Reviews for Russian Roulette

by Michael Isikoff and David Corn

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From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* Authors Isikoff and Corn are both known for their writing skills and investigative-reporting chops. So put them together, and you have a highly readable book that meticulously pieces together how Russia involved itself in the 2016 election, who the players were, and how successful their complex machinations turned out to be. The authors grab attention in the first chapter, which chronicles Donald Trump's trip to Russia in 2013 for the Miss Universe pageant. After that setup, the narrative fills in the background, and there's plenty, including Putin's dislike of and disdain for Hillary Clinton and the Trump family's business and social relationships with Russian oligarchs. Even though many of the facts and incidents discussed here have been well reported, especially to those who feverishly follow all things Trump, this book does an outstanding job of putting the Russia-Trump story into context, separating rumor from fact and adding new information. The way the text builds from the 2016 election to the present covering how those in the Obama administration and the intelligence services dealt with the interference issue (or, in some cases, didn't) makes for thought-provoking reading. A smart, solid, even-handed book that future historians will use as a starting point.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2018 Booklist

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