At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House

The content of the book is great and insightful. After page 159 there are a lot of pages out of sequence which makes reading a challenge. I note this was highlighted by another reader in 2024 and it should really be sorted

The book was in good condition but some of the pages were in the wrong order.

I was enjoying this book which is one guy's take on his time in The White House. Everything was going well until I reached pages in the 150's, 160's and 170's which were all jumbled up. It was too frustrating to follow so eventually I just skipped these pages.

First, I am biased as I am a fan of HR McMaster from his other book Battlegrounds (which i recommend) and his appearances on Goodfellows. If you want to get a sense of what's happening behind the scenes as Trump takes office i highly recommend reading this. This is not a Tell All smear type of book. McMaster doesn't pull any punches with regards to Trump but he provides greater context, seeing through the noise and bluster. One of the greatest benefits for me is HR provides context on the geopolitical forces at play allowing one to see beyond the headlines from Russia, to China, the Middle East etc. It also provides insight into how policy is formed and the competitive forces within the administration. Things aren't as cohesive as one might think and motivations outside of the desire to achieve the core mission do have an impact. So yes, if you're thinking about it, buy it.

Buch war wie im Bild abgezeichnet. Alles wie erwartet. Bin zufrieden. Schnelle Lieferung.

Great read. As stated by the author, if you like Trump you will like him more after reading and if you dislike Trump, you would dislike him more after reading. Great insights into DC politics and how individual agendas impact how policy is developed and executed. One might look at the book at Trump admin exclusively, but the personal dynamics transcend administrations. My book was printed/bound poorly with the pages out of order or missing for pages 151-183.

McMaster has written a highly relevant history of his time as the National Security Adviser during the first Trump presidency. It claims to be balanced but I would need to read the accounts of Secretary Mattis and Secretary Tillerson to make up my mind. The title captures the book perfectly. It also provides valuable insights into Donald Trump’s decisions making.

“I wished that more Americans could see beyond their silos of cable news and vitriolic partisanship to understand more fully the good, as well as the bad and the ugly, of the Trump presidency.” (p144) This is a serious, fair-minded, and thoughtful account of life in the Trump White House, so it’s likely to leave both anti-Trump and MAGA zealots frustrated. It’s heavy on policy and is most definitely not a hit job by a bitter former insider; McMaster is careful to be as dispassionate and balanced as possible. He’s not afraid to be blunt and critical, but he’s equally ready to give credit (to Trump and to others) when he thinks it’s due. But there’s no doubt that the picture he paints is a harsh indictment of Trump and his administration. Ultimately, I see it as a carefully worded warning about what awaits if we were to allow Trump another term. It’s especially credible because the messenger is an accomplished leader with exceptional wisdom, breadth of knowledge, and extensive experience as a warrior, senior staffer, historian, and policy wonk. McMaster is an engaging writer; I especially enjoyed his many humorous, self-deprecating anecdotes. I found his defense of one particularly infamous incident unconvincing, but he was there and I was not. Disclaimer: I knew HR and his family twenty years ago; his wife and I taught high school together in Colorado Springs. I read this book largely because of my profound respect for his intellect, character, and service to our country.