My Copy: 9781538718469 (image from bn.com)

It took me a while longer than I thought to read this book, especially how thin it is compared to others I’ve picked up lately, but when I finally had a chance to sit and really read and absorb it, it went quick.

A Warning doesn’t really give you any clues as to who the author is (and they mention don’t bother trying), it just recommends you take what’s said into account so you can make good informed decisions about the upcoming election. This writer was thinking hard about 2020 while writing this in early or mid 2019.

And this is one republican writer I was glad to read, even if I wanted to shake my head at times. Not so much because I’m a liberal and I’ll admit it, but that the writer saw so much and took so long to speak out. The trouble is the further you go into the themed chapters of this presidency, the more you get the dynamic, and get what happened.

Why didn’t this writer speak out? The same reason nobody else ever really did. Stay and try to fix it or abandon ship? Be a moderating influence or become an apologist or backstabber?

This snippet gives a good indication of what it’s all about and why it was time to write it:

I write this on the eve of what may be the most important election of our lifetimes. In the time left until we make our decision, we as a nation must consider the implications of reelecting Trump. I realize that writing this while the president is still in office is an extraordinary step. Some will find it disloyal, but too many people have confused loyalty to a man with loyalty to the country. The truth about the president must be spoken, not after Americans have stood in the voting booth to consider whether to give him another term and not after he has departed office. It must be done now. Hopefully others will remedy the error of silence and choose to speak out.

In these pages, you will not just hear from me. you will hear a great deal from Donald Trump directly, for there is no better witness to his character than his own words and no better evidence of the danger he poses than his own conduct.

–pg 16-17

What I liked about this book is that it is pretty direct, and simply gives you plenty to discover about how things had been regarding the White House compared to what they became. There’s what the author calls the Steady State, the folks around the president who keep things going, educate the president and can reign in the crazier stuff. But with Trump, the influence of the Steady Staters increasingly eroded. This writer shows many instances when actions should never have been taken, or were ignored, or ways Trump could’ve done something beneficial that anybody could have gotten behind, but he bulldozed ahead to be insulting and bullying instead, losing out in the end.

I tried not to facepalm when being reminded of all the foreign policy failures. I’d forgotten some of these, there had been so many so long ago.

The title A Warning is very apropos, because it’s trying to approach those who want the best for their country as a whole, no matter what side of the political coin. There’s a bunch on the divisiveness that’s invaded our nation like a cancer, and how our responsibility as citizens is to find ways to work together. As far as high office is concerned, Trump has done just about everything to destroy bipartisanship in pursuit of personal loyalty. The Steady State is shown to have devolved in the White House to posturing and backstabbing for favors.

And the writer makes it pretty clear we may not survive four more years of it as a democracy. And in the end, it really is up to us.

I think anybody could read this book, take their time and absorb it, and want to vote. There’s some unsettling observations made in the last chapters about the voting public I’d rather not spoil, but I have to admit, after thinking about how we got here… I gotta agree.

It’s definitely a warning shot, and should be read.