isaac Chotiner's Take on Woodward's Book

[DDySiegs]

Isaac Chotiner’s latest article on Bob Woodward’s book “Fear” on Slate.com is definitely worth reading - preferably BEFORE you read the book.

https://slate.com/culture/2018/09/bob-woodwards-new-book-fear-trump-in-the-white-house-reviewed.html

[alwaysinasnit]

1. Wow. That article was a masterful takedown of both Woodward and his interviewees.

[Vinca]

2. Not really. After reading it I wondered if the critic had ever read Woodward's other books.

Woodward writes as a reporter, telling what happens and not necessarily drawing conclusions.

[alwaysinasnit]

5. There is a sentence near the end of the 2nd paragraph that implies that he has read at least some

of Woodward's other books. "Sources tend to come off well in his books."

I admit that I may be wrong, but although Chotiner does not directly criticize Woodward as a journalist, his descriptions of Woodward's writing (in this particular book) give me the impression that he is not overly impressed with how Woodward presents the interview materials.

(the sentence before the one referenced above) "It’s not entirely clear how aware Woodward is of what he has revealed about the people he’s quoting at length."

(beginning of 3rd paragraph) "Is Woodward the last optimist? He obviously believes that Trump is unfit to be president, but a reader can’t quite shake the sense that he somehow thinks maybe, just maybe, things could be different with the right coaching or incentives."

(beginning of 7th paragraph) "Woodward conveys all this in his typically matter-of-fact style, with dialogue heavy-scenes, and with his sources sounding reasonable and frustrated."

[hlthe2b]

3. I've always thought Woodward suffered from signficant "obliviousness" in his past several books

It surely would not surprise me to see it here.

[Me.]

4. Definitely Worth A Read