While the book records Trump’s profanity and chaos, it does not convey a meaningful firsthand story.” And despite a promise of self-revelation, the author still remains, well, anonymous. Wolff has emerged as a chronicler of the Trump era.Ī Warning, by Anonymous, had strong pre-order sales but fell like a dud, reading “like something written by someone with knowledge of what sometimes transpired within the Oval Office but without box seats.

If someone says something nice about him, they are our friend if they say something unkind, if they don’t kiss the ring, they are our enemy.” With friends like these …Ī Warning, displayed at a book store in New York in November. Wolff also quotes Henry Kissinger at a private lunch as saying Trump’s “entire foreign policy is based on a single unstable individual’s reaction to perceptions of slights or flattery. Steve Bannon, a major source, provides unplugged commentary, to wit: “This is where it isn’t a witch hunt – even for the hardcore, this is where he turns into just a crooked business guy … Not the billionaire he said he was, just another scumbag.” Of the various books on the Trump White House the best was Michael Wolff’s Siege, sequel to the blockbuster Fire and Fury and in Green’s assessment “credible enough to be taken seriously and salacious enough to entertain”. But in 2019 there were a few shiny rocks, even gems, to be found among the pile.

Even if the writing is not bad, the subject is frequently narrow. Let’s be honest: many such books are not worth one’s time. Thoughtful holiday gifts are not generally purchased from the remainder table. As for Sims’ publishers, they may have overpaid.” It’s now clear they did.

If he actually banked a million dollars, his agent deserves a round of props. In the words of Lloyd Green, reviewing the book for the Guardian, Sims “ reportedly received a seven-figure advance for dishing dirt on his ex-boss. It featured harsh criticism of Trump counsellor Kellyanne Conway, former chief of staff John Kelly and former press secretary Sarah Sanders, who in Sims’ telling “didn’t press as hard as she could for the rock-bottom truth”. Take Team of Vipers, by former White House staffer Cliff Sims and published in January.

Jill lepore these truths