Book Review: Fire and Fury (OT)

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolff (Henry Holt and Company, 2018, 339 pages, $30)

 

#1 New York Times Bestseller! Controversial!*

I did read James Comey’s book and was inspired so when I saw Fire and Fury at a yard sale for a buck, I grabbed it. We here at DogEvals finally gave in and decided to post a blurb about this book (we are always late!). A blurb is a short blog!

Note that this book covers the first nine months of the Trump Administration so, by now, it is history and we can put it all in perspective.

If, . . . .

Fire and Fury is a fun book! You will like it better if you are a news junkie and really pay attention to the news every day or if you are a PolySci major who has studied government. Either way most readers will be familiar with all the names, with who’s been good and who hasn’t (sounds like Santa Claus asking).

If you are just an ordinary person (like me) who tries to keep up but finds it all too complex, join the party! Author Michael Wolff is here to help.

I don’t know how a 339-page book can be called light reading but I found it easy to lay down and pick up again and not lose any part of the plot, perhaps because I know how it all turns out.

Again, note that this book covers only the first few months of the Trump administration and we are a couple of years past that. Nevertheless, it is a fun book, especially if you like gossip. However, it all seems so real and fascinating at the same time.

Organization

Wolff wrote 22 chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue, with chapters ranging chronologically from Election Day, Trump Tower and Day One through Jarvanka, At Home and Comey to Mika, Scaramucci and General Kelly. Alas, no Pence, no Stephen Miller, no Kellyanne. . . . but you can read the chapters in any order.

Did you know that Mr. Trump is on the phone to old friends in the evening, asking how things appear to them? Do you know why son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon are seldom in the same room?

And my final question is, just who is author Michael Wolff anyway and how did he learn all this ‘stuff’ and when is his next book coming out? And, Michael, not to worry – I don’t think Mr. Trump will ever read a book of yours (or anyone’s?).

*Other descriptors (not mine: others beat me to it): brilliant, stormy, outrageous, mesmerizing, volatile, riveting, explosive