‘Deeply reported and compulsively readable … Green is consistently interesting on the subject of Trump. But the real value of Devil’s Bargain is the story it tells about Bannon, some of which has been previously reported (not least by Green himself) but never so well synthesised or explained as it is here.’
Bret Stephens, The New York Times
‘Mr. Green is a talented reporter and a gifted storyteller. The anecdotes he records from the chaotic 2016 Trump campaign are both well chosen (they’re there for thematic reasons, not as gratuitous gossip) and brilliantly told.’
Wall Street Journal
‘Indispensable.’
Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker
‘Fascinating … required reading for anyone interested in the future.’
Janet Maslin, The New York Times
‘You won’t be able to put it down. I certainly couldn’t, surrendering a weekend I should have rightly spent with the kids. I spent it instead with a 63-year-old nationalist whom Time magazine all but called the shadow President of the United States … Addictive.’
Newsweek
‘There will be revelations even for readers who follow the news avidly … but the book’s primary value lies in making Trump’s surprise victory seem unsurprising, and in showing Bannon as more than a one-dimensional caricature.’
Publishers Weekly
‘In this important and vivid book, the veteran journalist Joshua Green … examines the role of Bannon, the man who, on convincing evidence laid out here, was instrumental in securing the most improbable election victory in modern political history … In all likelihood, Bannon’s ideas — wrapped up in what Green describes as a “swashbuckling grandiosity” and “cult leader magnetism” — could ultimately make him a more consequential figure than Trump himself.’
Toby Harnden, The Times
‘An invaluable history of how the right started to realign the Republican Party around nationalism. For as long that battle continues — and that will probably be a long time — reading Joshua Green’s book will be instructive.’
David Finkelstein, The Times
‘Thrilling.’
The Daily Telegraph
‘More gripping than fiction.’
Robert Peston, ITV Political Editor
‘Highly entertaining until the moment when Trump takes charge. Then, it becomes disturbing.’
Ken Bielenberg, Irish Independent
‘Behind the scenes and ripped from the headlines, Green’s saga exuberantly traces Trump’s wild ride to the presidency.’
Kirkus
‘Green saw Bannon as an important figure early on and began to track his career long before other journalists. As a result, Green had the material and access to produce a deeply researched and sharply observed account of a political figure and a movement that took most of the country by surprise … Readers will find no better guide to Bannon's vision than this gripping and sometimes appalling account.’
Foreign Affairs
‘Absorbing … the first thing I’ve read in the last year and a half that manages to make some sense of the human catastrophic weather event that is Steve Bannon.’
The Millions
‘One of the best, more thoroughly researched, and arguably most influential 2016 books to come out so far, Devil's Bargain is the product of years of interviews and tight reporting from journalist Joshua Green. He thrillingly tracks the influence of Steve Bannon and the alt-right on Trump's candidacy, persuasively arguing they were intrinsic to his rise and eventual victory. It's disturbing, fascinating stuff for anyone interested in this newly powerful fringe.’
Entertainment Weekly
‘Fast-paced, crisp, and cogent, this is a first look into a dark corner of history whose ramifications are only beginning to be understood.’
PopMatters
‘Joshua Green is an incredible storyteller, and Bannon is an incredible subject.’
Paste Magazine
‘Delicious from page one.’
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
