Fear | Bob Woodward

Fear: Trump in the White House

Extended Synopsis

In Fear: Trump in the White House, legendary investigative journalist Bob Woodward delivers the most intimate and unprecedented portrait of a sitting president ever published during their first years in office. Honed through his experience reporting on nine presidencies, Woodward reveals the harrowing day-to-day life inside Donald Trump’s White House. Drawing from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, and confidential files, the book meticulously reconstructs the explosive debates and decision-making processes occurring within the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One, and the White House residence.

Fear provides an in-depth, meeting-by-meeting look at crucial historical moments, tracking key foreign policy issues regarding North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, NATO, China, and Russia. Domestically, it explores trade and tariff disputes, tax legislation, the Paris Climate Accord, and the racial violence in Charlottesville in 2017. Woodward also presents vivid details of the high-stakes negotiations between Trump’s attorneys and Robert Mueller during the Russia investigation. Most shockingly, the book discloses how senior White House officials actively conspired to steal draft orders from the president’s desk to prevent directives that could jeopardize national security—a situation Woodward bluntly describes as an "administrative coup d'état" and a nervous breakdown of executive power.

Reader Targeting

• Political science students and historians seeking authoritative, primary-source-driven reporting on 21st-century American government.
• Readers fascinated by the inner workings of the executive branch and Oval Office decision-making.
• Followers of Bob Woodward's investigative journalism and rigorous presidential biographies.

Accolades & Awards

• A runaway #1 New York Times Bestseller and Sensational #1 International Bestseller, with over 2 million copies sold.
• Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Nonfiction.
• Praised by major media outlets: called "Explosive" by The Washington Post, "Devastating" by The New Yorker, and "Unprecedented" by CNN.

Author Biography

Bob Woodward is one of America's preeminent investigative journalists and authors. Having reported on the American presidency for decades, his deeply researched books are considered foundational texts in modern political science and history. His unparalleled access and rigorous methodology have made him a defining voice in chronicling the inner workings of the United States government across nine different presidencies.

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