Book
The room where it happened : a White House memoir / John Bolton.
"John Bolton served as National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump for 519 days. A seasoned public servant who had previously worked for Presidents Reagan, Bush #41, and Bush #43, Bolton brought to the administration thirty years of experience in international issues and a reputation for tough, blunt talk. In his memoir, he offers a substantive and factual account of his time in the room where it happened."-- Publisher's description.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781982148034
- Physical Description: 577 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York, New York : Simon & Schuster, 2020
- Copyright: ©2020
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Bolton, John R. National Security Council (U.S.) > Biography. United States. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. United States > Foreign relations. |
| Genre: | Autobiographies. |
Available copies
- 27 of 27 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 2 of 2 copies available at Prince Rupert Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 27 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Rupert Library | 973.933 Bolt (Text) | 33294002086429 | Adult Non-Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
| Prince Rupert Library | 973.933 Bolt (Text) | 33294002087237 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
The former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump offers an inside look at the administration. 250,000 first printing. Illustrations. - Baker & Taylor
The former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump offers an inside look at the administration. - Simon and Schuster
As President Trumpâs National Security Advisor, John Bolton spent many of his 453 days in the room where it happened, and the facts speak for themselves.
The result is a White House memoir that is the most comprehensive and substantial account of the Trump Administration, and one of the few to date by a top-level official. With almost daily access to the President, John Bolton has produced a precise rendering of his days in and around the Oval Office. What Bolton saw astonished him: a President for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation. âI am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasnât driven by reelection calculations,â he writes. In fact, he argues that the House committed impeachment malpractice by keeping its prosecution focused narrowly on Ukraine when Trumpâs Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policyâand Bolton documents exactly what those were, and attempts by him and others in the Administration to raise alarms about them.
He shows a President addicted to chaos, who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends, and was deeply suspicious of his own government. In Boltonâs telling, all this helped put Trump on the bizarre road to impeachment. âThe differences between this presidency and previous ones I had served were stunning,â writes Bolton, who worked for Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43. He discovered a President who thought foreign policy is like closing a real estate dealâabout personal relationships, made-for-TV showmanship, and advancing his own interests. As a result, the US lost an opportunity to confront its deepening threats, and in cases like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea ended up in a more vulnerable place.
Boltonâs account starts with his long march to the West Wing as Trump and others woo him for the National Security job. The minute he lands, he has to deal with Syriaâs chemical attack on the city of Douma, and the crises after that never stop. As he writes in the opening pages, âIf you donât like turmoil, uncertainty, and riskâall the while being constantly overwhelmed with information, decisions to be made, and sheer amount of workâand enlivened by international and domestic personality and ego conflicts beyond description, try something else.â
The turmoil, conflicts, and egos are all thereâfrom the upheaval in Venezuela, to the erratic and manipulative moves of North Koreaâs Kim Jong Un, to the showdowns at the G7 summits, the calculated warmongering by Iran, the crazy plan to bring the Taliban to Camp David, and the placating of an authoritarian China that ultimately exposed the world to its lethal lies. But this seasoned public servant also has a great eye for the Washington inside game, and his story is full of wit and wry humor about how he saw it played.
