Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, Michael Wolff
Is Michael Wolff a daring, insightful journalist or a water-cooler gossip? Is Fire and Fury an illuminating exposé of the Trump White House or a trashy retelling of stories we already know? Is the writing eloquent and astute or is it condescending and convoluted?
Spoiler alert: gossip, trashy, and condescending.
It’s hard to pinpoint what is the most annoying thing about Michael Wolff’s book (from the many, many choices), but my money is on his excessive overuse of the hyphen. He uses this punctuational diversion to insert random “clarifying” content into the middle of sentences, on average about once every paragraph. Here is one of the most nauseating examples of this writing “style”:
During a dinner of Dover sole, haricots verts, and thumbelina carrots — Kushner, seated with the Chinese first couple, Bannon at the end of the table — the attack on Al Shayrat airfield was launched.
For the love of god.
Wolff also has a not-very-endearing habit of insinuating things that might be going on without really ever telling you what the details of those things are. For instance, he went on the talk-show book tour and stated that Trump was having an affair with one of his staffers. He insinuated that the book would revealed who the affair was with, but to find out the details, you would have to buy the book and then “read between the lines”. When asked out-right by the talk-show hosts to say who it was (since he brought it up, after all), he would just smirk and repeat that the answer was “in the book”. He is literally a child. No wonder he was overlooked for so long while he lurked about in the White House … Trump probably thought they were on a play date.
I imagine a conversation with Wolff in high school going something like this:
Michael Wolff: I was in Mr. Taylor’s closet and I heard him talking to Mrs. Stephens.
Classmate Who Foolishly Engaged: Really? What did they say? Wait, why were you in the closet?
MW: I was …er …. doing homework. They were talking about the students in their classes! It was so mean that I’m going to write about it in the school newspaper!
CWFE: What did they say?
MW: Mean things! It will be in the newspaper.
CWFE: But, what mean things did they say?
MW: You will never believe it! It was so shocking and mean! It will all be in the story.
CWFE: Why can’t you just tell me now?
MW: I did just tell you. I told you it will be in the story. Probably in the form of an indecipherable puzzle.
CWFE: What?
MW: Yeah, that way nobody can say I said anything, even though I’m saying everything! I am so amazingly smart and you are all so stupid!
CWFE:
MW: … so there …
Rating: Please, just skip it. Your best bet is to just walk away now. Don’t make the mistake of engaging.
Additional note to exposé authors: I have yet to read a unauthorized exposé that hasn’t made me lose more respect for the author than the person they are trying to expose. Just sayin’.