Holding the Line: Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary Mattis
Oct 2019 · Penguin
4.2star
4 reviewsreport
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About this ebook
"This is the memoir America wishes Jim Mattis had written." —The Washington Post
An insider's sometimes shocking account of how Defense Secretary James Mattis led the US military through global challenges while serving as a crucial check on the Trump Administration.
For nearly two years as Trump's Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis maintained a complicated relationship with the President. A lifelong Marine widely considered to be one of America's greatest generals, Mattis was committed to keeping America safe. Yet he served a President whose actions were frequently unpredictable and impulsive with far-reaching consequences.
Often described as the administration's "adult in the room," Mattis has said very little about his difficult role, and since his resignation has kept his views of the President and his policies private. Now, Mattis's former chief speechwriter and communications director, Guy M. Snodgrass, brings readers behind that curtain. Drawing on his seventeen months working with Mattis, Snodgrass reveals how one of the nation's greatest generals walked a political tightrope while leading the world's most powerful military.
Snodgrass gives us a fly-on-the-wall view as Mattis...
• Reacted when learning about major policy decisions via Twitter rather than from the White House.
• Minimized the damage done to our allies and diplomatic partners.
• Slow-rolled some of Trump's most controversial measures, with no intention of following through.
As the first book written by an insider with firsthand knowledge of key decisions and moments in history, Holding the Line is a must-read for those who care about the presidency and America's national security. It's filled with never-before-told stories that will both alarm and reassure, a testament to the quiet and steady efforts of General Mattis and the dedicated men and women he led at the Department of Defense.
An insider's sometimes shocking account of how Defense Secretary James Mattis led the US military through global challenges while serving as a crucial check on the Trump Administration.
For nearly two years as Trump's Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis maintained a complicated relationship with the President. A lifelong Marine widely considered to be one of America's greatest generals, Mattis was committed to keeping America safe. Yet he served a President whose actions were frequently unpredictable and impulsive with far-reaching consequences.
Often described as the administration's "adult in the room," Mattis has said very little about his difficult role, and since his resignation has kept his views of the President and his policies private. Now, Mattis's former chief speechwriter and communications director, Guy M. Snodgrass, brings readers behind that curtain. Drawing on his seventeen months working with Mattis, Snodgrass reveals how one of the nation's greatest generals walked a political tightrope while leading the world's most powerful military.
Snodgrass gives us a fly-on-the-wall view as Mattis...
• Reacted when learning about major policy decisions via Twitter rather than from the White House.
• Minimized the damage done to our allies and diplomatic partners.
• Slow-rolled some of Trump's most controversial measures, with no intention of following through.
As the first book written by an insider with firsthand knowledge of key decisions and moments in history, Holding the Line is a must-read for those who care about the presidency and America's national security. It's filled with never-before-told stories that will both alarm and reassure, a testament to the quiet and steady efforts of General Mattis and the dedicated men and women he led at the Department of Defense.
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4.2
4 reviews
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November 1, 2019
Okay. So I ended up reading both this and Call Sign Chaos. This book will give you a reality check on a rather popular Secretary of Defense. Turns out, Mattis is human too...but rips more into these guys Sweeney and Faller more than Mad Dog himself. Snodgrass has my sympathy. He got got Bernie'd. This book may sway some votes come 2020 but will lose all relevance after this administration...whereas Mattis' book actually has useful advice for life and is worth retaining a physical copy for future review.
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About the author
Guy "Bus" Snodgrass recently served as director of communications and chief speechwriter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis. A former naval aviator and F/A-18 pilot, he served as a commanding officer of a fighter squadron based in Japan, a TOPGUN instructor, and a combat pilot over the skies of Iraq as part of his twenty-year navy career. Today he is the founder and CEO of Defense Analytics, a strategic consulting and advisory firm.
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