The Fight of His Life

Inside Joe Biden's White House

By: Chris Whipple

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers comes a revelatory, insider’s look at how President Joe Biden and his team have battled to achieve their agenda—based on the author’s extraordinary access to the White House during two years of crises at home and abroad.

In January of 2021, the Biden administration inherited the most daunting array of challenges since FDR’s presidency: a lethal pandemic, a plummeting economy, an unresolved twenty-year war, and the aftermath of an attack on the Capitol that polarized the country. Waves of crises followed, including the fallout from a divisive Supreme Court, raging inflation, and Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Now prizewinning journalist Chris Whipple takes us inside the Oval Office as the critical decisions of Biden’s presidency are being made. With remarkable access to both President Biden and his inner circle—including Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burns—Whipple pulls back the curtain on the internal power struggles and back-room compromises. Featuring shocking new details about how renegade Trump officials enabled the transfer of power, which key staffers really make the White House run (it’s probably not who you think), why Joe Biden no longer speaks freely around his security detail, and what he really thinks of Vice President Kamala Harris, the press, and living in the White House, The Fight of His Life “is a valuable first draft of history” (Publishers Weekly).

©2023 Chris Whipple. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Interesting but still propaganda

It is very interesting and shows how he has become good at influencing others over the last 40 years and applied it to his presidency. It offers minimal details about him and his administration's shortcomings. Biden and his administration play a victim a lot. After listening, I now feel they do more deflecting in the day to day.

Worth Reading

As a news junkie and supporter of Biden, I wondered if I would learn anything new from this book, but I did. A lot of good information about behind the scenes negotiations. Especially about the pullout from Afghanistan which was so horrific, i still think he screwed the Pooch on that one but was working with bad intel. But he’s made up for it with Ukraine.

Very Interesting, Too Much Cheerleading.

Lots of great behind-the-scenes information. It seemed to be objective in the beginning, especially in its treatment of the Afghanistan withdrawal. However, the cheerleading for Pres. Biden in the rest of the book became tedious, and I’m a Biden supporter.

superb

Great details explaining how democracy survives a potentially deadly transition . Very good work, bravo.

A Few Interesting Tidbits

An okay book with not a lot new to my ears, though I did learn a few details of history.

Interesting Perspective But a Bit Propaganda

Worth listening to if you're interested in the topic. It has some criticism and some first hand perspectives that are interesting, but at times feels a bit like a propaganda piece too. Overall, pretty good and informative.

Well Written

As a news junkie I really liked this book!
BTW: CORRECTION, Chapter 12, Pramila Jayapal is a Democratic Representative from Seattle, WA not Minnesota.

A little boring, not bad

As a (mostly) supporter of Biden and admin, I was looking forward to this reading. I feel it falls flat in delivering anything we didn’t already know; only doing so in a refreshed way with good sources. The behind the scenes with regards to transitioning power and covid response I found quite astonishing however.

Such an important story!

This one is for the history books. Thank you for telling the true story after speaking with the people that mattered.

Fascinating listen

A fascinating listen, offering insights into the behind-the-scenes workings of the administration and the challenges they face. Quotes from Biden and his inner circle helped me feel like I was in the room as critical discussions were taking place.

I bought this on the strength of The Spymasters, written by the same author and performed by the same narrator, and found it every bit as enjoyable. Highly recommend.