Rage, by Bob Woodward

 

To a certain extent, this book is similar to Woodward's last book, Fear, in that it simply reinforces everything you know about Trump from watching the news. I found Rage to be a little haphazard. However, one of the things I appreciated about Rage is that it delves more deeply into some of Trump's closest advisors, at least early in the book. The book begins with profiles on several of Trump's cabinet members: Dan Coats, Rex Tillerson, and James Mattis. Woodward explores their careers and why each chose to enter the Trump administration, and how they came to work closely with each other, before each were eventually fired. Interspersed with these accounts are chapters devoted to Trump's relationship with Kim Jong Un. Finally, the book almost completely pivots to how Trump has dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic. While each of these topics is interesting, the book is less of an account of the four year term than a collection of anecdotes. 

Woodward was able to interview Trump 17 times on the record for this book, so it includes a lot of direct quotes that came from Woodward's recordings. Often Trump would call Woodward, seemingly making him one of a number of people that Trump calls when he wants to chat. It's clear the Woodward was able to interview Lindsay Graham and Jared Kushner as well, adding some other perspectives on their strategies for working with Trump. Woodward's conclusion is that Trump is not the right man for the job (which I could have told him!).