The summer of 2017 is winding down and a new school year is nearly upon us here in the United States.   Seven months have now passed since Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.  And in that time, the world has witnesses events that few can claim to have seen before.  I previously reviewed Trumped! The Inside story of The Real Donald Trump – His Cunning Rise and Spectacular Fall by John R. O’ Donnell.  In that memoir O’Donnell recalled his time as an employee of the Trump Organization and his responsibilities in keeping both the Trump Plaza and Taj Mahal casinos in operation.  O’ Donnell’s account is shocking and revealing but only a fraction of the many episodes in the life of Donald J. Trump.  This time around,  Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston presents to us his compendium of how Donald Trump made his name and the dark side that came with it.

Supporters of the 45th President will tempted to write of Johnston as a liberal and left-wing nut job determined to smear the man who proclaimed he will “Make America Great Again”.  I forewarn those readers that many unpleasant facts will be revealed our their candidate who has now become the leader of America.  Opponents of Trump will feel vindicated in their choice of Hillary Clinton and their vehement denunciations of a man that they believed to be unfit for the oval office. But I caution all readers to put aside personal prejudices whether good or bad to examine the author’s words and statements which can be easily cross-referenced. As a native New Yorker, I grew up listening and watching Donald Trump on television and reading his comments in magazines and newspapers.  I remember the USFL, the Central Park Five and many other situations that contained his name and previously knew some of the information contained in the book but I also learned many new facts about Trump that were unknown to me before.  Like O’Donnell, Johnston has known Trump for decades, albeit casually, as he points out in the book one more than one occasion.  Trump personally called several times regarding a piece of writing that he did not agree with.  Johnston does not have any personal ax to grind but is simply telling what he knows about the Donald Trump that was campaigning for the Republican nomination for President. The book was published in the summer of 2016, several months before Trump secured the electoral votes needed for the White House.  I do not know how many people read this book before the election but I am sure that there are many of us who should and will read it now.

Regardless of who you voted for in the 2016 election, this is a book every American needs to read for it is a thorough examination of the current Commander-In-Chief.  Johnston traces the Trump family to its beginnings in Germany and the rise of Fred Trump, Sr. Young Donald makes his appearance as well as all of the Trumps, some of whom remain hidden from public light.  Time will tell what will become of his administration and whether he can succeed in propelling America forward as he has promised.   However, conventional wisdom tells us that if we do not know from where we come, we cannot know to where we are headed.   Incredibly, there were many voters who knew nothing of Trump’s background before casting their vote.  For those voters who now have questions and those who have known about Trump for decades prior, this book will either feel like a rude awakening or a reminder of what has already come to pass.  This is the story of the making of Donald Trump.

ISBN-10: 1612196322
ISBN-13: 978-1612196329