Trump's fury at new book

Book review: Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White HouseA fun read and an exposé that has already played a part in shaping what happens next.

879-Trump-634

Donald Trump: hyperactive, thin-skinned and out of his depth
(Image credit: This content is subject to copyright.)

879-Fire-Fury-100

Published by Little, Brown, £20

Buy at Amazon

Fire and Fury is dominating both the bestseller charts and the headlines, and for good reason. Anybody who dislikes Donald Trump will lap up this gossipy account of a dysfunctional White House split between three factions: the "alt-right", headed by Trump's former political strategist Steve Bannon; "Javanka", as Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have been dubbed; and the Republican establishment. Overseeing these feuding groups is the volatile figure of Trump hyperactive, thin-skinned and still coming to terms with his unexpected victory.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Wolff, a journalist who has written similar insider accounts of the media business, took advantage of the Trump administration's inexperience to get many of the key figures to speak candidly to him, and gained a surprising level of access to the White House (he visited more than 20 times in the first eight months).

Some of the anecdotes he relays seem dubious it's hard to believe, as his sources claim, that Trump wanted to lose the election, while the story about Tony Blair warning Trump to be wary of surveillance from British intelligence sounds unlikely. Yet the overall message of a White House in chaos appears broadly plausible given that many of Trump's aides are willing to go behind his back to criticise him.

Other presidents have suffered leaks and rumours, but it's unprecedented for this to happen to such an extent and so early into an administration. That may be because Trump seems profoundly hypocritical, demanding loyalty, but not showing any in return. He isn't the only one who comes across badly. Other writers have portrayed Bannon as a political genius, yet Wolff depicts him as a failed naval officer, mid-level banker and wannabe film producer, with delusions of grandeur. Ivanka and Kushner are portrayed as well-meaning, but nave and out of their depth.

Given that Trump has only just completed his first year, Fire and Fury is not going to be the definitive study of his time in office. But it's both a fun read and an expos that has already played a part in shaping what happens next. Bannon's comments to Wolff led last week to his exit from Breitbart, the far-right website he ran.

Dr Matthew Partridge

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri