The storming of the Capitol on 6 January 2021 revealed the transition from President Trump to President Biden to be one of the most dangerous periods in American history, with the result of the election called into question by the sitting president.

But, as internationally best-selling author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time, it was far more than just a domestic political crisis. At the highest level of the US military, secret action was taken to prevent Trump from possibly starting a war.

Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the centre of the turmoil, resulting in a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink. They take listeners deep inside the Trump White House, the Biden White House, the 2020 campaign, and the Pentagon and Congress, with vivid, eyewitness accounts of what really happened. Peril is supplemented throughout with never-before-seen material from secret orders, transcripts of confidential calls, diaries, emails, meeting notes and other personal and government records, making for an unparalleled history.

It is also the first inside look at Biden’s presidency, revealing the background to his controversial decision to leave Afghanistan. He took office faced with the challenges of a lifetime: dealing with the continuing deadly pandemic and its crushing economic impact, all the while navigating a bitter and disabling partisan divide, and the hovering, dark shadow of the former president. ‘We have much to do in this winter of peril,’ Biden declared at his inauguration.

Peril is the extraordinary story of the end of one presidency and the beginning of another. The culmination of Bob Woodward’s best-selling trilogy on the Trump presidency, along with Fear and Rage, it is an essential book for anyone wanting to understand this tumultuous period.

Listening Length

13 hours and 35 minutes
Author

Bob Woodward, see all
Narrator

Robert Petkoff
Audible release date

21 September 2021
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster Audio UK
ASIN

B09DGT84MY
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	13 hours and 35 minutes
Author	Bob Woodward, Robert Costa
Narrator	Robert Petkoff
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	21 September 2021
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Audio UK
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B09DGT84MY
Best Sellers Rank	10,779 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 19 in 21st Century U.S. History 27 in U.S. Government 44 in United States Politics & Government

Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		19%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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A bit sloppy

Reviewed in Australia on 24 September 2021

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The story is good. It has a lot of insider information. The thing is, the writing is sloppy. I find it hard to believe this was proofread. That makes it a bit hard to trust because it leaves me with the impression it was rushed to meet a deadline. If the punctuation was rushed, why wouldn't they rush the fact checking?

3 people found this helpful

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Glenn Gustafson

Great Book

Reviewed in Australia on 21 December 2021

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Well done.

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grant b.

Fans of Bob Woodward

Reviewed in Australia on 1 December 2021

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It was gifted and enjoyed by the reader, also shared with two friends after

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Linda Hannah

Not as good as Rage

Reviewed in Australia on 2 November 2021

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It had very little new information. Most of it had been published before

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Garnet Henry Beresford

Excellent factual book

Reviewed in Australia on 17 November 2021

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Up to Woodward standard

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Saint Quentin

Peri, at your peril, America!

Reviewed in Australia on 22 December 2021

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A very good summation of the political period of around 18 months, from all of 2020 to mid 2021. Both parties are given a very bipartisan exposure by the authors. Will 2024 see a return to another chaotic four years of DJT? Only time, and the mood of the American people over the next 7 years, will tell.

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Top reviews from other countries

Elisa 20

A nation in "Peril" == we still haven't thought enough about what that meant/means

Reviewed in the United States on 21 September 2021

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I like the Woodward trilogy titles: “FEAR” was a reminder of what Donald Trump thought was important in order to get power. “RAGE” came from Trump’s proud observation of the emotion he could create in others.

And “PERIL” shows how the chaos, anger and fear came together in the final year of Trump’s presidency, placing the presidency and even democracy in danger. “Peril” begins with America in danger from Trump. It ends the same way. Trump hasn’t gone and neither is the threat he poses to democracy.

Woodward is working with Washington Post’s Robert Costa, but the style of research and writing is the same. It’s a lot of interviews –over 200—and a lot of work putting them together in a way that will hold interest. Sometimes they succeed in this and create real scenes—other times, you see the problem of having so much detail that you just –have- to include it. Storytelling sometimes takes a back seat to recounting details that aren’t always that significant.

That’s one problem. A bigger one is that Woodward has always been kind to people who are his sources. Typically, they are some of the most complicit people, but are allowed to spin themselves into heroes. Here, that’s General Milley, Bill Barr, Lindsey Graham, Kellyanne Conway, among others who need to be scrutinized in a harsher light.

“PERIL” has many unnerving descriptions of Trump’s instability and apparent unwillingness to accept the reality of losing the election. Some of the above people made some efforts to save us from disaster. But most of the staffers and Republican officials around Trump do little to protect democracy. Barr’s there, and Pence, But where’s the rest of the Cabinet? The president described here is a danger to the country. Where were the Republicanns in the Cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment? Why were McCarthy and McConnell so complacent? There are no answers here.

Pence’s decision-making process made this a worthwhile read for me. He did the right thing—in the end—including staying at the Capitol during the insurrection. But he clearly wanted to cooperate with Trump if at all possible under the Constitution. It was only after everyone he consulted – including Dan Quayle, who comes across well here – that Pence agrees to do the right thing—and do it without equivocation. (For a time, he dithered about possibly expressing sympathy with those who wanted to throw out Biden votes).

About a third of the book is about Biden—his campaign, transition, and early presidency. But, as in real life, it’s Trump who takes the air out of the room. Even ten months after losing, he is still sending letters to Georgia’s secretary of state as he did last Friday, demanding that the electors be “decertified or whatever the legal remedy is.” It would be comical. If it wasn’t so delusional and dangerous. “Peril”, indeed.

664 people found this helpful

Debra M.

If I could burn this book without ruining my phone, I would. Don't buy it.

Reviewed in the United States on 21 September 2021

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Bob Woodward is making big money with his lies and half truths just like every other book he's written. I'll never buy anything with his name on it again.

640 people found this helpful

Kath Gray

Dont waste yr money

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 September 2021

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Embarrassingly lightweight for the most part.
Four page chapters about anecdotes about Joe Biden deciding to run for president- that is not what i bought this book for & not what it was advertised to be about.
Dont waste your time- the four important occurrences were reported on news programs, this not what i expect from a respected journalist.
I dont think I'm even going to bother to finish it.

22 people found this helpful

Philip M

Tale of frightening events in the run-up, during and after the US 2020 election

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2021

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Woodward has created another extraordinary insight into the life of the US presidency under Trump and following his election defeat. Once again, he records extracts from genuine memos, Senate reports, meetings, interviews and conversations with the most senior people in federal and state governments and the US military. “Peril” is the story of a truly frightening and scary period in modern history and will probably be studied by historians for many years to come.

He, with Costa, weaves this remarkably thorough research together, to lead the reader through some of the most dangerous and uncertain times in recent American history. The result is the best blow-by-blow description of the events of the storming of the Capital that I have read. It includes eye-witness accounts of Trump’s behaviour and attitude whilst watching the storming from the Oval Office balcony and on television. Interviews with Senators, their staff and the police show in terrifying detail just how frightening this was.

Woodward explains in intricate detail why General Milley and all the Chiefs of Staff of the military became so concerned about Trump’s increasingly unstable behaviour. They and others in the government were deeply worried that the President would use his executive powers to authorise military (probably nuclear) action against another country, or against fellow Americans in direct contravention to the Constitution. And they feared he might be planning a coup, to destroy the US democracy and create a Trump dictatorship.

If you think this is far-fetched read this book and take note of the high-ranking Generals, Washington officials, and politicians from both sides of the aisle who shared these fears. And also discover so much more about the events of the transition of power, and exactly why Biden pulled out of Afghanistan the way he did.

7 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

A rivetting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2021

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A lot of the events in the book have been written elsewhere.

However there are little additions and quotes from the Trump administration that make most reasonable people even more aware of just what a disaster Trump was.

Hearing how his closest team, and even his family, distanced themselves from him whilst "the crazies" like Powell and Guliani filled the gap makes astounding, and concerning read.

How people supported, and still support Trump I have no idea.

6 people found this helpful

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