A Very Stable Genius by Philip Rucker, Carol Leonnig
$7.99
A Very Stable Genius
- Donald J. Trump's Testing of America
- By: Philip Rucker, Carol Leonnig
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Carol Leonnig, Philip Rucker
- Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
- Categories: History
Publisher's Summary
The instant number-one best seller.
“This taut and terrifying book is among the most closely observed accounts of Donald J. Trump’s shambolic tenure in office to date." (Dwight Garner, The New York Times)
Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and White House bureau chief Philip Rucker, both Pulitzer Prize winners, provide the definitive insider narrative of Donald Trump’s presidency
“I alone can fix it.” So proclaimed Donald J. Trump on July 21, 2016, accepting the Republican presidential nomination and promising to restore what he described as a fallen nation. Yet as he undertook the actual work of the commander in chief, it became nearly impossible to see beyond the daily chaos of scandal, investigation, and constant bluster. In fact, there were patterns to his behavior and that of his associates. The universal value of the Trump administration was loyalty - not to the country but to the president himself - and Trump’s north star was always the perpetuation of his own power.
With deep and unmatched sources throughout Washington, DC, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker reveal the 45th president up close. Here, for the first time, certain officials who felt honor-bound not to divulge what they witnessed in positions of trust tell the truth for the benefit of history.
A peerless and gripping narrative, A Very Stable Genius not only reveals President Trump at his most unvarnished but shows how he tested the strength of America’s democracy and its common heart as a nation.
©2020 Philip Rucker, Carol Leonnig (P)2020 Penguin Audio
DCNow2014
Fascinating story, but poor narration
I got this book after reading segments in another setting. Brilliantly written, but the narration is not very compelling. The woman reading it–Hillary Huber–sounds like a robot, giving virtually no inflection. It’s almost as if Audible is using a simple text-to-speech application. Unfortunate. I’m still in the early stages on the book and hope I’m able to continue. Odd because Ms. Huber does a good job narrating other books.
Be aware–the sample of this book does NOT include the voice of the actual narrator of the book. The book opens with an Authors’ Note, read by Carol Leonnig, and a Prologue, read by Philip Rucker, so customers are not able to hear how the reading of the book actually sounds.
266 people found this helpful
Sarah
Well researched and well presented
A chronology of incidents you may wish you could forget – and that were actually worse than you thought, plus some new revelations. It begins with a brief introduction by Carol Leoning about the methods used in collecting the material, followed by a more lengthy discussion by Philip Rucker which amounts to a summary of the first three years of Trump’s presidency.
The book is a journalistic telling of events, not an assessment of the Trump administration, but the events are such that they are in effect an assessment. Leoning and Rucker did hundreds of interviews in order to give intimate accounts of meetings, conversations, and often familiar incidents.
I wish the authors had read the whole book, not just the introductions, but Hillary Huber does a good job of reading it, in my opinion. Although I see some reviewers were critical of the narration, it didn’t really impress me one way or the other. It certainly would not keep me from listening to the book. Her voice and intonation are clear and her reading is smooth. I looked her up and see that she has narrated many other books and that her ratings are quite positive for those. In a Very Stable Genius her delivery is straightforward, which to me seems appropriate. I definitely did not find it robotic. I am baffled by so much negativity.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be well informed about the reality of the Trump presidency and can stand to hear even more chilling details than were previously available in news sources.
139 people found this helpful