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dansquire's review against another edition
1.0
This book was an absolute snooze-fest. It's like reading meeting minutes, not a memoir of an intelligent, interesting person. For all the media hype, I cannot discourage you from reading this book enough. It's recounted without any real wit or engagement, just 600 pages of he-said-she-said.
I had seen some of the snippets of scandalous revelations which were posted about what was included in the book beforehand. But instead of titling those articles "5 most startling things in the John Bolton book", they should have titled them "the ONLY interesting things in the book". So Trump is whiny and indecisive behind closed doors. Big whoop - we all already knew that. You might as well just read the news coverage, and you'll get all the key info without having to spend days/weeks ploughing through this monotonous drivel.
This book is a total cash-in by Bolton, written to absolve himself in the historical record. While it does offer a first-hand source for future historians, it doesn't offer anything interesting for contemporary, casual readers. I'm glad I borrowed the book rather than putting money into his pocket by buying it outright.
I had seen some of the snippets of scandalous revelations which were posted about what was included in the book beforehand. But instead of titling those articles "5 most startling things in the John Bolton book", they should have titled them "the ONLY interesting things in the book". So Trump is whiny and indecisive behind closed doors. Big whoop - we all already knew that. You might as well just read the news coverage, and you'll get all the key info without having to spend days/weeks ploughing through this monotonous drivel.
This book is a total cash-in by Bolton, written to absolve himself in the historical record. While it does offer a first-hand source for future historians, it doesn't offer anything interesting for contemporary, casual readers. I'm glad I borrowed the book rather than putting money into his pocket by buying it outright.
aueltschy's review against another edition
2.0
Do not waste your money (or e-credits), time, or effort on this book. Allow me to give you the TL;DR version.
1) Trump is a giant man-child motivated by momentary whimsy and personal gain.
2) Bolton thinks Bolton is funny.
3) Every ally who encounters Bolton thinks he's the best thing since Betty White. Every enemy who encounters Bolton thinks he's the devil incarnate. So important!
4) Bolton regularly uses "democrat" as a slur, takes time out to say his numbers are wrong but he doesn't want to interrupt the narrative (interrupting his narrative), and goes out of his way to insult liberal readers for no real reason other than personal contempt.
5) He's so smart that he will use Scrabble-only terms one time in the book, and then never again, to show his breadth of knowledge. They are few and far between, seeming intentional to elevate the perception of his own mental prowess. It is not convincing.
Two stars for the inner look at the administration, otherwise it would have been one star as a self-aggrandizing political drive-by of Democrats as a party without anything substantial to hang that on- only a general dissatisfaction.
1) Trump is a giant man-child motivated by momentary whimsy and personal gain.
2) Bolton thinks Bolton is funny.
3) Every ally who encounters Bolton thinks he's the best thing since Betty White. Every enemy who encounters Bolton thinks he's the devil incarnate. So important!
4) Bolton regularly uses "democrat" as a slur, takes time out to say his numbers are wrong but he doesn't want to interrupt the narrative (interrupting his narrative), and goes out of his way to insult liberal readers for no real reason other than personal contempt.
5) He's so smart that he will use Scrabble-only terms one time in the book, and then never again, to show his breadth of knowledge. They are few and far between, seeming intentional to elevate the perception of his own mental prowess. It is not convincing.
Two stars for the inner look at the administration, otherwise it would have been one star as a self-aggrandizing political drive-by of Democrats as a party without anything substantial to hang that on- only a general dissatisfaction.
roobar's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't (couldn't) finish this turgid tome. I imagine that it may be of interest to historians of the Trump era. But for me, I couldn't get past Bolton's obvious self-interest and lack of personal responsibility. He is a shameful creature in the Trump morality play of the last 5 years.
brandyryann's review against another edition
4.0
John Bolton has caught a lot of flack for not testifying at the impeachment hearings in early 2020, however, if you read this book, he makes it very clear that he was prepared to testify if they had sent a subpoena. Some people may say that he should have testified without a subpoena, but getting the subpoena was self-protection much like that of other people who waited for a subpoena before testifying.
Bolton offers a very clear and professional take on his time in the White House - giving insight on who said what and their reasoning. Take the time and read this book to get a full understanding of a Trump White House, at least from the National Security point of view. I agree with him when he says that upper-level government officials have a responsibility to explain to the public why they did what they did and that is just what Bolton did. He even explained his resignation and how he felt during the impeaching hearings.
Highly recommend for those who would like to peer into what has been happening in Washington since Trump's inauguration from the perspective of an insider.
Bolton offers a very clear and professional take on his time in the White House - giving insight on who said what and their reasoning. Take the time and read this book to get a full understanding of a Trump White House, at least from the National Security point of view. I agree with him when he says that upper-level government officials have a responsibility to explain to the public why they did what they did and that is just what Bolton did. He even explained his resignation and how he felt during the impeaching hearings.
Highly recommend for those who would like to peer into what has been happening in Washington since Trump's inauguration from the perspective of an insider.
karljtaylor's review against another edition
2.0
I was relieved to have finally finished this one. I found that this book was 2-3x longer than it needed to be. Frustratingly, the bloat seemed to occur rather consistently on the sentence level. I finally switched to an audio recording at 2x and then found it possible to finish this one.
ashianajivraj's review against another edition
2.0
This book is an exceptionally in depth experience of John Bolton’s time in the White House. I think, while clearly elucidating the challenges of the previous presidential policies and concerns of national security in an often unclear political setting, it often was hard to follow. It is interesting to read (or hear in my case) the writings of someone who’s a staunch republican while criticizing the presidents actions in many ways, but man it was a rough ride to get through.
deirdrelistens2books's review against another edition
1.0
There’s definitely problematic and alarming information about our president asking for help from foreign leaders in here but this was too long it became a bit painful to get through. He should have just testified under oath when he had the chance.
clarbineds's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a slog for me. It was almost completely about foreign policy, which I should have realized. I did learn a lot. This book did show how difficult it is working with Trump and how his lack of backbone and decision-making skills impact the working of the White House. If you're looking for Trump dirt you probably want to read the niece's book.
I had 2 major difficulties reading this, but they may not be problems for other readers. One is that Bolton likes to put as much info as possible into a sentence which caused me to reread quite often. The other is that the book is set up in chapters about area of conflict, ie. China, Afghanistan, and I became confused about the timeline and overlapping dates of previous chapters. Does that make sense?
I had 2 major difficulties reading this, but they may not be problems for other readers. One is that Bolton likes to put as much info as possible into a sentence which caused me to reread quite often. The other is that the book is set up in chapters about area of conflict, ie. China, Afghanistan, and I became confused about the timeline and overlapping dates of previous chapters. Does that make sense?
randomlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
I highly recommend giving this [audio]book a chance if you found yourself amazed or appalled by our handling of foreign policy over the past four years. I fundamentally disagree with author John Bolton on many issues. However, the insights from someone on the inside of Pres. Trumps' administration were insightful. They rounded out my contextual understanding on many issues the US has experienced over the past 4 years. If anything, I now find our awkward "handling" on the DPRK, Syria, Iran, Ukraine and Russia even more disheartening.
bclark8781's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't finish this nor even get much more than 100 pages in. What a self-serving right-wing warmonger.