Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 372 ratings

Price: 21.65

Last update: 02-28-2025


About this item

This program features a prologue and epilogue read by the author.

A monumental work of nonfiction that gives a first-row seat to the epic power struggle between politics, money, media, and tech—for fans of Maggie Haberman's Confidence Man and Jane Mayer's Dark Money.

Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom in 2013, after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe. Just seven months into his new job, Baron received explosive news: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, would buy the Post, marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years. Just over two years later, Donald Trump won the presidency.

Now, the capital’s newspaper, owned by one of the world’s richest men, was tasked with reporting on a president who had campaigned against the press as the “lowest form of humanity.” Pressures on Baron and his colleagues were immense and unrelenting, having to meet the demands of their new owner while contending with a president who waged a war of unprecedented vitriol and vengeance against the media.

In the face of Trump’s unceasing attacks, Baron steadfastly managed the Post’s newsroom. Their groundbreaking and award-winning coverage included stories about Trump’s purported charitable giving, misconduct by the Secret Service, and Roy Moore’s troubling sexual history. At the same time, Baron managed a restive staff during a period of rapidly changing societal dynamics around gender and race.

In Collision of Power, Baron recounts this with the tenacity of a reporter and the sure hand of an experienced editor. The result is elegant and revelatory—an urgent exploration of the nature of power in the 21st century.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Monica C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2024
    I typically only read non-fiction so I was pleasantly surprised that this book captured my attention and I ended up learning so much. I loved seeing things from the inside from the author's perspective. This was a well written book that stood apart from the many others related to politics and media.
  • Robert B. Lamm
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but Inconsistent
    Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2023
    Baron has a fascinating story to tell. He was Editor of The Washington Post leading up to and throughout both of fhe acquisition of the paper by Jeff Bezos and the Trump administration. His narrative of the acquisition and Bezos’s behavior as owner is fascinating. The dance of the Post and Bezos is very well told, and it’s particularly interesting (to me) how well Bezos comes off - a super-smart, supportive, and decent person who listens to his new employees and listens to their advice carefully, even when he doesn’t follow it.

    And, of course, the portions about clashes with Trump are equally fascinating, although closer to the irresistability (if that’s a word) of watching a train wreck. Equally of course, we’ve heard most of it before, but it’s still pretty gripping.

    However, there are other portions of the book that were just too long - the internal disputes about diversity at the paper, the debates about the merits of advocacy journalism vs. traditional journalistic values of neutrality, and Baron’s views on these and other subjects. I felt that he could - and should - have stated his case and then moved on. Instead, he belabors these and some other issues to the point of boredom.

    Still, a fascinating and very worthy book.
  • LA
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Insider Account, From a High Position, Which Tells a Great Story
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2023
    Author Martin Baron has helmed three of our major newspapers as “Managing Editor,” meaning he was in charge of content (i.e., not the business side which is the publisher). His new book, “Collision Of Power: Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post,” is his inside, extremely well-resourced and detailed account of his last stop in that position at the Washington Post (his first two: Miami Herald and the Boston Globe). He was there from 2013 (before Bezos bought the paper) through early 2021, after Trump had left the White House.

    You would expect a well-written book, and this one does not disappoint in that respect… or any others. It’s a terrific retelling of events during those dates, mainly from the perspective of his Post position. He pulls no punches, gives us all the inside details he is legally and ethically able to, and winds an enveloping story around himself and those literally hundreds of people who worked under and alongside him. He’s quite good at this, as you would expect.

    While his positions on issues are well thought out, he is clearly left leaning, so don’t be surprised at how he treats Trump. His inside account of his and the paper’s dealings with owner Jeff Bezos is one of the most interesting components of the book. Not surprisingly, Bezos was the perfect owner of the newspaper, giving guidance in digital, on-line advancements, and funding whatever was needed to advance the paper to top tier status.

    It's a long book, lots of good, interesting details, and he never loses the thread which keeps the story moving. Well worth the read.
  • Charles K
    5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book
    Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023
    I’ve followed Marty Baron’s career closely when we both worked in journalism in Boston. What he did at the Boston Globe as Editor during the extraordinary Spotlight series on the Catholic Church abuse scandal, remains with me as one of the greatest acts of journalism in my lifetime. Naturally, I looked forward to his book on his years at the Washington Post, where he lead this storied newspaper under the ownership of Jeff Bezos and during the Trump years. His book is exceptional. It is really multiple stories at once, woven together which an honesty that is very rare. Through the lens of his leadership of the Post, I understood the intersecting forces that rebuilt the paper under his leadership while juggling the influences of two of the most powerful and complicated people in the world. The result is an amazing read, totally engrossing, piercingly forthright, alternately riveting and personal, filled with detail that only a true journalist could conjure, often bracing and sad at the same time. A great book like this is a rarity, filled with insight, personal struggle and ultimate triumph. This is a page turner filled with lessons about the challenges and complexities of journalism in our times.
  • F D Bailey
    5.0 out of 5 stars A tell-all book of a turbulent time
    Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
    Marty Baron has led the newsrooms of major American newspapers including The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. This well-written (and reported!) book details the 8 years he was the editor of The Washington Post, most of which coincided with the Trump years. Baron pulls no punches in describing the fire he and his staff took from the Trump team, as “enemies of the people.” The many scoops, and Pulitzers, the paper generated under Baron are proof of his tenacity and steady hand. He was lucky to have an owner, Jeff Bezos, with deep pockets and a hands-off policy. Baron is candid and names names of young staffers who insist upon opining on their news stories and subjects. This is not the way journalism has traditionally operated, and Baron makes no bones about his displeasure. A great inside look at a great American newspaper.
  • XXXXCCCCXXXXXX
    3.0 out of 5 stars Behind the scenes
    Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
    An informative compilation of the stormy relationship between Donald Trump and the “media,” particularly the Washington Post. Although the actions of Donald Trump to suppress unflattering press reports was downright nasty, the clearly biased focus of many press reports was resonant of the “yellow press” activities heartening back to the Hearst publications in the past. Martin Baron is right to identify the many stated untruths by the administration that rightfully draw criticism, but the distinct animus displayed by the those critics detracts from the impact of those disclosures. All in all worth the read. I have come away with more respect for Jeff Bezos as a result.

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