Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff


I'm not going to give this a star rating for the time being. I'm just going to share my thoughts for now.

For me, the first question is how do I know anything in this book is true? Well, the most convincing thing is that there isn't a lot of "new" information in this book so much as there is a more complete picture based on behind-the-scenes information from inside sources. A lot of what is in this book has been public information in terms of Trump speeches, interviews, and tweets. The author himself was given White House access and claims to have been there for a lot of the events. About a half of the book is information and impressions that must have been provided by Bannon. Bannon's information appears colored by his dislike of Jared and Ivanka Kushner but does not appear otherwise significantly biased. (By which I mean that Bannon is pretty open about the ways in which he's evil, and isn't too bothered about it.) Jared Kushner himself leaked a great deal of information which seems to be in play in the book as well-- especially trash talk about Bannon. That leaves very little which I have any reason to doubt. Perhaps there isn't any good reason to believe the details of Trump's relationship with Melania, but that appears to be it.

Even though there's not a lot of new or shocking information, I think the book's full narrative of events is useful. For example, before reading this book, I kept thinking that maybe Donald Trump was "crazy like a fox." But after reading this, my impression is that he's just really ignorant (more than I thought) and even less curious about reality than I thought he was. He seems to believe he can just invent his own reality and buys into it to a certain degree. All of this is puzzling and troubling and definitely gives different coloring to how I view recent political events.

The conclusion is that Trump is unfit to be president according to his own advisors. Additionally, his advisors are unable to educate him or restrain him in any meaningful way. He is inconsistent and has poor impulse control. The "fire and fury" quote which the title uses is from Trump's threats to North Korea, but the book ends before the bulk of his North Korea threats. The whole world is at danger from this presidency and everyone knows it, but the people with the power to do anything about it, Senate Republicans, refuse to do anything.

PS: The Prologue and Chapter 1 aren't written as well as the rest of the book. If you find the beginning annoying you might want to reserve judgment until Chapter 2.

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1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For whatever reasons, I was assigned this book 3 times in high school and have read it at least 2 times since then, making this the book that I've read the most times in my life. I don't enjoy the novel enough for it to be my most read book- it's just a bad accident. Alternatively, maybe I read it for the same reasons that terrifying local news gets such high ratings.

Here's one thing Orwell didn't anticipate, in the modern world everyone wants to be constantly surveilled on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Goodreads, and YouTube. (Me too.) In the modern world, The Ministry of Truth still resides in Russia but pumps in their "truths" via these same social media channels. (Are they on Goodreads? Are they giving 1984 bad reviews on account of poor characterization?) There's no time to read anyway because everyone is watching reality television. The Real Housewives of Doublethink. In the modern world, the government doesn't care if everyone hates the government because they don't need your vote just your money. In the modern world, we hardly have time for thought crimes because we're constantly fighting incorrect bills and insurance companies.

Winston's job is especially quaint. In the modern world, there's no need to falsify history or the news. Not enough people care about the ample evidence of the actual truth. Anyone can just wave away the truth, claim any unsubstantiated nonsense, and enough Congressmen and civilians will follow in step. The rest of us can just scream into our social media. It's so much simpler really.

Yes, I know I'm being dramatic.

On the other hand: “She did not feel the abyss opening beneath her feet at the thought of lies becoming truths.” - Orwell

I do, Orwell! I feel the abyss. This abyss needs to be updated though because it’s gotten much bigger: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...

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The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Art of War by Sun Tzu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm reading some of the commentaries now, but on its own, it doesn't make a huge impression on me. It has some good points. The focus on the compassion of the ruler and "the way" was particularly interesting. (Now I also want to read The I Ching / Book of Changes which discussed "the way." I read the Tao Te Ching.) Overall, though it doesn't give a lot of context inside the text, or have much that will make an impression in my memory.


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King Henry VI, Part 3 by William Shakespeare

King Henry VI, Part 3 by William Shakespeare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finally read part 3, although not as good as Part 1 and 2. It's a lot of war, politics, and intrigue without the delightful details that set apart Part 1 and Part 2. Probably enough war, politics, and intrigue these days in real life to suffice for all of us lately.

Love free classics on Kindle though! I know it's only hour 15 of the readathon, but it's bedtime. No promises I get up early enough to finish another one. #readathon

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Without Conscience by Robert D. Hare

Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert D. Hare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was written in the 1990s, so there's a lot of new science on the topic. I recommend reading this along with The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain by James Fallon- but possibly start with that one. That one will give you the basic science known today, and the author is a functioning psychopath himself who gives a lot of insight into his personality.

This one focuses more on criminal psychopaths because those are the people that more often come to the attention of specialized experts though there are some mentions of more functional psychopaths. It's very heavy on personal accounts of psychopaths and their crimes which certainly keeps the book entertaining but is a little low on the actual science for my taste, perhaps because as previously mentioned there was just less known on the topic in the 1990s.

I think it's important to understand that there's this group of individuals at large in society (and likely heavily rewarded in business and politics) that just aren't subject to the same rules of empathy as the rest of us. Certainly, a lot of non-psychopath people can be emotionally damaged or even assholes for no reason at all, but this complete lack of empathy or authentic feeling is unique and especially dangerous in both criminal and successful noncriminal psychopaths.

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The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The writing was not good, but it's full of interesting ideas and I think it might make a great movie.

I enjoyed the exploration of dataism versus living off the grid. And I'm always a fan of anticonsumerism. The author introduced me to some interesting ideas about quantum computers.

I wasn't into the fantasy element of the travelers. I didn't see the benefit of it or the tie into the other concepts.

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March: Book One by John Lewis

March: Book One by John Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I suspect that the full trilogy will be 5 stars, because this first one is very good. I only took a star off because I don't think it stands alone well. I think it's just the first one third of a book, not a stand-alone graphic novel.

Now that a majority of the US population is dissatisfied with the leadership and more people are organizing and protesting than ever before in my (relatively short) lifetime, this book is very important.

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The People Speak by Howard Zinn

The People Speak: American Voices, Some Famous, Some Little Known: Dramatic Readings Celebrating the Enduring Spirit of Dissent by Howard Zinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a number of years since I read Zinn's A People's History, so I don't recall most of these speeches. However, even if I had recalled these speeches, I am certain that they carry more weight with me during the current administration, than they would have carried previously. I particularly enjoyed the McCarthy trial transcript. It's a very short book with 86 pages, and the audiobook is less than two hours long, so I highly recommend reading or listening to it.

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Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thoreau condemns slavery and the Mexican–American War in Civil Disobedience. He advocates breaking the law where the law advocates you being an agent of evil. He advocates abolitionists not paying their taxes. His premise is that you best express your love for your country, its government, and the law by refusing to participate in its injustice and its violence. So far, so good.

He seems to prefer not paying your taxes over using your vote for the "available" subpar candidate or petitioning the state. While perhaps this was an option in the 1800s, it appears the US government has gained a lot of power over its citizens in the last 160 years, because that's no longer an option unless you want to just rot in jail. Obviously, people were jailed even for "petitioning the government" during the Civil Rights Movement, but Thoreau seems to have avoided jail (except for one night) while not paying his taxes. Citizens appear to have gained more freedom to protest and lost the freedom to refuse to pay their taxes (unless you happen to be super rich and can just claim losses while living the good life).


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