers killed in his military adventures. I can understand that moral cowardice. I'm not sure how any ostensible patriot can square that cowardice with their support of the man.

Woodward's book doesn't reveal any deep truths. We all knew Trump was incompetent, incapable of empathy or foresight, the meanest creature to ever occupy the White House. What it does reveal, in chilling clinical detail, is how bad the situation really is. show less

A riveting account of the Nixon presidency spiraling down the drain. I wouldn’t recommend it as your first Nixon book since the authors reasonably figured that anyone reading this book when it came out in 1976 would be familiar with the story so they don’t spend much time setting things up (you’d be better off starting with a more general Nixon bio)
But if you are already familiar with Watergate and the poor souls it ensnared this is compelling material and drama, even though you know show more how it will all shake down. The biggest surprise was the almost sympathetic portrayal of Tricky Dick himself, an awkward introvert under a tremendous strain of his own paranoid making. I’ve read many presidential bios but none of them featured as many commander-in-chief tears as this one. show less

This is a fascinating look at a man risen well above his capabilities and capacities, with disastrous consequences for the people he is supposed to serve. It's a portrait of someone with little empathy, few inclinations for reflection or thoughtfulness, and no sense of decency, or of responsibility for anyone but himself. The depth of his hollowness and deception is simply stunning, and devastating. I am ashamed of my fellow voters for falling for the cult, sad for my nation for being put show more through this con, and hopeful that this episode of history can mercifully end soon, and that mature and responsible leadership can once again take charge and begin the healing and recovery. show less

The peril of the title is the danger posed to the very structure of the American democracy posed by its volatile, egomaniacal 45th president. This is Woodward’s third book about Trump, and It is written in the same style of the first two, Fear, and Rage. The authors quote dialogue extensively, based on interviews and shared recollections of more than 200 firsthand participants and witnesses.

Peril describes in great detail the events surrounding the not-so-peaceful transfer of power from show more the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration. Woodward and Costa assert that Trump would do almost anything to remain in power, the Constitution be damned. The one hero of their narrative is General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who steadfastly remained calm and in control of the military while Trump explored every possible method to overturn the clear results of the 2020 presidential election. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also performed well, but he was fired immediately after the election and was unable to exert his influence for as long a time as Milley.

This book provided several startling revelations about how close Trump came to succeeding. Since it has been reviewed by numerous others in great detail, any summary recapitulation of its contents by me would add little to a relatively vast literature. I would, however, emphasize the importance of the authors’ warnings and admonitions. They conclude their analysis with a personal interview with Trump, which he allowed in an effort to tell his side of the story. Their reaction:

“…we…saw darkness. He could be petty. Cruel. Bored by American history and dismissive of governing traditions that has long guided elected leaders. Could Trump work his will again? Were there any limits to what he and his supporters might do to put him back in power? Peril remains.”

(JAB) show less