All The President’s Faults

The Trump Administration is only two years old; even so, it is not surprising that there is a veritable cottage industry of tell-all books on the administration already. Martin Wolff’s Fire and Fury told us about everything—his hair, his bedroom habits and his presidential style. The title of Omarosa Manigault Newman’s Unhinged spoke for itself. It told us about the new kind of reality TV presidency that was running the US. But, both the books were marred by sloppy rep­orting, errors and a tendency to use gossip as fact.

Bob Woodward’s book is different bec­ause it is written by Woodward.  Over the years, he has built up a formidable reputation as a chronicler of American administrations, using a unique technique of reportage and reconstruction to delve deep into his subject. He says he uses the time-tested journalistic protocol of “deep background”, wherein he collects information through taped interviews, but he does not reveal his sources’ names. Even so, wherever possible, he provides direct attribution and endnotes. A quick read of the book will, however, give you a good idea as to who his principal sources are, especially in conversations involving Trump and another person, because the former declined to be interviewed for the book.