As the great philosopher Steven Tyler once said, “it’s the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend”. If you were looking for dirt, big revelations, or new scandals then this isn’t the book for you. The book was very well written in a typical Woodward fashion, and quite the page turner. But it isn’t the “tell all” book some of the media is making it out to be. It just goes deeper and into more conversational detail on things you already know.

The book does discuss President Trump’s faults such as lack of a transition team in the beginning, not putting proper people in proper positions, split second decision making, crazy tweets and outrageous and sometimes offensive statements, and can get caught in lies. But, all of those things except the transition team he demonstrated all throughout his campaign (which the early chapters of the book shows and points how he out maneuvered and out campaigned Hillary).

So that being said, honestly your interpretation of the book will depend on your view of Trump as a president. That may sound like a simple statement, but it’s not. That’s why many media reports of the book have been “book shows how incompetent he is to lead”. But the book brings up no surprises. If Trump’s public actions and presidential philosophy don’t bother you, then any new details in the book likely won’t either.

While Woodward uses what’s called deep background sources (which pretty much means he doesn’t name a source), you can clearly tell who the sources for the book were. Those would be Rob Porter (former White House staff secretary), Gary Cohn (former National Economic Council Director), Steve Bannon (former White House Chief Strategist), and Reince Priebus (former White House Chief of Staff). The book is primarily an opinion of President Trump’s first 13 months in office through those 4 gentlemen’s eyes, a few others.

You’ll notice the word former in all their titles. So again, not surprising they all have negative views of the president. Woodward also has a tendency in his books to write favorably about people who would be a source for him, and more negatively towards those who declined interviews. This book is no different in those regards.

The book praises president Trump on a few things. It gives him credit for being correct on his assessment of how pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement would go, and how he handled the Iran Nuclear Deal, with most of the world now following his lead. As well as campaigning on the fact the would try to change long standing policies, and he hasn’t shied away from doing so. The book mostly discusses North Korea, Afghanistan, and tariffs as far as policy issues go.

If you are picking up the book to find out hints of results regarding the Mueller Russia investigation and Russian collusion, you will be surely disappointed. No hints are given, and the man who broke the biggest presidential scandal in history almost suggests in the book that there is no scandal. He doesn’t use sources to disprove statements the President has made against the investigation and collusion, and Woodward even calls the Steele Dossier a “garbage document”.

Again, the book I thought was very well written. Woodward has reported on 8 different presidents. His thoughts, investigations, and writings are very well respected, myself included.  It was interesting to read about history in a sense as it is currently unfolding. Everything is fresh on your mind and easy to recall, with much of it still ongoing. I think that is why it was such a page turner. I can’t comment on accuracy of statements, as obviously I wasn’t in the room for the conversations. So my review in no way states the book is 100% true. Just that Woodward is known for accuracy, he wouldn’t have twelve #1 bestselling books if he was a sham. Finally, I would highly recommend you read the book. It’ll be the fasting selling and most sold book in years, I suggest you join the club.