Has Anyone Seen the President?

by Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis goes to Washington!

Who better to shine a light into the shadows of the nation's capital in the age of Trump than the bestselling author of Liar's Poker and The Big Short?

In this audio investigation—unavailable in book form—Lewis narrates his 2018 report from Washington originally published in Bloomberg View. From inside the White House press room—which Lewis describes as having “the cramped, uncared-for feel of a public toilet”—to a balcony overlooking “a sea of white people” in the Trump International Hotel, to Steve Bannon’s Capitol Hill townhouse, where he joins the former campaign CEO to watch the State of the Union address, Lewis takes listeners on an unforgettable behind-the-scenes tour.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, History, Essays, Presidents, Historical

1 pages, Audiobook

First published June 19, 2018

About the author

Michael Monroe Lewis is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to Vanity Fair since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He is known for his nonfiction work, particularly his coverage of financial crises and behavioral finance.
Lewis was born in New Orleans and attended Princeton University, from which he graduated with a degree in art history. After attending the London School of Economics, he began a career on Wall Street during the 1980s as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers. The experience prompted him to write his first book, Liar's Poker (1989). Fourteen years later, Lewis wrote Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003), in which he investigated the success of Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics. His 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game was his first to be adapted into a film, The Blind Side (2009). In 2010, he released The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. The film adaptation of Moneyball was released in 2011, followed by The Big Short in 2015.
Lewis's books have won two Los Angeles Times Book Prizes and several have reached number one on the New York Times Bestsellers Lists, including his most recent book, Going Infinite (2023).

Reviews

[Barbara (The Bibliophage) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and not-so-sweet essay from the acclaimed Michael Lewis. It's basically a day in the life of the author. During this day he's in the White House press room, talking ethics, visiting Trump International Hotel in DC, and watching the State of the Union address with Steve Bannon. Lewis has a much more interesting life than most of us!

This is just under an hour on audio, and well read by the author. It's good to hear his inflections and attitude, but really, his perspective is pretty clear from just his words.

I enjoyed it, despite the fact that it's essentially all old news at this point.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting, especially Bannon's thoughts, and especially interesting as I view them through the prism of 2020. But it's not a complete book or even a complete thought. It feels like the first part of a two-part podcast but there is no second part.

[Gary Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was here was interesting (and troubling), but it would have been more satisfying if it was produced with other pieces or was just plain longer.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much an audiobook, but more an audio-essay, this work recounts how Michael Lewis (of Moneyball and the Big Short fame) found himself in the middle of the White House and DC, trying to find his own perspective on Washington D.C. in the era of Trump. He goes from the White House Press Room (back in the era when it was actually being used), to Trump’s hotel in DC to watching the State of Union with Steve Bannon (this was written for the 2018 State of the Union, when Bannon was long removed from the White House and the Trump orbit). He is no fan of Trump, but offers some interesting perspectives. A quick listen, and one that if you are a big fan of the author, you might enjoy, and if you don’t care for the author, well, it is not too bad (or long).

[Greg Kopstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure what to make of this short - Audible only - book. I have read his other work and I’m familiar with his style, so listening to him was refreshing. It’s a 1hr audiobook, so it’s easy to get through. It traces Michael Lewis from the White House press area to Mr. Brannon’s house for the State of the Union. The path - the trajectory- is clear, but not what he’s trying to accomplish. Nonetheless, an interesting listen, but nothing worth bumping to the top of the list .

[Omar El-Mohri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This can be just a Youtube video or an article. It does show more about the political climate but if you follow the news you might already know all this.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Review of the Audiobook

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in 2018.
Read by the author, Michael Lewis.
Duration: 0 hours, 54 minutes.
Unabridged.

Originally, this audiobook was originally written for Bloomberg View, the editorial/opinion site of Bloomberg News. Lewis went to Washington. D.C. during the run up to President Trump's "State of the Union Address". Lewis visits the press room in the White House, speaks with a former press secretary from the Obama Administration and visits with Trump advisor Steve Bannon. He also spends time with a former ethics official in the government who quit because President Trump and his administration openly flout the standards for ethics that were established in previous administrations (like divesting your portfolio of investments that could be a conflict of interest with your position in government). Finally, Lewis ends up watching the State of the Union with Steve Bannon in Bannon's home with running commentary from Bannon.

Michael Lewis, for me, is best known as the author of the books that inspired the movies Moneyball and The Blind Slide . Turns out that he also writes a lot about finance and politics. Who knew? Well, a whole lot of people did, so I guess I was just out to lunch on Michael Lewis and his many facets.

The biggest coup of the entire book is the access to Steve Bannon. Bannon is widely regarded as the man who...

Read more at: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2021...

[Mehrsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short one hour audiobook that is basically a podcast, but it was pretty entertaining.

[Alper Akanser · Rating 2 out of 5]

too short, basically an essay...

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a book so I feel guilty about this skewing my book count for 2023, but it was still worth listening to. I like anything Michael Lewis writes.

[Bill Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about the President Trump, his staff, and those around him who've come and gone. Still, the Lewis clearly has some kind of bias, but since he's apparently buddies with Steve Bannon, I'm not sure what that bias is...

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly brief essay by Michael Lewis of attending Trump's State of the Union address with Steve Bannon. Nothing more. Nothing less.

[Anthony Locke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book on Trump's pressroom post-election and Lewis' encounters with Steve Bannon. Bias was quite clear, but Lewis is a good story teller as I've come to expect.

[Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed magazine article disguised as an audiobook. Running time 1 hour 23 minutes.

[Nick D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought Michael Lewis might be able to make Trump interesting but nope.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one that seemed to be done as a favor or something..

[Leanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the way this author writes and I also think he has a view on all sorts of things that I can appreciate.

[Robin Docherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the qualities I most like from Michael Lewis is his detachment. He's never incensed or indignant, always curious, and seemingly always rides on a cloud of bemusement. He's never fretting over the state of things nor panicked, he's almost the most pure-hearted sort of journalist in that his main interest is a story. The narrative, the progression of events and knock-on therein. This short essay feels indicative of that to me, as he's breathing the same air as the "villains" (not a label I entirely disagree with but I'm not intending to editorialize her so much as quote general sentiment) and yet he's not passing judgement. He's notating and observing. Personally I love what Lewis does, and he's one of those writers that, when he narrates his own work, it's elevated by an order of magnitude.

[Ken Hamner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short book, but like about everything written by Michael Lewis, it’s pretty good. He captures a point of view about the manner in which the Trump administration handles the press, and he clearly disapproves. Lewis doesn’t spend much time discussing rationale or justifications for some of these strategies, but he’s not trying to deliver a balanced account with this work. Still worth a read or a listen.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read (listened) several of ML's other books, so I had an inkling how this would be. First off, my rant to authors, including Mr. Lewis. Take some lessons from hearing impaired people to understand the issues involved - speak at the same volume throughout, enunciate your words, keep a fairly even tempo. Need an example? Listen to Edoardo Ballerini narrate.

As for the content, no surprises, just reinforces my despair and no longer a laughable look at the self-proclaimed genius.

[Christian Hamaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to discover and listen to this a day after finishing Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury," which Lewis references in his brief (one disc) profile of Steve Bannon. Lewis quotes from Wolff's book and adds to the portrait of Bannon found there. It's a slight but pleasant enough addition to Wolff's much more in-depth treatment.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a super-super short read. It's a tiny glimpse into one day in Lewis' life where he gets to go to Washington and spends the day with Bannon. Nothing new here at this point. I have his longer book, too, which I assume will not be very different but might at least have a bit more depth. I always enjoy a Michael Lewis article so it was still a worthwhile read.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Lewis does great work. Here (in 2017-2018 or so) he mostly points out that the President does not seem interested in either science or the general administration of the government he leads. In 2020, this is no longer alarming, it’s tragically prophetic, borne out with a scale of US death not seen since WWII.

[jazz weisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this while on a bit of a Michael Lewis kick. A fun little guided jaunt into Trump era Washington, with a lot of good thoughts and info about the way things worked (and generally didn't work) in that time and place. A bit trippy to read in the current time too. I had definitely forgotten some of the insanity of the trump whitehouse...

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short (less than on hour) audiobook by one of my favorite authors. Michael Lewis relates his experience in the press room, an interview with the head of the Ethics committee and watching the State of the Union with Steve Bannon. Surreal....

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short take on the Trump presidency taken by snapshot. A few scenes from the chaos and carnage that is our president. Lewis is an excellent reporter and the scenes he represents give us a flavor of the presidency. Enjoyable and occasionally edifying. I would have preferred more material.

[Josh Saleska · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just an article, not a book; a quick one hour listen.

"Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees."

Trump's mission is to make sure everyone knows his name. His strategy is to avoid being seen!

Insightful words by Lewis.

[Mathew Whiteaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very short. Audible format and it feels more like the intro to a book than a book itself.

Not great, not bad considering the length. Lewis has a nice style but I felt left wanting more.

Not highly recommended, because the subject is just lightly scratched.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining observations, but on the whole not as insightful as one would expect, perhaps due to the short format. The frankness of his interview with Steve Bannon is surprising, but not altogether as probing as his larger body of work usually display.

[Dennis Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Has Anyone Seen the President? by Michael Lewis, his observations of the Trump Presidency contained in a short audio book for Audible. Lewis observes a Sarah Sanders press conference and a State of The Union Address from Steve Bannon’s condo.