Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos
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- Author：Peter Bergen
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Summary
From a preeminent national security journalist， an explosive account of Donald Trump's collision with the American national security establishment， and with the world
It is a simple fact that no president in American history brought less foreign policy experience to the White House than Donald J。 Trump。 The real estate developer from Queens promised to bring his brash， zero-sum swagger to bear to cut through America's most complex national security issues， and he did。 If the cost of his "America First" agenda was bulldozing the edifice of foreign alliances that had been carefully tended by every president from Truman to Obama， then so be it。
Very quickly， it became clear to a number of people at the highest levels of government that their gravest mission was to protect America from Donald Trump。 Trump and His Generals is Peter Bergen's riveting account of what happened when the unstoppable force of President Trump met the immovable object of America's national security establishment--the CIA， the State Department， and， above all， the Pentagon。 If there is a real "deep state" in DC， it is not the FBI so much as the national security community， with its deep-rooted culture and hierarchy。 The men Trump selected for his key national security positions， Jim Mattis， John Kelly， and H。 R。 McMaster， were products of that culture: Trump wanted generals， and he got them。 Three years later， they would be gone， and the guardrails were off。
It is a simple fact that no president in American history brought less foreign policy experience to the White House than Donald J。 Trump。 The real estate developer from Queens promised to bring his brash， zero-sum swagger to bear to cut through America's most complex national security issues， and he did。 If the cost of his "America First" agenda was bulldozing the edifice of foreign alliances that had been carefully tended by every president from Truman to Obama， then so be it。
Very quickly， it became clear to a number of people at the highest levels of government that their gravest mission was to protect America from Donald Trump。 Trump and His Generals is Peter Bergen's riveting account of what happened when the unstoppable force of President Trump met the immovable object of America's national security establishment--the CIA， the State Department， and， above all， the Pentagon。 If there is a real "deep state" in DC， it is not the FBI so much as the national security community， with its deep-rooted culture and hierarchy。 The men Trump selected for his key national security positions， Jim Mattis， John Kelly， and H。 R。 McMaster， were products of that culture: Trump wanted generals， and he got them。 Three years later， they would be gone， and the guardrails were off。
Reviews
Latoya
，
One of my favorite narrator's read this book。What do we know about the "Generals"？ Why do they hold such power that they are not questioned and have their feet held to the fire？ I was more concerned about the Generals than Trump honestly。The Presidents act on info his Cabinet， advisors and Congress gives him。 But it's the President that takes the hit when it fails。 What General gave The President a list of options of attacking Iran by assinatating an Iranian General？ Which General was responsibl One of my favorite narrator's read this book。What do we know about the "Generals"？ Why do they hold such power that they are not questioned and have their feet held to the fire？ I was more concerned about the Generals than Trump honestly。The Presidents act on info his Cabinet， advisors and Congress gives him。 But it's the President that takes the hit when it fails。 What General gave The President a list of options of attacking Iran by assinatating an Iranian General？ Which General was responsible when soilders we're joy killing in Iraq？ What General was responsible for murders done in Afghanistan？ Why did the Generals not protect their Marines and Soilders from assassin's that infiltrated the US police training courses？ Why is the media protecting these Generals？ 。。。more
John Paterakis
，
A focused analysis of Trump’s performance specifically as it pertained to national security matters。 Not a lot of new info， but the structure and context are enlightening。
Ulysses
，
I had sworn never to read another book about the Trump administration written without the benefit of post-2020 election hindsight-- there's only so much that one can read about what was known at that time before everything starts to sound like a repeat of the same old stories。 But when I came across this one in a Little Free Library， I decided to give it a shot， since I hadn't read anything specifically about Trump's relationship with the military and the ex-military members of his cabinet。 Howe I had sworn never to read another book about the Trump administration written without the benefit of post-2020 election hindsight-- there's only so much that one can read about what was known at that time before everything starts to sound like a repeat of the same old stories。 But when I came across this one in a Little Free Library， I decided to give it a shot， since I hadn't read anything specifically about Trump's relationship with the military and the ex-military members of his cabinet。 However， reading this just proved the point: it was basically the same old stories， just through olive-tinted lenses。 A perfectly fine book， I suppose， but its essence can be distilled to "Sometimes Trump's America First isolationist policy made him ignore hawkish recommendations from his military advisors， yet sometimes Trump's childishly simplistic view of international relations led him to issue orders that would probably have started an inadvertent war， had his military advisors not chosen to simply ignore those orders。" And any nonfiction book that can be summarized neatly in one sentence is a book that the reader probably didn't need to read。 。。。more
Barbara
，
Something of a disappointment， perhaps because I read it in December 2020 after I'd read several other quality books about Trump and his disastrous administration。 The author is fair in his analysis， noting things the administration did right - or at least didn't screw up。 He is also bitterly critical when the administration does something crazy。 He doesn't really concentrate on "Trump's generals" as I expected， but he does provide detailed backgrounds on some generals who worked in the "axis of Something of a disappointment， perhaps because I read it in December 2020 after I'd read several other quality books about Trump and his disastrous administration。 The author is fair in his analysis， noting things the administration did right - or at least didn't screw up。 He is also bitterly critical when the administration does something crazy。 He doesn't really concentrate on "Trump's generals" as I expected， but he does provide detailed backgrounds on some generals who worked in the "axis of adults，" so the reader might expect their would be clashes and "chaos。" 。。。more
jeffrey
，
Although this book in general is very well written， and engagingly so， it is hard to take in too much of the material at once。 It is truly depressing， and I was happy to finish it and return it to the library。 I did find that the author seemed to veer between a kind of admiration for Trump and condemnation。
Tom Schulte
，
Trump picking military bearing generals "out of central casting" and then disagreeing and disowning them while acting impulsively and chaotically。 Sure， lots here revelatory and discrediting on Trump's behavior， but I felt my mind thinking to John F。 Kennedy and the power of television for that president seen from debate to assassination on TV。 What do we have now， a man who has seen too much TV -- one more about the power and divisiveness of post-TV social media？ Some dysfunctional societies ha Trump picking military bearing generals "out of central casting" and then disagreeing and disowning them while acting impulsively and chaotically。 Sure， lots here revelatory and discrediting on Trump's behavior， but I felt my mind thinking to John F。 Kennedy and the power of television for that president seen from debate to assassination on TV。 What do we have now， a man who has seen too much TV -- one more about the power and divisiveness of post-TV social media？ Some dysfunctional societies have state-run TV。 Do we have a TV-run state？I think some future historian（s） will suss this out。 。。。more
Joe
，
A good book - not a great one。 More reporting than journalism， ie very little context and even less analysis。 Also if you’ve kept up with the “news” - nothing new here。 On the other hand a refresher on the timeline and cast of characters is never a bad thing。
Charles
，
Another book of actual （not alternate） facts to add to the collection， so that looking back （sooner rather than later， I hope） on the 4 years of the Trump-Vichy regime， I will have another reference to detail the utter chaos and contempt for process and dignity and， oh yeh， the Constitution that this idiot has had， notably in the area of foreign affairs。 This book deals with how and why Trump brought in a team of generals （plus the former Exxon CEO Tillerson） as major cabinet members， and then h Another book of actual （not alternate） facts to add to the collection， so that looking back （sooner rather than later， I hope） on the 4 years of the Trump-Vichy regime， I will have another reference to detail the utter chaos and contempt for process and dignity and， oh yeh， the Constitution that this idiot has had， notably in the area of foreign affairs。 This book deals with how and why Trump brought in a team of generals （plus the former Exxon CEO Tillerson） as major cabinet members， and then how and why this so-called "axis of adults" were let go， usually unceremoniously， to let the Trump "be Trump，" God help us。 If there is any justice in this world （not holding out much hope on that）， these collaborators will be treated with the same measures as those collaborators in the earlier Vichy regime in France。 As for the fearless leader， well， history can record how he will be treated。 This is a very good， very well written， and very well researched addition to the collection that damns this useless excuse of a leader。 。。。more
Aik Lim
，
A good read although will all the books on Trump from so many sources it can be difficult to track accurately the truth behind key episodes in the Trump Presidency --especially accounts relating to the Middle East。 Nevertheless， here the treatment of Mathis is not as harsh as those in John Bolton's book。 All though are consistently clear on Trump -- he rules on his own whims and fancies without guiding principles and goals larger than his own personal gains。 A good read although will all the books on Trump from so many sources it can be difficult to track accurately the truth behind key episodes in the Trump Presidency --especially accounts relating to the Middle East。 Nevertheless， here the treatment of Mathis is not as harsh as those in John Bolton's book。 All though are consistently clear on Trump -- he rules on his own whims and fancies without guiding principles and goals larger than his own personal gains。 。。。more
Heba
，
It is good writing， engages the reader by sharing the small moments of ultimately big decisions。 It can be a little bit uninformative if you are a frequent follower of US politics because it is is then just a compilation of all the events you already heard about but it is still written well and if you do not closely follow the details of US politics then it is very insightful as well。
John Turner
，
Preeminent American national security analyst Peter Bergen delivers a gripping， objective， and fascinating account of the first several years of the Trump Administration。 Bergen brings you inside the Trump National Security Cabinet’s deliberations on foreign policy， strategy development， troop deployments， enduring and emerging security threats， and managing relationships with key allies， partners， and competitors。 How does President Trump approach national security？ “In his first months in offi Preeminent American national security analyst Peter Bergen delivers a gripping， objective， and fascinating account of the first several years of the Trump Administration。 Bergen brings you inside the Trump National Security Cabinet’s deliberations on foreign policy， strategy development， troop deployments， enduring and emerging security threats， and managing relationships with key allies， partners， and competitors。 How does President Trump approach national security？ “In his first months in office， when Trump encountered a national security problem he tended to ask the same five questions: 1。 Why do we care？ 2。 Why does it matter to the American people？ 3。 Why can’t others do it？ 4。 Who’s paying for it？ 5。 Why can’t others pay？ On Afghanistan， he asked a further question: Why are we there sixteen years later？” No matter if it’s Afghanistan， Iraq， Iran， Libya， North Korea， Russia， Saudi Arabia， Syria， Yemen， or the U。S。 relationship with NATO Bergen leaves no stone unturned in his latest work。 Administration Policy was often delivered bluntly， and harshly via Tweet on short notice with little coordination， and no apparent regard for the strategic reverberations for U。S。 interests。 A must read for military and civilian foreign policy and national security practitioners。 。。。more
Glenn
，
There are a couple of ways in which Peter Bergen distinguishes this book from the many， many journalistic accounts of the Trump Administration to date。 First， he really does focus on President Trump's generals: Michael Flynn， James Mattis， John Kelly， H。 R。 McMaster。 We get some good insights into why a President who proclaimed that he loved the military had such short-lived relationships with the military men he put into key roles in his administration。Bergen is pretty even-handed。 He credits T There are a couple of ways in which Peter Bergen distinguishes this book from the many， many journalistic accounts of the Trump Administration to date。 First， he really does focus on President Trump's generals: Michael Flynn， James Mattis， John Kelly， H。 R。 McMaster。 We get some good insights into why a President who proclaimed that he loved the military had such short-lived relationships with the military men he put into key roles in his administration。Bergen is pretty even-handed。 He credits Trump with good moves where credit is due。 He points out some areas in which Mattis， Kelly， and McMaster overstepped their bounds。 Overall， this is a good， well-sourced account of a time of which we can only say， "Thank God there wasn't a really foreign policy crisis in Trump's first three years！"The real point here is discipline。 The generals were all disciplined men， and they expected a degree of discipline from their Commander in Chief。 They didn't get it。 I'm not sure that this qualifies as "chaos，" but it's certain that Trump has been incapable of enunciating a plan and sticking to it。 This just drives people in government crazy。Well worth reading。 。。。more
Greg Kopstein
，
Neither groundbreaking nor an authentically apolitical assessment of President Trump’s relationship with the military’s top leaders。 While it does touch on some of the complex and stressful relationships with Flynn， Mattis， Kelly， McMaster， and a few others， it was more about his presidency as a whole and the key players in it。 Because it did not exclusively - or predominantly- discuss the generals， it read more like a “tell all” or insider reporting from anonymous sources and a variety of news Neither groundbreaking nor an authentically apolitical assessment of President Trump’s relationship with the military’s top leaders。 While it does touch on some of the complex and stressful relationships with Flynn， Mattis， Kelly， McMaster， and a few others， it was more about his presidency as a whole and the key players in it。 Because it did not exclusively - or predominantly- discuss the generals， it read more like a “tell all” or insider reporting from anonymous sources and a variety of news sources。 I also found the back-and-forth timeline， which did not flow chronologically， to be disorienting and off-putting。 It was， therefore， “middle of the road” and lukewarm。 Moreover， while there were touches of neutrality， this author clearly does not think highly of Trump， making his own politics and rhetoric a fixture throughout the book， which ruined the objective nature of the reporting。 。。。more
Joan Chaichi
，
Why does every political book have to be riddled with innuendo， mind reading， and gross editorial commentary？ I would much more enjoyed a factual account without all of the snide comments。
Kent
，
Read this to understand the "behind the scenes" of the way DJT does foreign policy。 Learn how the "adults" （the "generals"） kept things in check for the first 3 years。 Then shudder that there are no more adults in the current White House。 Bergen provides a more objective look than anticipated into the chaos that is US foreign policy under DJT。 The final paragraph or two of the Epilogue in this book ought to be read by every US voter before November。 Read this to understand the "behind the scenes" of the way DJT does foreign policy。 Learn how the "adults" （the "generals"） kept things in check for the first 3 years。 Then shudder that there are no more adults in the current White House。 Bergen provides a more objective look than anticipated into the chaos that is US foreign policy under DJT。 The final paragraph or two of the Epilogue in this book ought to be read by every US voter before November。 。。。more
Chad Manske
，
Noted national security journalist Peter Bergen brings us a fascinating account encapsulating the first few years of the current Administration。 What started out as a love affair with ‘his’ generals—primarily， Flynn， Mattis， Kelly， McMaster， and others—would end in inglorious divorce within three years。 Whether the issue is foreign policy， troop levels， strategy， alliances and coalitions and other topical areas—it was all the generals in key Cabinet positions could do to triage the damage， affro Noted national security journalist Peter Bergen brings us a fascinating account encapsulating the first few years of the current Administration。 What started out as a love affair with ‘his’ generals—primarily， Flynn， Mattis， Kelly， McMaster， and others—would end in inglorious divorce within three years。 Whether the issue is foreign policy， troop levels， strategy， alliances and coalitions and other topical areas—it was all the generals in key Cabinet positions could do to triage the damage， affronts and misinformation and mischaracterizations coming from the White House， according to Bergen。 And it didn’t matter the country or issue， blunt orders that seemingly lacked the depth， and consideration and context of the situation were delivered to off guard principals without coordination or advance notice。 If Seoul and their 25 million people are too close to the N Korean border， then， “they should move！’ When it came to Iran， Syria， Iraq， Afghanistan， Qatar， Saudi Arabia， etc。， Administration Policy was conveyed by Tweet in haphazard ways。 Sooooo much to this book。 I guarantee you will shake your head reading the riveting and incredulous narratives， at least once if not often。 A must read for national security and foreign policy scholars， as well as senior military members， and those who care about good civ-mil relations and the ideals America was founded。 。。。more
RS Rawat
，
“Americans didn’t elected Trump for POTUS， they merely chose someone who mean business and intent of “American First” supermacy” - unquoted self belief。1。 The Treatise Summary Donald J Trump ascended presidency in 2017 and ran White House without prior experience in defense service or political exposure。 Keeping his “blasphemous” mandates he started his regime。 To run “his” show， handpicked his pillars of strength- his generals and secys。 Under the thick secure walls of pentagon， interpersonal r “Americans didn’t elected Trump for POTUS， they merely chose someone who mean business and intent of “American First” supermacy” - unquoted self belief。1。 The Treatise Summary Donald J Trump ascended presidency in 2017 and ran White House without prior experience in defense service or political exposure。 Keeping his “blasphemous” mandates he started his regime。 To run “his” show， handpicked his pillars of strength- his generals and secys。 Under the thick secure walls of pentagon， interpersonal relations took hit of “conflict of interest”。 Trump never understood his generals， his elite team reciprocate in same way。 “To really understand how trump sees the world， you have to layer multiple lenses on top of each other”Trump prominent belief （one of the layers） that all of his life is negotiation to zero sum， there can’t be win-win situation。 Real estate developer with zero knowledge on global politics， knew making business out of crisis and alliances。 To ensue his command and control， he loved to create chaos amongst the ‘Axis of Adults’ - war ridden generals。 Trump knows he is ruler in this mayhem and best way to root out dissent。 2。 The storytellerPeter Bergen has carried out extensive interviews and research works before penning the book。 Due deliberations is given to references quoted in order to avoid “self cooked assumptions”。 Author remained impartial throughout the books， not drawing any premeditated line for readers。Book structuring may be christened as chronology- assumption of presidency to Iran episode。 Author has justified all names mentioned， giving out brief intro to make them count。 Author hasn’t used strong political or military jargons - not making book exclusive。 Peter Bergen has not branded Trump as Patriot or Jignoist， decision left for readers - either a genius who means business at any cost or an arrogant “clown” who rules in chaos to prove his agenda。 Author has given a path for Americans to opine and decide for 2020 polls。 。。。more
Gordon
，
Knowing Peter and all of the protagonists （save Trump） I had to read this book。 I was discouraged， but not surprised by the content （much I have heard from witnesses or insiders）。 I was not disappointed by Peter’s reporting and writing style。 An unfortunate story that needed to be told。
Skye Hallberg
，
This is a well researched， fully supported book by one of the best foreign correspondents and journalists in the business。 It is a deep dive into the behavior of the current president。 It is frightening and we just hope we can make it to the next election before we have a military crisis of the president's making on our hands。 This is not the average internet drivel or sloppy cable news that one is exposed to daily。 Read this and stay well informed。 This is a well researched， fully supported book by one of the best foreign correspondents and journalists in the business。 It is a deep dive into the behavior of the current president。 It is frightening and we just hope we can make it to the next election before we have a military crisis of the president's making on our hands。 This is not the average internet drivel or sloppy cable news that one is exposed to daily。 Read this and stay well informed。 。。。more
Craig
，
Peter Bergen “is a contributing editor at The New Republic and has worked as a correspondent for National Geographic television， Discovery， and CNN。 His writing has appeared in the New York Times， Washington Post， Wall Street Journal， Foreign Affairs， Atlantic， Rolling Stone， Time， Vanity Fair， among other publications。” （Simon & Schuster）。 Bergen‘s book 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' was a gift from my sister-in-law last winter。'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' largely is Peter Bergen “is a contributing editor at The New Republic and has worked as a correspondent for National Geographic television， Discovery， and CNN。 His writing has appeared in the New York Times， Washington Post， Wall Street Journal， Foreign Affairs， Atlantic， Rolling Stone， Time， Vanity Fair， among other publications。” （Simon & Schuster）。 Bergen‘s book 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' was a gift from my sister-in-law last winter。'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' largely is written as a critique of the first three years of the Donald Trump administration’s national security and foreign policy， as well as the president‘s emotional attachment to disciplinarian former generals who initially staffed his administration。 The cumulative effect of the review within the book does not flatter the president。The clear sense that Donald Trump would manage the conduct of his presidency much differently than his predecessor was known to those listening to the man’s rhetoric on the campaign trail。 That things would be different started from the point that the transition from elected president to acting president began， wherein the transition largely ignored the mandated transition planning that had been conducted by former New Jersey governor Chris Christie。 The work that ultimately replaced that led to carryover administrators at the beginning of the Trump presidency， plus experienced military leaders entering the cabinet。The foreign policy review of the first three years of the Trump presidency was largely a look at attempting to reverse policies put forward by former president Barack Obama。 The selection of former Marine General James Mattis， who had been the head of US Central Command from 2010-2013。 Mattis was closely aligned with former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson， who was fired after publicly siding with longstanding NATO ally the United Kingdom， rather than Trump and Russia on the subject of the poisoning of an ex-British spy。 Mattis had firm disagreements with Trump on character and intellectual grounds， which ultimately came to a head over pulling troops out of Syria in the face of the conflict and strategic influence for the United States or Russia in the region。 Other points of disagreement， yet Mattis‘ reputation was tarnished for allowing troops be fixed at the US border with Mexico to prevent potential illegal immigrants from crossing the border in 2018。Former Marine General John F。 Kelly served as chief of staff for Donald Trump， though not immediately from the beginning of the Trump Presidency。 As is the case with many who have served Trump as president， Kelly was less aggrieved than many upon leaving， as suggested in this piece by NBC News。 Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not come out of that exit interview with Kelly well in that the situation with both people being detained and the family separation were raised。 Sessions did not feature prominently in Bergen‘s book 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos'。Besides the separation situation， Sessions merited discussion of his pushing to withdraw troops from Afghanistan as well as the multiple versions of travel bans aimed at keeping people from predominantly Islamic countries from traveling to the United States。 Sessions recusing himself from the probe into Trump administration ties to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was not explored in 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos'。Former Army Lieutenant General H。R。 McMaster served as National Security Advisor to Donald Trump until being replaced by now former National Security Advisor John Bolton。 McMaster replaced former Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn， who lasted less than a month on the job due to his lying to the FBI about connections he had with Russia。An early impression that Trump expressed to former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon about the Silver Star recipient McMaster in 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' was that McMaster “look[ed] like a beer salesman。” McMaster had the support of Secretary of Defense James Mattis， which didn’t hurt his candidacy。 McMaster was included in the euphemistically labeled 'Axis of Adults' that included Mattis， John Kelly and Rex Tillerson， who collectively aimed to “contain and control” the impulsive brand of decision-making they feared in Trump。 Bergen argues that McMaster and Trump never had much of a “good relationship”。Bolton initially had a better relationship with Trump， though that didn’t last。 The management style of Bolton also didn’t make him many friends， per Bergen， in that Bolton replaced meetings where discussion took place with position papers where staff was intended to indicate approval or disapproval。 Trump fired Bolton over what was reported as policy differences。Other items that came up in 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' were the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani， the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi， Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia， North Korea， the shift in American foreign policy towards China， the folly of the tariffs， and many other things。 That Trump hasn’t publicly attacked military forces while simultaneously funding them was noted。 Overall， I came to the reporting within this document with an open mind， finding much context setting in what essentially is an extended look into the leadership style of Donald Trump。 My rating for 'Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos' by Peter Bergen is 3。75-stars on a scale of one-to-five。 。。。more
Gayla Bassham
，
This book made a big splash when it was first published， largely because of its account of Trump shouting insults at the generals on his staff。 That anecdote， which opens this account of Trump's foreign policy， belies the tone of the book as a whole， which goes out of its way to be fair to the president。 In fact， he gets high marks for his identification of China as a threat。 He gets much lower marks， though， for his catering to white nationalists and his failure to appreciate the looming threat This book made a big splash when it was first published， largely because of its account of Trump shouting insults at the generals on his staff。 That anecdote， which opens this account of Trump's foreign policy， belies the tone of the book as a whole， which goes out of its way to be fair to the president。 In fact， he gets high marks for his identification of China as a threat。 He gets much lower marks， though， for his catering to white nationalists and his failure to appreciate the looming threat of climate change。 The author also notes that Trump's foreign policy was stronger overall in the first year and a half of his term -- when McMaster and Mattis were in the administration -- than in the second half of it。 One is left with the general impression that the president is much like a toddler， capable of making good decisions when he is carefully led to them， but whose natural inclinations are toward impulsivity and chaos。 。。。more
Dan Cotter
，
This book is an excellent account of President Trump and his love for military generals until he is not and some of the challenges he inherited and how he has fear with various issues。 Lot of good insights into the current COVID-19 crisis- not directly but just the decision making process。
Bruce Gerlach
，
A scary read about an inept individual straight from the people who worked for him。 And don't anymore。 A scary read about an inept individual straight from the people who worked for him。 And don't anymore。 。。。more
Susan
，
This was a fascinating look at the Trump White House and his relationship with America's national security establishment。 While much of what I read has been covered in other books， the author here adds much insight and explanation for why certain actions by Trump have proven not to be in the interests of our country。 He points out that the election of 2020 will have very important ramifications for the future of our nation。 Great book。 This was a fascinating look at the Trump White House and his relationship with America's national security establishment。 While much of what I read has been covered in other books， the author here adds much insight and explanation for why certain actions by Trump have proven not to be in the interests of our country。 He points out that the election of 2020 will have very important ramifications for the future of our nation。 Great book。 。。。more
Nick
，
Bergen provides an excellent overview of President Trump's relationship with members of his key staff。 Overall， this book is readable and offers some new details on activities in the White House。 However， Bergen does not really provide any new insight on the character of Trump himself and those who worked for him， especially not to people who have followed the news closely over the last few years。 Bergen also does not take the opportunity to examine， rather than repeat， the conventional wisdom r Bergen provides an excellent overview of President Trump's relationship with members of his key staff。 Overall， this book is readable and offers some new details on activities in the White House。 However， Bergen does not really provide any new insight on the character of Trump himself and those who worked for him， especially not to people who have followed the news closely over the last few years。 Bergen also does not take the opportunity to examine， rather than repeat， the conventional wisdom regarding the actions of President Bush， President Obama， and President Trump。 For example， Bergen repeats the idea that the Obama White House made a mistake by withdrawing from Iraq in 2011， not bombing Syria in 2013， and being slow to respond to ISIS in 2014; and the notion that President Trump "became president" with his bombing of Syria after gas attacks in 2017。 Considering he wrote this book this book several years after most of these events， you would expect that somebody of Bergen's skill and reputation would have actually gone to the Obama staffers and asked them about why they took certain national security actions。 It is not apparent that Bergen has done so， or read books one of the several books by former Obama staffers talking about his national security policy。 In fact， it is incredible that Bergen seems to feel very comfortable repeating tired， poorly examined judgments about Obama's weaknesses in national security， but not examining the implications for and making judgments regarding Trump's decisions。 The tragedy of Bergen's book is that it reflects the media mentality that contributed to Trump getting elected in 2016。 Journalists like Bergen seem to think that accurate reporting requires them to highlight Trump administration policies that are seemingly logical and sound （policies that any administration may have considered）， like the bombing of Syria in 2017 and the increase in troop deployments to Iraq and Syria， while simply stating the facts of what happened in controversial cases like the travel ban。 What is lost in this coverage， and lost in Bergen's book， is that the Trump Administration never had a coherent policy on Syria or any other national security issue， basically followed Obama's sustainable anti-ISIS strategy， and that the 2017 travel ban was inherently unconstitutional。 Bergen tries to hard to credit Trump with certain "good" decisions （particularly with regards to challenging China， nevermind that Trump arguably gave up more than the US gained in the Trade war， alienated allies by withdrawing from TPP and threatening to withdraw from South Korea， has not stopped China from continuing to militarize the South China Sea， etc）， but can only do so by ignoring the absence of an overall strategy， the lack of a tangible process for decision making， and the major controversies surrounding many policies。Bergen’s book will be appealing to those who disagree with many Trump policies， and will be dismissed by those that agree with him。 Given this， he should have sought more interviews from people with different types of access to the Trump Administration and sought to apply the same judgment he applies to Obama to Trump。 It would have been interesting for Bergen to have asked former Obama officials to compare their supposed weak Middle East policies with current policies and for him to have interviewed more elected， political， and civil service officials on the periphery of White House decision making。Ultimately， in this book Bergen does not really add anything new to the public debate about Trump's actions and conduct regarding national security related issues。 Bergen is simply repeating the narratives and conventional wisdom regarding Trump's national security policies， and to a lesser extent Obama's。 As a result， this book would only really be useful for somebody who has not followed national security news the past three years and wanted to get caught up。 Bergen would have been much better off taking one chapter from this book and making a book out of that case study。 Bergen could have interviewed a wider range of public officials across administrations and sought to describe and challenge the popular notions about the strengths and weaknesses of Obama's and Trump's foreign policies。 In this book Bergen simply does not give himself the space to provide any new insight on any particular issue， which is unfortunate given his contacts， experience， and intelligence。 In the end， readers who have made up their mind about Trump's national security policies， one way or the other， can skip this book。 One suspects that is most readers。 。。。more
Anna
，
Low rating just because military history isn’t that my thing and this is just a very straightforward military play-by-play of this administration。 Would be great for someone who likes that。
Chuck
，
Well written， a good， quick read。 But didn't learn much more than an attentive following of news events over the last 3。5 years have told us。 Well written， a good， quick read。 But didn't learn much more than an attentive following of news events over the last 3。5 years have told us。 。。。more
Andrea
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Good survey of the various foreign policy issues of the Trump adm， such as Korea， Syria， Afghanistan， Russia，and how all the generals he originally embraced came to be his nemeses。 Kelly， McMaster， Mattis， and more。 It was obvious that the author spoke at length with most of them。 Too bad they won’t go on the record。 This book is one of a number of very good books out there for understanding what makes the President tick。
Charles Biggs
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An absolutely incredible insight into the Trump Administration。 Bergen really provides great examples of President Trump's relationships with our military and his foreign relations decisions。 Highly recommend given our current election cycle。 Succinct， and great story telling style。 An absolutely incredible insight into the Trump Administration。 Bergen really provides great examples of President Trump's relationships with our military and his foreign relations decisions。 Highly recommend given our current election cycle。 Succinct， and great story telling style。 。。。more
Michael Jr。
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