Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Simon & Schuster (2020), Edition: Illustrated, 592 pages
Description
"John Bolton served as National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump for 519 days. A seasoned public servant who had previously worked for Presidents Reagan, Bush #41, and Bush #43, Bolton brought to the administration thirty years of experience in international issues and a reputation for tough, blunt talk. In his memoir, he offers a substantive and factual account of his time in the room where it happened." --
Media reviews
The book is bloated with self-importance, even though what it mostly recounts is Bolton not being able to accomplish very much. It toggles between two discordant registers: exceedingly tedious and slightly unhinged....
In another book by another writer, such anecdotes might land with a stunning
It’s a strange experience reading a book that begins with repeated salvos about “the intellectually lazy” by an author who refuses to think through anything very hard himself.
In another book by another writer, such anecdotes might land with a stunning
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force, but Bolton fails to present them that way, leaving them to swim in a stew of superfluous detail...It’s a strange experience reading a book that begins with repeated salvos about “the intellectually lazy” by an author who refuses to think through anything very hard himself.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member RajivC
If there is one word that would describe my emotions at the end of this book, then that word would be ‘exhaustion.’
I started the book with some enthusiasm. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this book, especially considering it has been published soon after John Bolton’s
People may ask if he has breached a code of ethics, wherein a person who has held such a confidential and critical post, would write about the happenings in the office of the President.
John Bolton dives into exquisite details of most of the meetings he attended. This level of detail was exhausting.
Mr. Bolton does not think highly of Barack Obama, but he does not explain why. He has dismissed Mr. Obama’s strategies and initiatives with a few terse sentences. Neither does he disclose – except in one case – why he thought that America’s position concerning the Paris Climate Change Agreement was the correct one.
I have the impression that John Bolton is hawkish by nature. He tried to draw attention away from any possible failures on his part by describing the events he was involved with, in excruciating detail.
If anyone buys and reads this book, expecting some sort of expose, they would be sorely disappointed. If you enjoy long, tiresome descriptions of someone’s day, then go ahead and buy this book. If you buy this book, expecting to read a sober analysis of geopolitical issues, you will be disappointed.
I started the book with some enthusiasm. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this book, especially considering it has been published soon after John Bolton’s
Show More
resignation. People may ask if he has breached a code of ethics, wherein a person who has held such a confidential and critical post, would write about the happenings in the office of the President.
John Bolton dives into exquisite details of most of the meetings he attended. This level of detail was exhausting.
Mr. Bolton does not think highly of Barack Obama, but he does not explain why. He has dismissed Mr. Obama’s strategies and initiatives with a few terse sentences. Neither does he disclose – except in one case – why he thought that America’s position concerning the Paris Climate Change Agreement was the correct one.
I have the impression that John Bolton is hawkish by nature. He tried to draw attention away from any possible failures on his part by describing the events he was involved with, in excruciating detail.
If anyone buys and reads this book, expecting some sort of expose, they would be sorely disappointed. If you enjoy long, tiresome descriptions of someone’s day, then go ahead and buy this book. If you buy this book, expecting to read a sober analysis of geopolitical issues, you will be disappointed.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Clara53
Although the book is a cleanly written self-congratulatory recount, it does expose the total chaos of the Trump White House. What turned me off from the start was how Bolton arrogantly sets himself apart from those he calls "the intellectually lazy" - he uses this phrase TWICE in the first couple
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of pages of the book. And what about a deviously constructed pretend "letter" from Chinese President to Kim Jong Un - that itself shows what Bolton is all about... And though he says that the "axis of adults" (or "Steady State", or "glorified government babysitters", as named by The Anonymous) at the White House was doomed from the start, Bolton pretty much was part of it himself, even though he joined the staff a bit later. Not that it helped much, a "hero" that he thinks he was while there. Show Less
LibraryThing member nyiper
I have to give this four stars but that's only because I have watched enough TV to know all the characters and I was curious to see where Bolton saw himself fitting into the mix. Also, I did not have to BUY the book. Am I totally disgusted that he did not come forward on his own? The problem is
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that ultimately he IS totally disgusted with Trump and admits how unfit he is for the office of President---in interviews about his book.. He could see it while he was there, along with others, including all of the laughs he had with Pompeo about "resigning." How does his book help the country...now??? Will it convince enough people about the need to vote in the fall to provide some relief? Time....will tell. Show Less
LibraryThing member zhoud2005
One egomaniac writes about another egomaniac. Some good materials wasted on poor writing.
LibraryThing member GShuk
I have read many books on Trump and find this one is worth reading. It gives a conservative and experienced view of the Trump presidency. That said he seems to contradict himself a few time. On the one hand he said that the adults in the room held Trump back from accomplishing his goals. On the
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other hand he said Trump is not fit to run the office. It sounds like the kind of story you hear from staff who says if I were running things it would be way better and here is why, without having to take responsibility for the decisions. Overall, I like that he said Trump is not fit for office and that he is not a true republican. However, I am surprised he did not know that before going in. Show Less
LibraryThing member bburns21
This is a long, drawn out book. It does give insight into the inner workings of the government, but I think it could have been a lot shorter.
LibraryThing member texascheeseman
The Room Where It Happened
Author: John Bolton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publishing Date: 2020
Pgs: 577
_________________________________________________
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Bolton is not a nice person. But he was behind the curtain looking directly in at the Great Wizard as he tried
_________________________________________________
Genre:
United States
Government
National Security
International
Executive
Autobiography
Civics
Why this book:
Because Jeff got it and handed it to me.
_________________________________________________
The Feel:
A self-serving ego stroke and name-drop-arama. None of which reflects on the veracity of his observations. But it’s fairly obvious that he is as he put it in the text auditioning for his next job, whatever that might be.
Least Favorite Character:
John Bolton and President Donald J Trump...in roughly equal measure.
Favorite Scene:
Holy shit. The NSC meeting that Trump chaired in Chapter 12: Trump Loses His Way And Then His Nerve. How are we not all dead? Official makes a statement. Trump responds...then goes woolgathering. Themes: someone else will pay, we should get out, don’t care if ISIS comes back in Iraq.
Favorite Quote:
Regarding the calling off of the Iran retaliatory strike following the drone shootdown - “In my government experience, this was the most irrational thing I ever witnessed any President do. It called to mind Kelly’s question to me: what would happen if we ever got into a real crisis with Trump as President? Well, we now had one, and Trump had behaved bizarrely, just as Kelly had feared…I had thought about resigning several times before, but this for me was a turning point. If this was how we were going to make crisis decisions, and if these were the decisions being made, what was the point?”
Favorite Concept:
Bolton awakening to Trump being Trump.
Hmm Moments:
So...was Bolton in contact with those running departments and advising the President that much and that early on in the administration or is he blowing smoke and dropping names? Hmmm.
So the Taliban deal that almost happened at Camp David just before September 11th, 2019 went ahead and happened in February 2020. And it is an all-Trump deal. Of course, he’ll do his best not to own it.
So, Sondaland was pushing the Ukrainians for the phone call and saying that the Ukrainians wanted the phone call. Methinks he was deeper in this shitpile than he let on in the hearings. Bolton saying that he was surprised that Sondaland was as far afield from his EU Ambassador’s desk in all this Ukraine mess. Can believe Perry was a deer in the headlights in all this, having watched his Texas political career.
So Mulvaney forced Bolton out by backbiting him to Trump until he found a wedge that would work. Bolton flying on military transport and Mulvaney ear whispering to Trump that Bolton had his own plane. How mean girls of them.
WTF Moments:
In the middle of a briefing on the Middle East, Trump asked which of their Arab allies had better soldiers. And failed to understand the response, focused instead on whose soldiers had more physical stature. Thinking that a taller soldier is a better soldier. Someone needs to introduce Trump to the history, tradition and badassedness of the Brigade of the Gurkas.
Well Duh! Moments:
Krauthammer described Trump as an 11-year old and, afterward, realized observing the non-transition transition that the country was being lead by a 1-year old.
The Sigh:
Everything is an episode of The Apprentice with a last man standing mentality.
Bolton has a severe case of the Blame-Obama/Blame-Hillary-itis that seems prevalent in the Trump Administration. After 3 years at the helm, you can’t blame the people who were steering before you took the wheel.
Wisdom:
If it doesn’t benefit Donald J Trump, Trump has no interest in it.
No way should warhawk Bolton have another job in leadership in government. He wants to go to war with Iran and North Korea. He has for years. He doesn’t hide it. His being one of the adult voices in the Trump Administration was horrifying.
Juxtaposition:
Trump falling asleep in meetings with foreign leaders being compared within a few paragraphs to the Obama Administration’s dealings with Iran. For being as smart on foreign policy as he is, he sure does have a truckload of the dumbass about him sometimes.
No one else finds it suspicious that a day before the Japanese Prime Minister Abe was supposed to visit Iran with proposals to lessen tensions and get the nuclear deal back on track, a Japanese tanker came under attack in the Straits of Hormuz. An attack that can’t be definitively laid at the Iraniain’s feet, but like all the other tanker attacks in that period are suspicious in their origin. But the propaganda machine effectively wiped out any investigation of those causes and the guilty parties. Logically, Abe meeting with Rouhani and Khameni doesn’t make sense in that time frame.
So, the attack on a drone over the Gulf was more important than attacks on manned tankers...because of how much the drone cost. And they didn’t see the failure in their logic...and Bolton, in retrospect, doesn’t see the flaw either.
And, then, Bolton backpedals and covers his ass. One statement he’s opposed to this and it smells, legally. In the next, he’s sure that it is well within presidential purview even if it is illegal. And, someone else did it.
The Unexpected:
Trump is more worried about what reporters say and report than what he gets from his intelligence services.
Missed Opportunity:
The illustrated circuitous thinking of Trump is shown here in detail. It’s a small circle.
Predictability/Non-Predictability:
Smarminess.
Shocked that when Trump pulled the plug on the retaliation strike on Iran after the drone shootdown, he stood up against the advisors who were in lock step on wanting to blow hell out of four or five targets inside Iran. Because he didn’t want that many body bags on his conscience...or the news. Think it’s more the news in light of the body bags that Corona has brought home to us and his response to that.
Dreamcasting:
The Three Stooges as Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman.
Val Kilmer as Donald Trump. ...sorry Val.
Movies and Television:
It’s not going to lend itself to portrayal or a script. Just not that kind of story.
_________________________________________________
Pacing:
The pace is all over the place.
Last Page Sound:
Well that’s a couple days reading that I’ll never get back.
Questions I’m Left With:
If this was all he was going to do, why write it and why release it. The answer, I believe, is $$$.
What room?
Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
People behind the curtain know things. Things that if they came to light could burn down this presidency and save the country from continuing to slip toward Third-World-dom. But they aren’t. They’re cashing their paycheck, taking the hush, and moving on to their next phase of life with no thought to patriotism.
Bolton believes that the House could have gotten Trump, and convinced enough Senators, if they would have taken their time and did a proper, thorough, and wide ranging probe instead of getting into an election season rush and narrowing the focus.
Author Assessment:
Bolton needs a better ghostwriter. The prose is way too stream of consciousness/I recall.
I expected better from Bolton.
Editorial Assessment:
A halfassed editor could've improved this.
_________________________________________________
Author: John Bolton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publishing Date: 2020
Pgs: 577
_________________________________________________
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Bolton is not a nice person. But he was behind the curtain looking directly in at the Great Wizard as he tried
Show More
to manipulate the lands and people of Oz about him. Some insight. Lots of ego stroking, name dropping, blowing his own horn. _________________________________________________
Genre:
United States
Government
National Security
International
Executive
Autobiography
Civics
Why this book:
Because Jeff got it and handed it to me.
_________________________________________________
The Feel:
A self-serving ego stroke and name-drop-arama. None of which reflects on the veracity of his observations. But it’s fairly obvious that he is as he put it in the text auditioning for his next job, whatever that might be.
Least Favorite Character:
John Bolton and President Donald J Trump...in roughly equal measure.
Favorite Scene:
Holy shit. The NSC meeting that Trump chaired in Chapter 12: Trump Loses His Way And Then His Nerve. How are we not all dead? Official makes a statement. Trump responds...then goes woolgathering. Themes: someone else will pay, we should get out, don’t care if ISIS comes back in Iraq.
Favorite Quote:
Regarding the calling off of the Iran retaliatory strike following the drone shootdown - “In my government experience, this was the most irrational thing I ever witnessed any President do. It called to mind Kelly’s question to me: what would happen if we ever got into a real crisis with Trump as President? Well, we now had one, and Trump had behaved bizarrely, just as Kelly had feared…I had thought about resigning several times before, but this for me was a turning point. If this was how we were going to make crisis decisions, and if these were the decisions being made, what was the point?”
Favorite Concept:
Bolton awakening to Trump being Trump.
Hmm Moments:
So...was Bolton in contact with those running departments and advising the President that much and that early on in the administration or is he blowing smoke and dropping names? Hmmm.
So the Taliban deal that almost happened at Camp David just before September 11th, 2019 went ahead and happened in February 2020. And it is an all-Trump deal. Of course, he’ll do his best not to own it.
So, Sondaland was pushing the Ukrainians for the phone call and saying that the Ukrainians wanted the phone call. Methinks he was deeper in this shitpile than he let on in the hearings. Bolton saying that he was surprised that Sondaland was as far afield from his EU Ambassador’s desk in all this Ukraine mess. Can believe Perry was a deer in the headlights in all this, having watched his Texas political career.
So Mulvaney forced Bolton out by backbiting him to Trump until he found a wedge that would work. Bolton flying on military transport and Mulvaney ear whispering to Trump that Bolton had his own plane. How mean girls of them.
WTF Moments:
In the middle of a briefing on the Middle East, Trump asked which of their Arab allies had better soldiers. And failed to understand the response, focused instead on whose soldiers had more physical stature. Thinking that a taller soldier is a better soldier. Someone needs to introduce Trump to the history, tradition and badassedness of the Brigade of the Gurkas.
Well Duh! Moments:
Krauthammer described Trump as an 11-year old and, afterward, realized observing the non-transition transition that the country was being lead by a 1-year old.
The Sigh:
Everything is an episode of The Apprentice with a last man standing mentality.
Bolton has a severe case of the Blame-Obama/Blame-Hillary-itis that seems prevalent in the Trump Administration. After 3 years at the helm, you can’t blame the people who were steering before you took the wheel.
Wisdom:
If it doesn’t benefit Donald J Trump, Trump has no interest in it.
No way should warhawk Bolton have another job in leadership in government. He wants to go to war with Iran and North Korea. He has for years. He doesn’t hide it. His being one of the adult voices in the Trump Administration was horrifying.
Juxtaposition:
Trump falling asleep in meetings with foreign leaders being compared within a few paragraphs to the Obama Administration’s dealings with Iran. For being as smart on foreign policy as he is, he sure does have a truckload of the dumbass about him sometimes.
No one else finds it suspicious that a day before the Japanese Prime Minister Abe was supposed to visit Iran with proposals to lessen tensions and get the nuclear deal back on track, a Japanese tanker came under attack in the Straits of Hormuz. An attack that can’t be definitively laid at the Iraniain’s feet, but like all the other tanker attacks in that period are suspicious in their origin. But the propaganda machine effectively wiped out any investigation of those causes and the guilty parties. Logically, Abe meeting with Rouhani and Khameni doesn’t make sense in that time frame.
So, the attack on a drone over the Gulf was more important than attacks on manned tankers...because of how much the drone cost. And they didn’t see the failure in their logic...and Bolton, in retrospect, doesn’t see the flaw either.
And, then, Bolton backpedals and covers his ass. One statement he’s opposed to this and it smells, legally. In the next, he’s sure that it is well within presidential purview even if it is illegal. And, someone else did it.
The Unexpected:
Trump is more worried about what reporters say and report than what he gets from his intelligence services.
Missed Opportunity:
The illustrated circuitous thinking of Trump is shown here in detail. It’s a small circle.
Predictability/Non-Predictability:
Smarminess.
Shocked that when Trump pulled the plug on the retaliation strike on Iran after the drone shootdown, he stood up against the advisors who were in lock step on wanting to blow hell out of four or five targets inside Iran. Because he didn’t want that many body bags on his conscience...or the news. Think it’s more the news in light of the body bags that Corona has brought home to us and his response to that.
Dreamcasting:
The Three Stooges as Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman.
Val Kilmer as Donald Trump. ...sorry Val.
Movies and Television:
It’s not going to lend itself to portrayal or a script. Just not that kind of story.
_________________________________________________
Pacing:
The pace is all over the place.
Last Page Sound:
Well that’s a couple days reading that I’ll never get back.
Questions I’m Left With:
If this was all he was going to do, why write it and why release it. The answer, I believe, is $$$.
What room?
Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
People behind the curtain know things. Things that if they came to light could burn down this presidency and save the country from continuing to slip toward Third-World-dom. But they aren’t. They’re cashing their paycheck, taking the hush, and moving on to their next phase of life with no thought to patriotism.
Bolton believes that the House could have gotten Trump, and convinced enough Senators, if they would have taken their time and did a proper, thorough, and wide ranging probe instead of getting into an election season rush and narrowing the focus.
Author Assessment:
Bolton needs a better ghostwriter. The prose is way too stream of consciousness/I recall.
I expected better from Bolton.
Editorial Assessment:
A halfassed editor could've improved this.
_________________________________________________
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LibraryThing member lanewillson
Metamorpisis Sans Orange
Bolton starts his memoir as an outsider who, with a raised eyebrow or slight snicker, recounts being lauded and loved by the newly elected Donald Trump. Joining the reality show that is the Trump administration, Bolton believed himself to be among the adults protecting
Bolton starts his memoir as an outsider who, with a raised eyebrow or slight snicker, recounts being lauded and loved by the newly elected Donald Trump. Joining the reality show that is the Trump administration, Bolton believed himself to be among the adults protecting
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America from Trump, along with his children and cronies, from tearing up the Presidency like a group of high school kids whose parents are out of town. By the end of his time in the administration, and as reflected by the end of this memoir, Bolton is reduced to a whining clown whining about a whining clown. Thankfully one is orange, and the other wears a geriatric caterpillar under his nose, making one distinguishable from the others. Show Less
LibraryThing member johnclaydon
The book has two purposes. First, it is his manifesto for his policy ideas and for himself as national leader on foreign policy and for himself as leader of the national security apparatus.
Second, it is his very detailed and very useful insider history of his time in the administration. The
Second, it is his very detailed and very useful insider history of his time in the administration. The
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challenge to all those who are not followers of Trump or Bolton: read the whole book and construct counter proposals. In my opinion it is very hard work. Case in point is his half chapter on trying to get out of Syria. Show Less
LibraryThing member cjneary
I found the book to be an apology of Trump. Bolton did not resign as a matter of principle but because he was losing the political free-for-all in the White House. Although Bolton has always been willing to be aggressive with policy-and I find myself agreeing more with Trump who has an aversion to
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"bodybags, I suspect that Bolton did not fit in at the White House because he was experienced, had context of the past, and generally understood the norms for behavior by an administration. Luckily Trump was less aggressive, although I wistfully hope that Trump is cautious for reasons of empathy rather than self interest. The other serious guy- the SOS comes off okay. I do not seek why Trump opposed the release of this book. Although Trump is seen at times as being childish, we already knew that. In my mind Trump actually comes off better than I thought, but a far cry from being rehabilitated in my view. Show Less
LibraryThing member Susan.Macura
I am not a John Bolton fan. I do not agree with many of his policy stands. I also did not agree with how he positioned himself during the Trump impeachment trial. His failure to testify and speak publicly about all he knew might have made a difference. However, I did find this book fascinating due
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to the facts that he had an inside view of the Trump administration and obviously kept amazing notes on all that went on regarding foreign affairs during his tenure. While much is what I already knew about Trump, he reinforced directly several things - Trump does not read, he has the attention span of a kindergarten student, he has no overall foreign policies but instead makes "gut" decisions that benefit himself personally and not our country, he is easily manipulated by others who flatter him (Putin, etc.) and he has committed acts that if he was not president would likely be prosecuted. Bolton knows his stuff so definitely worth reading! Show Less
LibraryThing member TheCrow2
John Bolton is writing about the 1.5 years he spent in the White House as Trump`s National Security Adviser. The most interesting thing that he is a conservative republican who agreed with lots of Trump`s policies (leaving the Paris Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Agreement, etc). Mostly focusing to
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the foreign politics, North-Korea, Iran, Ukraine, etc, he tells (maybe sometimes going too much into little details) how the White House works under Trump. His most common descriptive word is for that is `chaotic`. Show Less
LibraryThing member lbswiener
The Room Where it Happened should have a warning on it. It is basically a book justifying why the author,, John Bolton, did not testify before Congress. Additionally, it goes into John Bolton's work experience. The book is extremely difficult to read about the Trump administration and had to be
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read in bits and pieces. Just be careful and have a very strong personal sense of right and wrong before you read the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
I've read several books lately about US government and key players lately. I find them interesting. This one took me close to FOREVER to read. I just couldn't get interested. I borrowed a library ebook, and had to return it before I finished. The audio was available to check out before I could get
The problem is Bolton can't leave out anything. This makes for an overly detailed and boring book. I don't like this politics, but I don't doubt that he is smarter than many who are or have been in the top layers of government right now. It's pretty obvious he has nothing but disdain for Democrats. He was snarky about both Democrats in general and Obama specifically. I like an occasional bit of snark when it is funny, but it's also pretty obvious that Bolton doesn't have a sense of humor. Also, I wanted to find more about the current president's actions and reactions, and while there was that, it was really more about Bolton than it was about Bolton working with the president.
While this is okay to read or listen to if you want his perspective, it's an excellent book to read if you have insomnia.
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the ebook again, so I finished it by listening to the audio. The audio is better.The problem is Bolton can't leave out anything. This makes for an overly detailed and boring book. I don't like this politics, but I don't doubt that he is smarter than many who are or have been in the top layers of government right now. It's pretty obvious he has nothing but disdain for Democrats. He was snarky about both Democrats in general and Obama specifically. I like an occasional bit of snark when it is funny, but it's also pretty obvious that Bolton doesn't have a sense of humor. Also, I wanted to find more about the current president's actions and reactions, and while there was that, it was really more about Bolton than it was about Bolton working with the president.
While this is okay to read or listen to if you want his perspective, it's an excellent book to read if you have insomnia.
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LibraryThing member antao
Trump's support base - like those in Bethel - are violent old men and women who can't cope with change. They grew old knowing that they could be boss without any effort other than getting fat and owning guns. They've taught their kids the same racist tropes that have given them a sense of
Small people in every respect. Republican leaders are complicit in supporting this idiot, but they are doing it for their own personal gain. How normal Americans can support this moron is what puzzles me (Nah. It does not puzzles me. I’m only trying to be polite. Innit?)
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superiority. Now it's all falling to pieces and they think they can do something about it. The USA is on the brink thanks to the Sons and Daughters of Trump - and we may have to fight our own battle against our own far-right idiots. Fascism just kinda creeps up on yer, doesn’t it? Johnny-come-lately reveals in his book, for which he received millions, how awful it was to work for his lying, self-serving, uninformed and ill-tempered boss, but when it really mattered refused to testify under oath before the House Committee on Impeachment. He hid behind his boss's order not to do so and then waited for an invitation that never came from the Senate during Trump's trial. How utterly suspect is this man who cheered the Bush/Cheney disastrous invasion of Iraq, trashed the United Nations even after he became its ambassador and urged Trump who he secretly distrusted to invade Iran. "Everyone knew" (Trump's favourite phrase) that Donald J. Trump was unfit for the office the Electoral College gave him, yet Bolton followed the lead of Tillerson the former Secretary of State, Mattis the former Secretary of Defense, Kelly his former Chief of Staff, Sessions the former Attorney General and numerous others, into the halls of power and ended up resigning or getting fired with their tails between their legs. Pompeo may be next. Adjacent to Trump's video tape filled presidential library (he hates books) will be a store filled with actual books written by former aides and appointees describing their horrible tenure with the most corrupt and dishonest person ever to hold the high office of President of the United States. But it's not jut Bolton. It's every one of Trump's cabinet who have been sacked along the way. They all sold their soul to Trump, and when it inevitably went sour, started dishing out the dirt on him while at the same time pretending they were powerless to do anything about it. The truth is they were happy to ride the tiger while it lasted.Small people in every respect. Republican leaders are complicit in supporting this idiot, but they are doing it for their own personal gain. How normal Americans can support this moron is what puzzles me (Nah. It does not puzzles me. I’m only trying to be polite. Innit?)
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LibraryThing member m.belljackson
The Room is an epic horror show, oddly and well-written by a former trump Republican supporter.
Even more strange is that it does not appear to have deterred any of trump's other delusional members.
The book reads smoothly with impending disaster - like a novel with many long and boring interludes.
It
to bomb North Korea,
to end Obamacare,
to test even more murderous nuclear weapons....
Even more strange is that it does not appear to have deterred any of trump's other delusional members.
The book reads smoothly with impending disaster - like a novel with many long and boring interludes.
It
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is too bad that the author does not also renounce his own disastrous choices: to bomb North Korea,
to end Obamacare,
to test even more murderous nuclear weapons....
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LibraryThing member writemoves
Given all the publicity prior to the release of the book, I was curious about Bolton's story. Since there has been no real pushback from Trump or his administration, I assume that most of what is in the book is true. It's a very damning portrait of an incompetent president, mediocre cabinet
I don't like John Bolton. I think he did a disservice to the country by revealing what he knew and thought of Trump in a book that he will profit from instead of testifying in Congress.
I have read a number of books about the Trump presidency and about Trump himself. I don't know if I have read anything that would give me any confidence that this man could handle a real crisis. I look at his response to coronavirus and realize his only concern is for himself and not for America.
It's a long book. Many parts of it are tedious recounts of discussions in meetings regarding North Korea, China, Syria, Venezuela and other hotspots.
I think you get the general gist of the book by watching Bolton on the news shows so unless you are a real political junkie, you may want to pass on this book.
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officials and a lapdog administration. It's a very scary book because no one exhibits any confidence in this president's competency or credibility. General Kelly, Trump's ex chief of staff, shortly before he resigned, questioned how well Trump would perform or respond if there was another 9/11 situation.I don't like John Bolton. I think he did a disservice to the country by revealing what he knew and thought of Trump in a book that he will profit from instead of testifying in Congress.
I have read a number of books about the Trump presidency and about Trump himself. I don't know if I have read anything that would give me any confidence that this man could handle a real crisis. I look at his response to coronavirus and realize his only concern is for himself and not for America.
It's a long book. Many parts of it are tedious recounts of discussions in meetings regarding North Korea, China, Syria, Venezuela and other hotspots.
I think you get the general gist of the book by watching Bolton on the news shows so unless you are a real political junkie, you may want to pass on this book.
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LibraryThing member David-Block
A good insight into the operations within the USA government and particularly the Trump administration. A comparison of the sophisticated and insightful minds working within government and the purile minds of some politicians, especially Donald Trump.
Original language
English
Original publication date
2020-06
Physical description
9 inches
ISBN
1982148039 / 9781982148034
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