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Michael Wolff: Fire and Fury (Paperback, 2019, Picador) 3 stars

A 2018 book by Michael Wolff, detailing the behavior (and hatred) of U.S. President Donald …

Review of 'Fire and Fury' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Well. I read it because like many I was lured by the thrill of the inside information, the promise of scandal, the fascination with power and of course the fact that Pres.Trump appears to want the book banned.
I assume that he didn't read the book as there wasn't much in there that wasn't already either in the public domain (either as fact or rumour) or had been hinted at.

The main things I took away from this book is that Pres.Trump is proud of his education..or rather the lack of it. He deems 'smart' to be something you either are, or you are not. Education is irrelevant. In a President this is terrifying. Also he wants to be liked, hugely, bigly, and yet weirdly he seems to not understand that being clever and pleasant would make you lieable. Rather like a whining playground bully Trump just demands to be liked.

All of this is of course played out in the WhiteHouse, full of political intrigue and gossip. Did I enjoy the book? Yes, it's not always factual (not does it often claim to be) but it's a good read. It is very tabloid in style and jumps about in time a fair bit. Hilary Clinton receives scant mention, which I found odd given that Trump seems to tweet about her in every other tweet.

The book had surprisingly positive things to say about Ivanka (at times, although it was critical too) and even in places was...if not kind, at least not 100% negative about Trump.

I stand by my last update tbh - I've seen many Shakespeare plays retold in the present day. The story of Trump, his family, the background squabbles, the backstabbing, the social climbing, the lies, all of it... Feels like that. I want this book retold in Shakespearian English for the stage.

Would I recommend it? don't bother buying a copy. Wait to borrow a copy or get one from the library, it's juicy gossip, but that's really all.