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Rage

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About this listen

 Bob Woodward's second global bestseller on the Trump presidency, based on in-depth research and interviews with the president.

Woodward, the No 1 international bestselling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, has uncovered the precise moment the president was warned that the Covid-19 epidemic would be the biggest national security threat to his presidency. In dramatic detail, Woodward takes readers into the Oval Office as Trump’s head pops up when he is told in January 2020 that the pandemic could reach the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 675,000 Americans.

In 17 on-the-record interviews with Woodward over seven volatile months - an utterly vivid window into Trump’s mind - the president provides a self-portrait that is part denial and part combative interchange mixed with surprising moments of doubt as he glimpses the perils in the presidency and what he calls the 'dynamite behind every door'. At key decision points, Rage shows how Trump’s responses to the crises of 2020 were rooted in the instincts, habits and style he developed during his first three years as president.

Revisiting the earliest days of the Trump presidency, Rage reveals how Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats struggled to keep the country safe as the president dismantled any semblance of collegial national security decision making. Rage draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with first-hand witnesses as well as participants’ notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents.

Woodward obtained 25 never-seen personal letters exchanged between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a 'fantasy film'. Trump insists to Woodward he will triumph over Covid-19 and the economic calamity. 'Don’t worry about it, Bob. Okay?' Trump told the author in July. 'Don’t worry about it. We’ll get to do another book. You’ll find I was right.'
©2020 Bob Woodward (P)2020 Simon & Schuster UK Political Science Politics & Activism Politics & Government Presidents & Heads of State United States World Thought-Provoking Scary Inspiring Rage National Security Russia

Critic reviews

'Washington's most eminent journalist dissects his first term and...concludes he is simply "the wrong man for the job". In a devastating critique..he lambasts him for revelling in "perpetual rage". A riveting read.' (Tony Rennell)
All stars
Most relevant
Slow start but soon picked up. Fair, balanced and honest reporting. If you enjoyed Fear then this should be just the ticket.

Scary insight into the mind of number 45

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wow, I cannot believe the detail contained within this book. The dastardly deeds that were undertaken by Trump, if true, should lead to jail time. Fantastic review of that time in history.

Great, insightful book.

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So easy to listen to and follow along. no bias one way or the other from the author that I could hear. I am definitely getting the previous book " Fear".

Changed my opinion of Trump completely !

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book - unsettling as it was. There are so many stories about how Trump behaves that it is really difficult to tell fact from fiction. However it is more terrifying to actually hear what the president truly believes and thinks, sadly he lives up to his reputation. Very well written by Bob Woodward with great narration. The fact these interviews were all conducted over the last few months (during COVID 19) and prior to 2020 Election will be poured over for years to come - how did the most powerful country on the planet end up with such a leader? Every country has politicians who "could do better". Thankfully as democracies we have things called elections...

Petulant Child

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Woodward sets up all the key characters in the administration to allow the reader to go with him as he picks apart the President’s complete inability to understand the weight of the coronavirus crisis. His analysis of Kushner is also fascinating.

Excellent navigation of a rudderless Presidency

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