Publishers Weekly
06/10/2019
White House dysfunction, political failure, and personal craziness deepen in this caustic narrative of the second year of Donald Trump's presidency, a follow-up to the author's bestselling Fire and Fury. Journalist Wolff, who describes himself as having a "train-wreck fascination with Trump," depicts a president dogged by the Mueller probe—which drafted a criminal indictment of Trump, Wolff writes, but never issued it—and other investigations; looming Republican defeat in midterm elections; the stymieing of his immigration agenda and the fury of his base at his inability to deliver a border wall; and an incompetent, backstabbing administration that secretly undermined him. But Trump's worst enemy, in Wolff's acid-etched portrait, is Trump: a "volatile and uncertain president" with no ability to focus, Trump wallows in delusions of success, childish tantrums, schoolyard taunts (Wolff reports that he dubbed Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh a "virgin crybaby"), and other "extreme and disorienting behavior" that, Wolff writes, "repulsed a majority of the nation, as well as almost everybody who came into working contact with him." Short on policy analysis and long on intrigue and gleefully vicious (and entertaining) character sketches, Wolff's gossipy account relies, he admits, on not-unimpeachable sources with axes to grind, especially former Trump adviser and right-wing provocateur Steve Bannon, who is quoted so much that he is virtually a coauthor. Wolff dishes up juicy red meat to anti-Trumpers, but others will find his take partisan and unbalanced. (June)
From the Publisher
[Siege is] a mordant, readable tell-all designed to show how Trump, simply by being Trump, has made himself the perfect wrecking ball, blasting holes through an array of institutions.” —The New York Times
“Bannon’s frequently shrewd observations make it clear why Wolff finds him irresistible. The author is mostly interested in Trump’s psychology. He is adept at documenting the president’s lunacy, and Bannon is frequently an able fellow shrink.” —The Washington Post
“Michael Wolff is back and not with a whimper. The latest installment of his Trump chronicles picks up where Fire and Fury ended. Once again, it leaves the president bruised and readers shaking their heads.... Wolff’s tale is credible enough to be taken seriously and salacious enough to entertain…. As Michael Wolff returns to torment Donald Trump, the sword of impeachment dangles more ominously than ever.” —The Guardian
“Michael Wolff has become the pre-eminent chronicler of the Trump era. Cunning, eloquent and ruthless in his reporting, Wolff has captured the drama and chicanery of the Trump years better than any of his peers…. Siege, released this week, is brimming with more scabrous revelations and shocking asides on the presidency.” —The Sunday Times (London)
“Once again, the dirt is abundant. Donald Trump insults everyone in his orbit, repeatedly, viciously, and—always privately—they return the favor…. Siege is overflowing with such titillating material, which is sure to make it another tour de force for the Trump resistance.” —Vanity Fair
“Utterly gripping…. Nobody comes out of this book well, of course, and Trump’s comedy cast of misfits, crooks and deluded grifters all struggle to cope with their boss.” —British GQ
