A scorched-earth account of an utterly failed presidency.
The insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, was no anomaly but instead “the inexorable culmination of a sustained four-year war on the institutions and traditions of American democracy.”
New York Times reporter Baker and New Yorker staffer Glasser are no admirers of Donald Trump or his MAGA agenda, the latter of which they hold to be a cynical non-ideology defined mostly by opposition: Anything Barack Obama might have deemed good, Trump deems bad. When Trump became president in 2016, the “Axis of Adults” surrounding him hoped fervently that he would develop a coherent doctrine that could be supported and reinforced by key staff members. They were soon disabused of that sensible notion. Trump did not learn, did not change, and did not budge. He ruled by division, and his base was an us-versus-them proposition, his White House an arena of roiling rivalries; everyone took part in the scheming. The authors are particularly good when they bring Melania Trump onto the stage. It’s a guilty pleasure to watch Melania maneuver Ivanka out of photographic shoots and remove her from guest lists. Trump, thin-skinned as only a self-doubting narcissist can be, was well aware of how disliked he was. As Baker and Glasser note, in his years in office he “would never go out to a restaurant in Washington that was not owned by his company,” knowing he would otherwise be booed and heckled. That did not deter Trump from playing his zero-sum games, and it ended with the only time a president refused to transfer power peaceably. Unfortunately, he left another legacy: Although Trump was “the most politically unsuccessful occupant of the White House in generations,” he altered the political landscape in such a way that “the Trump era is not past; it is America’s present and maybe even its future.”
A scorched-earth account of an utterly failed presidency.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-385-54653-9
Page Count: 752
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
IN THE NEWS
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
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