PositiveThe Wall Street JournalThe message of Romney: A Reckoning is not uplifting ... Coppins saw this project as a way for Mr. Romney to come to grips with his place in American history. That is not quite how things worked out. The book is instead a reminder that meritocratic success in business is not easily translatable into democratic politics. What lessons should one draw from a wealthy, talented and decent man who attempts to lead a political party in the throes of a populist revolt? Above all, take care not to sacrifice one’s family, faith and integrity.
Peter S. Goodman
PanThe Wall Street JournalMr. Goodman’s tone is fevered, his descriptions lurid ... The book does score a few points against its targets—excuseme, subjects...But Mr. Goodman’s critique is so relentless and one-sided that the reader can’t help feeling a touch of sympathy for these Masters of the Universe ... Mr. Goodman is a skilled reporter whose stories of private affluence and public squalor are filled with detail and human interest. But his conclusions are muddle-headed. He elides the distinction between tax evasion and tax avoidance ... The book is a master’s course in selective indignation ... no amount of contrary evidence will persuade Mr. Goodman that the story of Davos Man is more complicated than a morality tale. His proposed solutions to inequality—local cooperatives, mass unionization, universal basic income, hipster antitrust, and high taxes on incomes, inheritances and wealth—will be familiar to anyone familiar with the left side of the political spectrum. They won’t achieve their aims without harmful unintended consequences.
Michael V Hayden
RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewFor a longtime spook, Hayden is a breezy and direct writer. He reduces complex issues of cyber and information warfare to essentials, and his polemic is leavened with humor and sympathy. He is at his best, though, when he shifts to a purely analytical tone. He coolly forecasts the direction of America under Trump, explains the intelligence that foreign governments are likely to collect from the president’s Twitter feed and describes the benefits Russia drew from the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Kremlin-connected Russian attorneys and senior Trump campaign officials. Reading this book, I could not help being struck by the divide separating officials like Hayden from followers of Trump. Hayden’s narrative is filled with accolades for media institutions and figures distrusted by large numbers of Americans ... Hayden’s Assault on Intelligence, then, is more than an indictment of Trump. It is evidence of the social and cultural divide between everyday Americans and the highest levels of their government. What we learn from Hayden is that the upper echelons of the intelligence community are filled with patriots who can tell you what is happening in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan — but are at a loss for words when the scene shifts to a Pennsylvania bar.
