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Timothy L. O'Brien

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TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald Kindle Edition

by Timothy L. O'Brien (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 600 ratings

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The extensively researched biography that goes beyond the hype to “separate Trump the reality from Trump the reality show” (USA Today).

Now with a new introduction by the author, this entertaining look inside the world of Donald Trump is chock full of rip-roaring anecdotes, jaw-dropping quotes, and rigorous research into the business deals, political antics, curious relationships, and complex background of the forty-fifth US president.

Granted unprecedented access, Timothy L. O’Brien traveled across the country and up and down the East Coast with Trump on his private jet, wheeled around Palm Beach with him in his Ferrari, and spent hours interviewing him in his home, in his office, and on the golf course. He met with the entrepreneur’s closest friends and most aggressive rivals, while compiling a treasure trove of Trumpisms from the Donald himself:

Trump on the public’s enduring fascination with Trump: “There is something crazy, hot, a phenomenon out there about me, but I’m not sure I can define it and I’m not sure I want to.”

Trump on naysayers: “You can go ahead and speak to guys who have four-hundred-pound wives at home who are jealous of me, but the guys who really know me know I’m a great builder.”

Trump on the art of self-promotion: “You might as well tell people how great you are, because no one else is going to.”

Ultimately, when O’Brien’s research revealed that Trump’s business record and annual spot on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans might be more fantasy than reality, he—like so many others who have dared to tangle with the former host of The Apprentice—found himself in a courtroom. In a new introduction, O’Brien reflects on the recent wave of TrumpMania and updates readers on what it’s like to depose one of the world’s most litigious businessmen—and win.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Donald Trump, entrepreneur, television star and powerful brand selling suits, perfume and quixotic dreams of fortune in his name, asks in this engrossing romp, "What is it about me that gets Larry King his highest ratings?" O'Brien, a New York Times investigative reporter who has reported on Trump's ups and downs, answers that question in this instructive tongue-in-cheek primer for would-be Trumps. Sometimes hilarious quizzes summarizing the main points of each chapter demonstrate Trump's audacity, itinerant poor judgment and the kind of hubris one can only stand back and watch with astonishment and a sort of clandestine admiration. O'Brien chronicles Trump's rise, fall and rise again from both public favor and the Forbes rich list, and deftly balances irreverence and respect for his subject. The star of The Apprentice appears alternately arrogant and (nearly) humble, whether he is popping Oreos while watching Pulp Fiction on his private jet, discussing the "emotional business" of selling hotels, or dismissing the lure of the jet set. O'Brien's reportorial style, peppered with wit and irony, is the perfect base to Trump's acidic persona; he is the straight man to this contemporary P.T. Barnum. In between, there are lessons to be learned, regardless if the reader ever gets to apply them, for instance: be outrageous in your demands and keep a straight face. That may be hard to do while reading this book, but, as Trump might spin it, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Highly entertaining.” —Joe Nocera, The New York Times

“A meticulous investigative biography.” —Jane Mayer, The New Yorker

“Titillating.” —USA Today

“A bemused, entertaining portrait of a gold-toned incarnation of the American dream.” —Kirkus Reviews

“[An] engrossing romp . . . O’Brien’s reportorial style, peppered with wit and irony, is the perfect base to Trump’s acidic persona; he is the straight man to this contemporary P. T. Barnum.” —Publishers Weekly

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0169GGSJU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (October 20, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 20, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1740 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 305 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #364,722 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #234 in Real Estate (Kindle Store)
- #500 in Biographies of Political Leaders
- #515 in Biographies of the Rich & Famous

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3.9 600 ratings

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Diana S. Long

The Art of the Con

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018

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Published in 2005 and re-published in 2015 with an updated introduction. The author is a journalist and spent years following Donald Trump and his exploits and captures the essence of the poster boy for the American Dream in this work. So what is it about Trump that people tend to gravitate toward him? By watching videos, reading one of his books and especially this book, I finally got it. There is only one Donald Trump, he's a one man show and no one could surpass his ability for self promotion. He has been the same for decades with his arsenal of lies, cajoling or manipulation, the ultimate self-made super rich real estate tycoon. But is he super-rich? Depends on who is viewing it. He is if he says he is and it just might not be if the truth were told via the tax returns. Unless they pry them out of his cold dead hands they won't come to light. I found it fascinating that the author was sued regarding the release of his book, and Trump Lost. Not because of his character or similar unflattering items but basically for the fact that the Trump name is a “Brand”, how is he going to promote the super rich pay me to use my name if he's not worth mega bucks? After all Donald did supply plenty of fodder for the grist helping the author write the book. So folks buy and read all of his non fiction, fiction books pay him for classes and sorry to tell you it's all “smoke and mirrors”, there is only one and that's Donald and he is “The Greatest American Con Man”. Will he be the greatest President? History will one day examine his Presidency and all the controversy surrounding it. After he does retire, I don't doubt he will write another book “The Art of the Con: How I Duped Millions of American's to Vote For Me” and it will most likely be a best seller. I do recommend this book for everyone, especially if you have any future plans on doing business with the Trump.

69 people found this helpful

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Bro

The essential reading companion to _The Art of the Deal_

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2007

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I rate this book as 3½ stars.

After I heard Donald Trump was suing the publisher of this book for 5 BILLION dollars, I knew I just had to read it. Perhaps that was all part of Donald's plan, but I fell for it, and I'm glad I did.

I've been a big fan of Donald Trump ever since I just happened to stumble upon one of his books (I got it for free in a real estate seminar). I had a great appreciation of his business talents and, after reading what Donald had to say about himself instead of what the press had to say about him, I appreciated his attitude. This book changed that.

This book changed my opinion of Trump, but neither in a positive nor negative way. Surely, this book lays out a very convincing case for Donald's net worth or business prowess to be nothing near as much as he claims. But it also gives a dimension of personality which never really came through in his own works.

The stories covered and quotes are excellent - especially from Donald himself. He is TRULY a character. The author takes a balanced look at nearly all the major projects Donald mentioned in _The Art of the Deal_, and many of the details (and some not so detailed facts) are pertinent; the book also cites sources meticulously. Did you know Donald went over budget $50 million on The Plaza Hotel and had to be bailed out by his dad - what ever happened to television city - was it really smart to take on the city officials and say "this city is a cesspool of corruption and incompetence" while Donald was asking them for a ¾ billion dollar tax break?

Not that the look at Trump is really "bad". His personality really shines in this book. For a rich guy, he is really anti-establishment, a cheapskate, and is very personable. You get a real feel for what he's really like. After reading this book, maybe I wouldn't want to follow his business advice blindly, but I'm more likely to want to sit down and have a beer with the guy - he sounds fun. To say Trump is a BS artist is like declaring the sky is blue - I always knew his projects were spun with his own opinions, so it's good to see a different viewpoint on his familiar projects.

So why only 3½ stars? Because, despite the fact that the content of the story is great, the book is terribly written. For the author's sake, I hope there was a rush to publish because of the aforementioned lawsuit, because this has all of the organizational and journalistic talent of a high-school cheerleader writing a business memo. There's no organization, no structure, and bad jokes all over - luckily, the content of the book outweighs this otherwise unreadable mess.

Bottom line is that if you've enjoyed Trump's past books, reading this book will give you a non-spin version of his business deals - and really introduce you to the man himself.

17 people found this helpful

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Mary Munro

Timothy O’Brien dishes on everything trump

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018

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Well, since trump waltzed into the Oval Office, Mr. O’Brien has been on various CNN, MSNBC panels discussing trump ‘s art of having everything that America holds dear thrown under the bus. I had an impression that he knew trump more intimately than this loose biography. He (O’Brien) has mentioned that trump sued him for $12,000,000 over it. I expected more details of trump’s bad business practices, his mob, both American and Russian, affiliations, and other revelations of shady deals that are being dug up and hung out to dry each and every day of this administration. It has been well documented that trump is a self-promoting rube and schmuck, a conscienceless slime ball with no moral compass, who just happened to have a rich daddy. I did not see a basis for a legal battle over what was in this tome. There was no new insight on how this blight on democracy came to be. The quizzes at the end of each chapter were cute.

9 people found this helpful

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Patrick J. Parrelli

A Must Read if you want to Understand Trump!

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2017

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Extremely well written! Entertaining and enjoyable! I decided to buy the book after listening to the author on MSNBC. I felt he had a good insight into Trump. I wasn't disappointed! He tells the story with facts and data through the sweep and color of the 80's, through the 90's and up to 2005. What I thought about Trump was heightened in both directions; positive and negative. His creativity and vision as a builder was "amazing." But then his mismanagement combined with an out of control personal life puts him on the edge of financial destruction, Yet he manages to climb back from that through his "unbelievable" capabilities for self promotion. He is unique and brilliant at this. The problem is that the next thing that he says is solely for his self-promotion and self preservation. Doesn't have to be the truth! Doesn't have to be a lie! It's all about him. It's a disaster for Trump to be our president. You can't trust what he's saying. He could destroy our country and not even realizing he's doing it!

37 people found this helpful

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Audrina

A must read... all Trump never wanted people to know!

Reviewed in Canada on October 12, 2017

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Wow! Eye-opening! What a con man!
His father and siblings bailed him out multiple times through the 1980's, 1990's, and by 2005? He was dead broke. No wonder he didn't want to show his tax returns. He has only dealt with mobsters and crooks. He was never a billionaire. He was worth nothing, assets vs. debts, until "The Apprentice" saved him from losing everything he had. Then, his attempts to keep himself in the news constantly, while condemning the media. Don't buy it. He lives for the media. He lives for constant attention - good and bad, as long as his name is constantly mentioned. He is quite mentally ill. A pathological liar. No conscience whatsoever. A confirmed racist.
He tried to sue the author over the writing of this book, for 5 billion. It was thrown out of court by the judge. Lots more. Very insightful book. Well researched. This is like a truthful continuation of "The Art of the Deal." I recommend it highly. I can't put it down!

2 people found this helpful

AFRI

Somewhat unstructured and at times repetitive

Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2017

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I found this book difficult to read. The author tends to ramble on, goes back and forth in time in a section and I often forgot where his starting point had been. As to the information provided would consider it reliable (many sources listed). I think he likes hos own words a bit too much. There is much information in this book, it is, however, sometimes difficult to extract (out of the many words in a sentence/section)

One person found this helpful

Mr. Scott Hetherington

God help us all

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2016

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Sometimes critical of Trump, sometimes in awe of him, this book is not the tell-all I was hoping for, but it is nonetheless a fascinating insight into America's next (and possibly last) President.From a young man in the shadow of his father to a reality show superstar, this details every move along the Trump career path, including his inability to make money from a casino his "non-fiction works of fiction" books, and his dreadful taste in what constitutes a "theme", as well as showing the human, likeable side. Read this book while you still can....

5 people found this helpful

Jan M

Trump the Chump

Reviewed in Canada on November 9, 2016

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An eye-opening exposee of this narcissistic man-child.

One person found this helpful

birds

The book portrays the person he really is. He is the kind of person you love him or you hate him.

Reviewed in Canada on January 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

The book presents an interesting side to that man.it shows how egotism ally one man can be.read it everyone.thanks for the book.

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