Robert Woodward and Bob Woodward's "Rage: A Story of Passion and Fury"

swapnil: Old one. Dirty print.

India on Aug 01, 2023

KN: Interesting read. Anything written about trump will feel biased depending on whether you like him or hate him, but Woodward has credentials so was a credible read.

Australia on Feb 24, 2023

Client Kindle: Author Bob Woodward draws on detailed first-hand accounts among a myriad of participants in the administration and those closely connected to it. Some of the key figures, often from Republican or non-partisan backgrounds, went into service with a sense of duty to the country and a plan to do their jobs in its best interests, only to find themselves undermined by the chaos of the presidency. Trump comes off as a complex figure - in comparison to other pieces, particularly the op-eds - at once obsessed with his persona and optimistic projections, on occasion listening to wise counsel, as when he closed the country, but also ambivalent, denialist and stubborn. Even his friends, or allies, had a better idea of the country's needs and made a determined effort to push Trump in the right direction, at least those featured in the book, but Trump's attitude was unwavering. In the background, the chaotic effects of his presidency are unfolding - the separation of children from families at the border; Trump's trade war; the disruption of norms; the Coronavirus tragedy. In the end, Trump's obsessions consume him. No matter how many people die, how cities descend into chaos after the George...

Australia on Nov 02, 2020

Hande Z: This book by Woodward is very much in the author’s journalistic style, investigative but also offering the subject (Trump, in this case) opportunities to tell the story in his own words through interviews. Although about Trump, a large part of this book is about the people Trump appointed into the White House and how (and why) they left subsequently. We have vignettes of people like the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and Secretary of Defence John Mattis. We may find Jared Kushner fascinating from Woodward’s interview account.

We get an inside look into the personality of the son-in-law turned White House keeper and also his understanding and perception of his father-in-law. Most current of all, is Woodward’s investigation into the Coronavirus pandemic. His account covers not only how the virus pandemic spread in the US but also in China. Woodward discusses the attempts by the American doctors form the Communicative Disease Centre to obtain information from the initially coy Chinese health officials.

Finally, Woodward was able to speak to Trump first-hand about the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter...

United Kingdom on Oct 12, 2020

Thomas P.: So I approached purchasing this book with some hesitation due to my mixed feelings over Woodward's previous Trump book, Fear.

I found Fear to be something of a disjointed read as it kind of bounced all around the timeline, and hence it felt more like I was just reading tidied-up reporters notes rather than something a bit more cohesive. But the strength of Woodward's reporting in that book, coupled with some of the snippets from his Trump interviews, finally overcame my reluctance and occasioned me to pick up Rage.

It turns out that was a good decision. The sense of temporal shift has diminished substantially, and instead, the reader gets a better sense of the progression of events through time. The book overall had a much more structured feeling to it, and I wound up not feeling as adrift as I did with Fear.

Though not explicitly broken down this way, the book can be thought of as being in two parts. The first charts a largely chronological course through the Trump administration from the perspective of various admin members who generally aren't with the administration any longer. It explores details that weren't covered in Fear and dovetails with the events...

United Kingdom on Sep 29, 2020

G. C. Carter: The book entitled “Rage” by Bob Woodward was a strikingly balanced review of Trump’s presidency. It insightfully shows many of Trumps strengths and delves into the good or some might say the great things accomplished without shying away from his failures and shortcomings. In the beginning, Woodward, the author sets the tone by stating: that his assistants “Evelyn M. Duffy … insisted that everyone in this book get the fairest treatment possible, including President Trump.” And that “Steve Reilly … insists on verification for everything; no fact or nuance goes unchecked.”
The book is well documented and very scholarly as well as quite readable. This book will have appeal to Trump supporters because it showcases some of his political savvy but because it highlights some of his ugly actions, those politicians and voters who oppose Trump’s actions and behaviors as well as journalists would do well to read and study this book. Much of the book contains material that has made the news and is well known and understood but portions offer excellent examples of how his distortions win the day for him. His son-in-law gives great insight about how he operates … for...

United States on Sep 23, 2020

Bookwyrm: The more I think about it, the more this book gets to me. The conversations Woodward has recorded absolutely blow my mind. While this book is not as engaging as Disloyal by Cohen was, writing-wise, it more than makes up for it in the sheer amount of data and detailed observations from those around the president. This isn’t Watergate type investigating, but it’s thorough and instructive. You can tell it’s written by a seasoned journalist.

I’m a life-long Republican who read Rage because I’m looking for more data on Trump. I am spending so much time internally debating if I can in good conscience vote for Trump simply to stay loyal to the Republican party. I make up my mind to vote for someone else, swing back and tell myself I’d be supporting the party – not Trump – if I vote for him, and the pendulum starts its swing back again. There are things that I really like about the Republican party and things that I don’t like. A major sticking-point at the moment is that they nominated Trump for reelection. I still cannot wrap my mind around that.

Anyway, I’d recently read Disloyal by Michael Cohen, which reinforced my belief, developed over the last 8...

United States on Sep 15, 2020