Fascinating and horrifying

Audio book version of this is recommended, as apparently the text version does contain grammar and even spelling errors that may be annoying. I picked this up on Audible and it's a fascinating and horrifying portrait of just how far the White House and the GOP have descended into chaos and incompetence in the service of self-interest. While it's generally agreed that Wolff has exaggerated and embellished a few points, there is SO MUCH detail here (and much of it he does have on tape) that the overall picture it paints still seems clear and believable.

Watching the Trump administration from the outside, it's been hard at times to determine if there's some bigger strategy at work, some conspiracy to subvert what remains of democracy into a full oligarchy, some deliberate attempt to undermine the institutions of the USA. What this book does very well is illustrate that there really is no plan, no conspiracy, so scheme; it's absolutely sheer incompetence and ignorance fueled by self-interest and greed. And I'm not sure which is more terrifying. Trump doesn't have any sinister agenda; he has no agenda at all, and nobody on the White House staff has any control over what he says or decides, and nobody remotely qualified will even accept a job in the White House at this point because it's such a horror show. The book describes a White House so disorganized that there is no interest in filling any position that isn't media-facing; visitors arrive, are screened by military security, and then are left to wander the halls because there's no staff to greet and escort them to meetings. Wolff himself managed to just invite himself in and make himself at home for months on end with nobody to question him. Internal factions fight and undermine each other and the goal of everybody with any agenda is to get the president to think the idea was his own so it might get done, while Trump himself has no interest at all in doing anything but getting nice coverage from the media.

I'm really not sure if I was more scared when it seemed as if the Trump presidency was a sinister conspiracy to undermine democracy in the US, or after reading this book when it is clearly utter chaos and incompetence at every possible level with no clear goals at all. But either way it was a very interesting listen and has cast a new perspective on the daily news.

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1 personne a trouvé cela utile

You think you know, but you don't know

There were so many "You have got to be kidding!" moments in this book. I watch the news, read the internet/social media, check in on Twitter.... but, none of that compares to this!

It'sa must read!

The reading was perfect too, easy to listen to and absorb.

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hard to stop listening!

Compelling to hear behind the scenes of what was reported. Bannon seems to be the source for 90%. I believe most of this book. It is confirmed what an attention hungry little weak man Trump is. Basically every bad decision had "Jarvanka" behind it! Highly recommend this one!

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8 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

wow

The news about this book is an understatement. Unbelievable! The Trump Presidency is even worse and more chaotic than I ever imagined.

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Entertaining but should be taken as fiction

I enjoyed the book a lot, but sadly it isn't far from what we've already heard. Trump seems to be a simpleton as much as a bully, and that simpleness is what makes him easy to manipulate. I thought the story and the book were very well written, and it was in some respects a sympathetic portrait of Trump and others around him as flawed human beings - which we all are. Unfortunately, he is profoundly unfit for the office.

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Trump Excoriated By Bannon

We get the sad diabolical backstory and a behind the scenes portrait of the administration's last year in hell. Bannon actually appears as the most conscionable handler of Trump's ADHD, as we watch the populist movement Trump figureheaded spiral into Trump's narcissistic abyss.

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5 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Fascinating and horrifying.

It's an all access pass to the biggest horror show in recent American history. Trump and his family are worse than you imagined. Yeah.

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Fantastic Read/Listen

If you are at all interested in the absolute chaos in the White House, and the Administration, and you have an open mind - you should check this out. If you're an obsessed Trumper, would watch him shoot someone on 5th Avenue, clap and whoot loudly, and watch him get away with it?...you probably want to pass.

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Omg. Trump is a dummy

Paints an interesting picture of Trump. He truly is a moron. Somebody get him a kitten and put him in a home for the elderly.

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Confirmation.

It was a very long way to confirm things I feel like were already known. It would be very informative for anyone who does not pay attention to the news. I did enjoy the information about Banon, someone I had found it harder to know about.

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