by Bob Woodward
First published 2025
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward delivers an inside account of three simultaneous conflicts that defined a presidency. The book examines President Joe Biden's management of the Ukraine crisis, the largest European land conflict since World War II, alongside his efforts to contain the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East. Woodward captures tense diplomatic exchanges between Biden and world leaders including Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Volodymyr Zelensky. The narrative follows the complex back-channel negotiations aimed at preventing nuclear escalation and avoiding a third world war. Meanwhile, Donald Trump operates as a shadow president while seeking to reclaim power. The political battle intensifies as the 2024 election approaches, beginning as a Biden-Trump rematch before Vice President Kamala Harris unexpectedly becomes the Democratic nominee. Woodward provides an unfiltered look at Harris as she balances loyalty to Biden's policies with her own presidential ambitions. The book reveals the intricate reality of wartime diplomacy and the raw intensity of American politics during one of the most volatile periods in recent history.
Genres: history, international-relations, 21st-century, current-affairs, political-thriller, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, political-intrigue
Setting: Ukraine, Middle East, United States
Period: 2020s
448 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: war