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jimbowen0306's review
4.0
I’m not going to lie, this book was written by someone who I was dubious about, I was never a fan about what happened with him during the Bush 43 presidency.. This said, he always seemed honest, and straightforward.
This book looks at John Bolton’s 18 months or so as President Trump’s National Security Advisor, a role that I never fully understood. Bolton explains what that role was, pretty well.
This book is rather depressing. It explains what happens what happens in foreign affairs during his life at the NSA, so we learn about the thinking behind the withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, Huawei, ZTE (which I didn’t even realise was an issue), and what happens with the Ukraine, as best Bolton knew it.
It presented President Trump phenomenally badly. I honestly think you’ll end up seeing him as someone who takes criticism badly, so having congressional Democrats snapping at his heals resulted in him overly focusing on what people thought of him for reelection purposes, and trying to present himself as he wanted to be presented, rather than expressing any vision, or view of what needed to be done.
In addition, President Trump is presented as forgetful, and reliant on using ideas that he liked in the moment. This forgetfulness might have be wilful in part, because it didn’t fit with what he believed. His paranoia, and conviction that what he believed was right made it difficult to achieve anything over a longer period, because President Trump will change his mind 3 or 4 times, with no good reason, by the time an issue is raised again.
Finally, it was Churchill who said a fanatic won’t change his mind, and can’t change the question. President Trump is presented as a fanatic over certain issues. The Mexico wall was good. The war in Afghanistan was bad (you’ll not believe what President Trump says in 2021 about staying in if you read this book). NATO funding was bad. It can be fun to wind up the crazy uncle, so he says something stupid, and you can have a laugh about it later. When you say something innocuous in an NSA meeting, and you get a harangue from the President about it, because he’s got a bug up his butt about it, it’s a bad look.
My one real criticism of the book would be that it can concentrate on minutiae on occasions. This is good, given the type of book this is, but it can result in you having to reread things to make sure you didn’t miss something.
Overall though, this book is a decent read.
This book looks at John Bolton’s 18 months or so as President Trump’s National Security Advisor, a role that I never fully understood. Bolton explains what that role was, pretty well.
This book is rather depressing. It explains what happens what happens in foreign affairs during his life at the NSA, so we learn about the thinking behind the withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal, Huawei, ZTE (which I didn’t even realise was an issue), and what happens with the Ukraine, as best Bolton knew it.
It presented President Trump phenomenally badly. I honestly think you’ll end up seeing him as someone who takes criticism badly, so having congressional Democrats snapping at his heals resulted in him overly focusing on what people thought of him for reelection purposes, and trying to present himself as he wanted to be presented, rather than expressing any vision, or view of what needed to be done.
In addition, President Trump is presented as forgetful, and reliant on using ideas that he liked in the moment. This forgetfulness might have be wilful in part, because it didn’t fit with what he believed. His paranoia, and conviction that what he believed was right made it difficult to achieve anything over a longer period, because President Trump will change his mind 3 or 4 times, with no good reason, by the time an issue is raised again.
Finally, it was Churchill who said a fanatic won’t change his mind, and can’t change the question. President Trump is presented as a fanatic over certain issues. The Mexico wall was good. The war in Afghanistan was bad (you’ll not believe what President Trump says in 2021 about staying in if you read this book). NATO funding was bad. It can be fun to wind up the crazy uncle, so he says something stupid, and you can have a laugh about it later. When you say something innocuous in an NSA meeting, and you get a harangue from the President about it, because he’s got a bug up his butt about it, it’s a bad look.
My one real criticism of the book would be that it can concentrate on minutiae on occasions. This is good, given the type of book this is, but it can result in you having to reread things to make sure you didn’t miss something.
Overall though, this book is a decent read.
lauralantran_'s review
4.0
I read one review somewhere on the internet complaining that this book was a waste of time, and that it didn't talk much about Trump or his misconducts and dirty secrets, but much about Bolton. I disagree. This book, before being an exposé on Trump, is first and foremost an account of Bolton's experience in the White House. Not being American, I never heard about Bolton before the explosion of media attention on the Trump administration, and I don't necessarily agree with Bolton's politics, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and appreciate his insight to the room where it all happened. I don't agree, but I really do admire his judgement and wisdom on foreign policies, knowledge on international relations and foreign government decision-makers, and most of all, his integrity. I can't say the same about Trump, which was also inferred and reaffirmed in the book, but I never expected to change my perception and personal belief about him anyway.
kathycolvi's review
1.0
This book is proof that the men in the room, both the writer and the subject, are two of the most arrogant, and self-aggrandizing people who walk this earth. Shamefully, the author chose to profit himself rather than testify before the House of Representatives. You, Mr Bolton, are no Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman.
katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Regardless of your political leanings, you can walk away from this book knowing Trump made foreign policy decisions on a whim, frequently changing his mind for no apparent reason, was easily swayed by his “friends” (dictators), was not interested in reading ANYTHING, fell asleep in meetings, rambled constantly about conspiracy theories and other bizarre fantasies, and used his influence and power as POTUS for personal gain. Of course, we all already knew this, but it was enlightening to see essentially word for word how some of these conversations played out. My jaw was on the floor at times. That being said, Bolton is arrogant and delivers his opinion on topics as absolute fact. And although the entire point of this book is to criticize Trump’s handling of foreign affairs he sometimes goes soft and lets him off the hook when clearly he was off the rails. Plus, the epilogue really set me off. Talk about delusional! Anyhow, if you are interested in American politics and foreign policy I still think this is worth the read. Just be ready to roll your eyes and take Bolton’s proclamations that he has all the answers and is 100% correct all the time with a grain of salt.
mgouker's review against another edition
2.0
It is truly appalling that someone who purports to be a public servant would maintain silence in the face of so much corruption going on in the same room, however this review is not about John Bolton, but this book he has written. Bolton's perspective comes with the assumption he is the smartest person in the room. Everyone else is a dummy, inexperienced, or otherwise lacking the ability to perceive the nature of evil in the world. That may be what he is going for, but he just comes off as a monstrous, spiteful, warmongering chickenhawk. All of his choices rely on using sticks, and he has no flexibility at all. Therefore, as a diplomat, he is a useless ass, but there is such a lack of self-awareness that you watch him patting himself on the back with "clever" tactics to avoid responsibility and accountability, dodging here and there, always aiming higher, always just a little bit short, mostly because he is entirely untrustworthy and vile, though he trumpets himself a patriot. Along the way, he takes down a whole group of diplomats who are catty to a fault. In the end I really wonder what any of them are doing in government.
That being said, some come off better than others, but the fact we perceive them through the distorted Bolton lens (where his own image is so blurred) lends them no credence. He did keep good notes, however, which would be terrible news for Trump's team, except the book is also such an overwhelming self-indictment of Bolton and his terrible judgment. Do his opinions matter at all? I don't think so. Trump, fwiw, comes off as you likely expect: a man of no morality who is fixed primarily on the public's perception of himself, without genuine beliefs, malleable to a fault, hilariously disloyal, and astonishingly unintellectual.
I hate what this book says about America, but I cannot one-star the book, despite the narrator's self-absorption. I think it is important people read it, because clearly half of America's voters are brainless too. No matter how you feel about Trump (I abhor him), I strongly feel people like Bolton should never be in government. He is a dangerous man who happily has no power anymore and, I hate to admit it, Bolton being out of government is to Trump's credit. :-( That Trump also hired him (after such a long romance when his defects would be glaring) and thought Bolton's ideas worthy at all tells us much about how empty of brains is the room where it happened.
That being said, some come off better than others, but the fact we perceive them through the distorted Bolton lens (where his own image is so blurred) lends them no credence. He did keep good notes, however, which would be terrible news for Trump's team, except the book is also such an overwhelming self-indictment of Bolton and his terrible judgment. Do his opinions matter at all? I don't think so. Trump, fwiw, comes off as you likely expect: a man of no morality who is fixed primarily on the public's perception of himself, without genuine beliefs, malleable to a fault, hilariously disloyal, and astonishingly unintellectual.
I hate what this book says about America, but I cannot one-star the book, despite the narrator's self-absorption. I think it is important people read it, because clearly half of America's voters are brainless too. No matter how you feel about Trump (I abhor him), I strongly feel people like Bolton should never be in government. He is a dangerous man who happily has no power anymore and, I hate to admit it, Bolton being out of government is to Trump's credit. :-( That Trump also hired him (after such a long romance when his defects would be glaring) and thought Bolton's ideas worthy at all tells us much about how empty of brains is the room where it happened.
danny_phantom57's review against another edition
3.0
My biggest pet peeve in books is an author whose ego and high opinion of themselves is apparent through the writing. Bolton rides this line. He never wastes a chance to include a compliment he received from domestic and international players, and writes every situation as if he was the only rational and sane person in a room. Nonetheless, this book is an incredible insight into the daily life of a White House senior official, and one in the Trump administration. Very detailed and interesting. Not a must-read, but worth it if you're a political junkie.
timsin10's review against another edition
3.0
Bolton undoubtedly wants to vindicate himself, and the reader must always keep that in mind when reading a memoir, especially a political one. Nevertheless, despite his many shots at the Washington Post and New York Times, the portrait of Trump that emerges from his narrative is largely consistent with media reports. Namely Trump has no overarching philosophy on foreign policy, and his only consistent objective is his own political gain. Personally I find Bolton to be way too hawkish, but there’s no doubt he is principled and consistently conservative. This man has served under three Republican presidents, been one of Fox News’s top commentators on foreign affairs, and was at one time one of Trump’s closest advisors, and it should be a huge red flag that he doesn’t believe Trump is fit to be president. But the sad state of American politics in 2020 just means that many of his former allies don’t care what he thinks anymore, because he is no longer in a position of power.
livingdeadbabe's review against another edition
2.0
Well besides being boring as all hell I already knew most of what was in this book.
fiyvs79's review against another edition
2.0
Can’t believe I’m reading Bolton and honestly his writing is terrible. The book reviews you can find online pretty much summarises everything you need to know about this book so don’t bother buying it.
uvrx's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to the audiobook, so I'll start with saying the narration was good. The book itself was okay I guess, but wasn't really a page turner.
What I think the book was trying to portray was Democrats bad, Republicans good, the meh Republicans are 'basically Democrats' so they're bad. Trump doesn't know what he's doing, whereas the author does everything right and even quotes the praises he received to that effect from Trump/press/whoever throughout the book to 'support' the fact. The place is in shambles and finally if you've never been on the inside, you have no idea and can't understand.
Not really sure if it was worth the read, I think it was pretty biased towards Republican ideals even though it is anti their leader.
Books by David Frum, Andrew McCabe, James Comey, Bob Woodward, Anonymous's A Warning and even Omarosa Manigault Newman made for a better read. IMHO
What I think the book was trying to portray was Democrats bad, Republicans good, the meh Republicans are 'basically Democrats' so they're bad. Trump doesn't know what he's doing, whereas the author does everything right and even quotes the praises he received to that effect from Trump/press/whoever throughout the book to 'support' the fact. The place is in shambles and finally if you've never been on the inside, you have no idea and can't understand.
Not really sure if it was worth the read, I think it was pretty biased towards Republican ideals even though it is anti their leader.
Books by David Frum, Andrew McCabe, James Comey, Bob Woodward, Anonymous's A Warning and even Omarosa Manigault Newman made for a better read. IMHO