War

By: Bob Woodward

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Chosen by WATERSTONES as one of their BEST POLITICS BOOKS of 2024

Two-time Pulitzer prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars – Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle for the American presidency.

War is an intimate and sweeping account of one of the most tumultuous periods in presidential politics and American history.

We see President Joe Biden and his top advisers in tense conversations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. We also see Donald Trump, conducting a shadow presidency and seeking to regain political power.

With unrivalled, inside-the-room reporting, Woodward shows President Biden’s approach to managing the war in Ukraine, the most significant land war in Europe since World War II, and his tortured path to contain the bloody Middle East conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.

Woodward reveals the extraordinary complexity and consequence of wartime back-channel diplomacy and decision-making to deter the use of nuclear weapons and a rapid slide into World War III.

The raw cage-fight of politics accelerates as Americans prepare to vote in 2024, starting between President Biden and Trump, and ending with the unexpected elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.

War provides an unvarnished examination of the vice president as she tries to embrace the Biden legacy and policies while beginning to chart a path of her own as a presidential candidate.

Woodward’s reporting once again sets the standard for journalism at its most authoritative and illuminating.

Critic reviews

‘[Woodward] still doing what he does best: ferreting through Washington’s corridors of power'

‘The 81-year-old Watergate warhorse proves he still has his fastball. War bristles with scoops’

'A sober but alarming must-read' (Lloyd Green)

“This is harrowing, riveting stuff . . . Though he specializes in real-time suspense, Woodward doesn’t write cliffhangers. His impulse – his talent – is to impose an arc and a moral on the mess and sprawl of very recent history. This time around, his stated conclusions are unambiguous: 'Donald Trump is not only the wrong man for the presidency,' he writes, 'he is unfit to lead the country.' In contrast, 'Biden and his team will be largely studied in history as an example of steady and purposeful leadership.' Those judgments sound authoritative. They also sound wishful' (A.O. Scott)

'Legendary journalist Woodward compares the Biden and first Trump administrations with behind-the-scenes revelations. A critical read to understand the context of the past four to eight years of American politics, War delves into the psychology of two presidents who held the same office but starkly different views on government and what America is and should be, both at home and abroad' (Peter Aitken)

Outstanding ..Woodward at his best

Brilliant book, great narrator fascinating insight into the actions of Biden as president..an underestimated leader of gentle power.