Booklist: Presidential Reading

It's hard to keep up with the books published about President Donald Trump and his administration. Here are a few titles published in the past two years to help readers understand the controversies and events that impacted the Trump Administration.

It's hard to keep up with the books published about President Donald Trump and his administration. Knowing which ones might have lasting readership and provide researchers with authoritative information can be confusing. Here are a few titles published in the past two years to help readers understand the controversies and events that impacted the Trump Administration.

The Mueller ReportU. S. Department of Justice. The Mueller Report: Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election. 12th Media Services. 2019. ISBN 9781680922622. $25.95.
This is the official report submitted by the Special Counsel's office to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019. There is a large amount of redacted information to protect witnesses and ongoing investigations; however, the report examines and clarifies the findings of the investigation.  

Bolton, John. The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. S. &. S. 2020. ISBN 9781982148034. $32.50.
Bolton offers a behind-the curtain look at events whle he was National Security Advisor in in 2018-19. He reveals his frustration with the undisciplined decision-making around Syria’s use of chemical agents, relations with Iran and North Korea, and applying sanctions on those countries as well as Russia.

The Trump CenturyDobbs, Lou. The Trump Century: How Our President Changed the Course of History Forever. Broadside Books. 2020. ISBN 9780063029040. $28.99.
Dobbs, Fox Business commentator, proposes that President Trump has positively altered every aspect of American government, politics, and business, citing trade, tax, and immigration policies implemented in the first three years of the administration. COVID-19 was in the early stages of recognition when the book went to publication, and is not discussed in depth.

Hanson, Victor Davis. The Case for Trump. Basic Books. 2020. ISBN 9781541673557. $17.99.
Historian Hansen offers insight into President Trump’s appeal to middle-America and promotes successes in the economy, tax reductions, and deregulation during the first years of the Trump Administration. The book was published before COVID-19.

Karl, Jonathan. Front Row at the Trump Show. 2020. ISBN 9781524745622. $28.
Karl, ABC Chief White House Correspondent, has covered President Trump longer than any other White House reporter, having done his first interview with him in 1987 when Karl worked for the New York Post. He focuses on the President’s love/hate relationship with the media, and offers special insight on the Trump staff and family.

What Were We ThinkingLozada, Carlos. What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era. 2020. ISBN 9781982145620. $28.
Lozada, Washington Post book critic, provides a guide to 150 books written during the Trump Administration that relate to the demographics, issues, policies and current events of the period. Lozada's premise is that "the most essential books of the Trump era are scarcely about Trump at all."

Maddow, Rachel & Michael Yarvitz. Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House. 2020. ISBN 9780593136683. $28.
Based on Maddow and Yarvitz's popular podcast of the same name, this book-length treatment of Spiro Agnew covers his rise from Maryland governor to Nixon's running mate in 1968 to his resignation from the vice presidency, after being investigated on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud. Readers will see the parallel to current events.

RageWoodward, Bob. Rage. S. &. S. 2020.  ISBN 9781982131739.  $30.
Woodward reports on tensions in the White House during the House impeachment proceedings and Senate trial through the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.  He interviewed President Trump 17 times between December 2019 and July 2020, and provides insight on the President and his administration.

Sims, Cliff. Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House. Thomas Dunne. 2019. 9781250223890. $29.99.
Sims, a conservative Alabama media host, joined the Trump campaign late in 2016 and went on to work in the Administration Communications office.  His tell-all book reveals the inner strife and disorder of the Administration, but is generally supportive of the President.

Spicer, Sean. Leading America: President Trump's Commitment to People, Patriotism, and Capitalism. Center Street. 2020. ISBN 9781546059448. $28.
Former Trump Administration Press Secretary Spicer presents a defense of President Trump, and offers a detailed critique of the mainstream media’s treatment of the President and his administration. Spicer is also concerned about liberal influence in entertainment, education, and technology.

Too Much and Never EnoughTrump, Mary. Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man. S. &. S. 2020. ISBN 9781982141462. $28.
Trump’s niece, a trained clinical psychologist, provides insight into the complex family dynamics surrounding the President, from his childhood through adulthood. An outsider in her own family, Trump shows how childhood neglect has had a lasting impact on the President.

FURTHER READING
Tell-alls include Omarosa Manigault Newman's Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House (Galley, 2019); Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady (Galley, 2020) by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, former aide to First Lady Melania Trump; and Michael Cohen's Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump (Skyhorse, 2020).

Conservative media personalities and politicians have published numerous books defending President Trump and his administration. Notable ones include David Horowitz's Blitz: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win (Humanix Books, 2020); Newt Gingrich's Trump's America: The Truth about Our Nation's Great Comeback (Center Street, 2018); and Jennine Pirro's Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy (Center Street, 2018).

 

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