📑Review: Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff

Synopsis:

"With extraordinary access to the West Wing, Michael Wolff reveals what happened behind-the-scenes in the first nine months of the most controversial presidency of our time in Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

Since Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, the country―and the world―has witnessed a stormy, outrageous, and absolutely mesmerizing presidential term that reflects the volatility and fierceness of the man elected Commander-in-Chief.

Never before in history has a presidency so divided the American people. Brilliantly reported and astoundingly fresh, Fire and Furyshows us how and why Donald Trump has become the king of discord and disunion."- from Goodreads

Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲/5

Review:

Through a series of interviews and personal “fly on the wall” observations Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House details the behavior of U.S. President Donald Trump and the staff of his 2016 presidential campaign and White House. Though occasionally seemingly sensational in content, Wolff portrays a dysfunctional Trump administration that seems to reflect the reality of the man sitting in the Oval Office.

In Arabic, there is a proverb that translate into “seeing someone else’s misfortune makes your own misfortunes seem less significant.” After having read Fire and Fury, I think I finally understand that truth behind the proverb. These days whenever I have a bad day at work instead of lamenting my fate, I thank God that I am not a staff member at the White House.

When you pick up this book, everything from the cover to the title combined with the constant barrage of news that have come from the United States makes you think that you know exactly what you are in for, but I honestly did not realize it was that bad behind the walls of the White House. All of us at some point in our careers will have encountered an unpleasant or terrible boss but to be serving a four year sentence under this man...talk about a tough time.

Fire and Fury gives readers the lowdown on the 2016 presidential elections and exposes Trump as a sly, ignorant, hollow man. Wolff offers an explanation of how the surreal presidency came to be, the people that might have colluded and benefited from this win, who voted for him (Trump), and, of course, the Russian hackers.

When Trump ran for president, nobody expected him to win. Wolff says that even he (Trump) did not expect to win. I really loved it when Wolff compares the entire campaign and subsequent victory to Mel Brooks’ “The Producers.” In the movie, two down and out producers put together the worst play possible, to find investors for a flop, to legally keep all the extra money, only to find to their surprise that it becomes a hit.

My favorite part is how the author explains how Trump has no interest in devising legislation or conducting foreign policy; instead, Trump apparently spends his time watching himself on television. If I had a chance to rename Fire and Fury, it would be the Real Housewives of Capitol Hill, at least that is what I feel it has been since President Donald Trump stepped into office.

Just like reality TV, Trump and the uncertainty of what repercussions his next tweet or legislation will have, has become our guilty pleasure, only instead of Hollywood or Jersey Shore the setting is the White House, and instead of contained drama affecting only the actors, we have worldwide drama affecting millions of human beings. The sheer suspense of what he will do, or whom he will offend next is killing me, and I wonder what it says about us all that we face each day of Trump tweets and statements with just as much excitement as fear.

I give it 4 stars simply because the idealist in me thinks that I shouldn’t be rewarding or encouraging Trump’s behavior. In a way, I feel like if I give it a 5/5 I would almost be condoning this erratic and un-president-like behavior.

Note: You should check out this movie called Idiocracy (2006)