This book was written during 2018 and it basically explains how and why Trump came to power. It includes the economy under Barack Obama and why almost half the country voted for 1 - a republican business man who had no public service experience, and 2 - a bully who whined and complained and even told lies - we demand a wall and mexico will build it!!

Most of the trump voters are - to put it bluntly - uneducated (with no college degree) and lower paid workers who live in the rural or small town areas. These people seldom read anything so they accept whatever they are told, and they believe all of trumps lies.

The larger cities (and the richer states) voted for hillary and the democrats because many of these voters are educated (have college degrees) and have middle class and upper middle class jobs. And they read!! These people are still able to determine who speaks the truth and who has the experience to be an effective leader.

Between 2016 and 2018, the republicans controlled the House and the Senate and had a Republican President and cabinet.

At the same time, they had no real policy - other than the wall and cutting immigration - and so they did little else except to put kids in cages, start building a very flaky wall, drive away allies by making demand of them (mexico will pay for the wall) and taking America out of various alliances and treaties. MAGA anyone?

So what happened after the 2018 midterms? When the democrats were voted in and took over control of the house. Trump forced a govt shut down for 35 days because he wanted money to build that damned wall!!

He even declared a state of emergency despite there being no actual emergency. He just wanted to steal military money to build the wall.

During the last 2 years of Trumps term things got worse and worse. His lies, his bullying, the high staff turn over in both the white house and the cabinet.

Then came 2020 when a new virus began to spread. Trump did absolutely NOTHING. He claimed that it was just another flu and that it would all go away, like a miracle. It will be gone by easter he said. Nope that never happened. Gone by summer he said. Nope, that didnt happen either. He even began claiming new cures for this virus - Drink some bleach and take some malaria tablets!!!

Things really came to a head when George Floyd died in police custody and his death was filmed and put on the internet. The country and indeed the world erupted and protests began. What did Trump do? He continued to tell lies and he even dragged in the military (national guard) to shoot back at and gas their fellow Americans who were peacefully demonstrating.

This book was interesting for background but has not been updated to include the last 2 years of Trumps single disastrous term in office. The damage Trump has done will take many years to fix and repair, if that can even happen at all.

I give this book 3 stars. It was interesting, but is clearly is now outdated.

Perhaps the book was relevant at the time the author started to write this book. But, while intelligently written, it offers nothing new. Rehashing everything we already know. Disappointing.

If Fire and Fury shows us the stupidity of the Trump administration, Trumpocracy shows us the complicity. The Wolff book is salacious and full of hearsay. Frum spends 70 pages documenting his argument.

Our democracy is in serious jeopardy, and we’ve all played a part in its undoing. It’s up to all of us to try to put the pieces back together again. God save the country.

Setting aside my own political opinions, I'm actively trying to read POVs that challenge or disagree with my own. A measured book in un-measured times, especially about what traditional conservatives may have to fear and learn from the current administration. Policies yes, but more importantly the dangers of a cult of personality and the compromises or deals-with-the-devil *any* party may make to rise in power. I appreciated the chapter on the unexpected positive outcomes that may arise from a deeply un-normal political administration.

It could be a 3 star book. I think I’ve read too many books on the current American political situation for that though.

Frum, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, deftly recounts how we got here, where we are, and (perhaps) how we recover.

This was everything I wanted out of the otherwise disappointing Fire and Fury. This book is written well, cited tremendously (boasting 44 pages of extensive references [almost every other sentence in this book is backed up]), and historically important. I used the page margins to take notes on almost every page, adding notations, brackets, and my own remarks frequently on pages and phrases that I had extra to say. I think this experience was everything I hope a book can bring- a personal journey to add my own remarks to further information and pieces that were not yet to happen/too irrelevant to add for the public audience.

A lot of interesting material here. Things that I agreed with, things that made me laugh and cheer, and conservative ideals that I disagree with. I hope the author’s confidence in Democrats coming out on top in November prove true. Well worth a listen!

I listened to the audiobook on Scribd. He’s an excellent narrator.

Make America Read Again.

The End.

Written by a well-know conservative writer. The alternative sub-title could be "It's worse than you think, but there's still hope for the country."