The Room Where It Happened

A White House Memoir

By: John Bolton

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, John Bolton - epilogue

John Bolton reads the epilogue!

As President Trump’s national security advisor, John Bolton spent many of his 453 days in the room where it happened, and the facts speak for themselves. The result is a White House memoir that is the most comprehensive and substantial account of the Trump Administration and one of the few to date by a top-level official. With almost daily access to the president, John Bolton has produced a precise rendering of his days in and around the Oval Office. What Bolton saw astonished him: a president for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation.

“I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations,” he writes. In fact, he argues that the House committed impeachment malpractice by keeping their prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine when Trump’s Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policy - and Bolton documents exactly what those were and the attempts by him and others in the administration to raise alarms about them. He shows a president addicted to chaos, who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends, and was deeply suspicious of his own government. In Bolton’s telling, all this helped put Trump on the bizarre road to impeachment.

“The differences between this presidency and previous ones I had served were stunning,” writes Bolton, who worked for Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43. He discovered a president who thought foreign policy is like closing a real estate deal - about personal relationships, made-for-TV showmanship, and advancing his own interests. As a result, the US lost an opportunity to confront its deepening threats, and in cases like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea ended up in a more vulnerable place.

Bolton’s account starts with his long march to the West Wing as Trump and others woo him for the national security job. The minute he lands, he has to deal with Syria’s chemical attack on the city of Douma and the crises after that never stop. As he writes early on, “If you don’t like turmoil, uncertainty, and risk - all the while being constantly overwhelmed with information, decisions to be made, and sheer amount of work - and enlivened by international and domestic personality and ego conflicts beyond description, try something else.”

The turmoil, conflicts, and egos are all there - from the upheaval in Venezuela, to the erratic and manipulative moves of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, to the showdowns at the G7 summits, the calculated warmongering by Iran, the crazy plan to bring the Taliban to Camp David, and the placating of an authoritarian China that ultimately exposed the world to its lethal lies. But this seasoned public servant also has a great eye for the Washington inside game, and his story is full of wit and wry humor about how he saw it played.

©2020 John Bolton (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

A telling book!

John Bolton’s book is an insiders guide to the chaos that happens almost daily in Trump’s White House. Plus it shows Trump’s inadequacies of asking questions that at the time indicates how fragile Trump’s cognitive abilities really are.
Only negative is that the first couple of hours of the book are fairly dry until the book starts speaking of Bolton’s appointment to NSA. This book is perfect for anyone who has come to the belief that Trump is a habitual liar & incompetent as President of OUR country!

LOTS OF INFO

All political books by their nature are filled with material that is either loved or hated by most readers.
Any opinion I share would not do a first time reader any good. I will limit my review to structure performance and context.
This book is written mostly in diary form with chapters based on issues. The author does not shy away from any subject.'
It is up to the readers to determine what they think of the content. I will only say for those interested in international relations,
this is a detailed look at the worlds hot spots. The narration is good up to now. I have chosen to write this before I read the last part so any of my opinions don't taint this review. This book is well written and worth reading.

The NeoCons

Great insight but it’s as much about Obama’s failed policies, Shillary’s illegality and the NeiCon view of global policy as it is an indictment of Trump.

Books like this are essential reading.

I am seeing a lot of review bombing by hard core Trump supporters. If anything that alone should tell you there is something here worth your time regardless of your political views.

The chapters are not exactly easy to follow at first. They focus on events that the author deemed worth covering in detail. That being said they are organized in a mostly chronological order.

The book focuses on specific events that most of us have heard about during this administration. The book is a good description of what it was actually like to be there in the situation rooms, Oval Office, and various meeting behind closed doors.

Narration is good.

It’s worth your time.

Book of The Year

Bolton writes a literate, insightful and informative account of being a part of the Trump administration . As a Trump fan (as the better choice of those available , not the perfect choice) I was disappointed to hear of the many serious issues of leadership. Sadly they were consistent with the comments of others whom I respect including Mad Dog.

Beyond the disappointments with the performance of characters, the book is a literate, very well written account of Bolton's experience at the higher levels of the US government. Incredibly insightful views of America's role in the world.

I have been a Bolton fan for more than a decade. His intellect, insight into history and dedication to the nation deserve respect across the full political spectrum.

Hopefully he will again return to serve a nation that needs him

I am a liberal but ...

Beyond the criticism of the trump presidency and the handling of various situations, Bolton does a far better job in print than on TV to look like a reasonable hawk. This book was a very interesting insight into the current presidency but as well a compelling snapshot of geopolitical tensions and where and why they stand.

I surprisingly enjoyed it.

Bolton is an evil person

While the news headlines focus on his criticisms of Trump, this book reveals how evil Bolton his himself. He represents the worst of the US: He aggressively thinks that he is right and everyone else who doesn't agree with him is deeply wrong. Much of his criticisms of others (both in the US and abroad) are hypocritical with his own hyper partisan, belligerent, bullying, and narrow-minded approach. He is such a terrible person that I (who am anti-Trump) actually feel sympathetic towards Trump. Bolton is such a terrible person that he actually makes Trump look reasonable.

Well written book of history which if true is scary and sad for America

I don’t agree with much of Bolton’s views but it seems like a factual historical account of his time working in the Trump administration. Although I find his views extreme, I find Bolton a pretty “black and white” guy who is smart and who takes copious notes. This book is less opinion and more a run down of the facts.

Good story, too many details.

I thought the book was excellent in its content, but could/should have been edited down more.

A deep dive into US foreign relationships

Where are you like John Bolton or not his vivid descriptions of internal discussions regarding US foreign policy are interesting amazing and most of all scary when it comes to how Trump deals with any crisis. If you hate Trump you will love this book. If you love Trump you may have to rethink your positioning. That’s what a good book does.