We like to read. We like to go the night before one of their book club meetings. We just... do a little reading, it’s called we do a little reading... Plus, we were getting ready to read the Art of the Deal. Frankly, we did read the Art of the Deal. This is a very big moment.

I found this fascinating to read in the first two weeks of his second Presidency. If you want to know why he is making the decisions he is, this book answers it. He likes to think outside the box, he thinks BIG, he loves America and can’t stand stupidity, loves common sense and really likes a clean car.

I liked reading about his parents and his experience growing up. I wonder if Barron is named after Barron Hilton? I think he really tries to help when he can like offering apartments in his building for the homeless while he was waiting on permits to demolish it. He also really cares about the people working for him and does not take kindly to being lied to. As this was written in 1987, I wondered how his reflections may have deepened and await that biography, as I think it’ll have more depth than this. He admits when he makes mistakes but tries really hard to not do them again and learns from them. I enjoyed his thoughts about architecture and agree with him that post modern architecture is ugly.

I will admit if he wasn’t a President, I don’t think I would’ve ever have picked up this book, but I am glad I did.

The art of the deal is about management, leadership mentality. It’s a kind of biography presenting the life of Donald Trump until the ’90s – way before he thought about the American presidency. If you’ve ever tried to figure out how were people making money in the United States, you will find out that the real estate market was a great place to do that. Then, sooner or later, Donald Trump’s name comes up inevitably because he did many great deals and he, eventually, made a lot of money.

Now, this is not a political message, don’t interpret it like that and be rational. You can like the man or be totally opposite, that’s not the point here. Nevertheless, I have to say that this is a brilliant book. If you’ve ever wondered how does someone at that level of working with hundreds of millions of dollars operate and make deals or what kind of deals they make? How were those deals structured and what was his thinking behind this decision-process, this is the book for you as Donald Trump reveals all of this. Simply saying, he walks you through a few of his transactions and presents the people and his strategy behind these deals. Most importantly he keeps the story really interesting.

Anyway, Donald Trump comes from a real estate family. His father, Fred Trump, was a renowned real estate developer on the outskirts of New York. He became a wealthy business person for building row properties in South Brooklyn. This way Donald Trump was already introduced into the real estate market as a child and when he came of age he decided to pursue a career in the real estate business. On the other hand, he didn’t want to stay in some niche and had his eyes set on Manhattan, the property capital of the world. However, the book doesn’t concentrate only on New York. You will find other deals in Atlanta and other cities where he was developing his other projects.

There are a few key points from the book which I’d like to mention below. Treat them as principles followed by Trump in his business and political (my assumption) career:

1. Think big, be obsessive and driven
2. Protect the downside and the upside will take care of itself which means to be very conservative in business. It’s better to pay a higher price for a sure thing rather than putting your business at risk
3. Maximise your options – be flexible and never be attached to one option, deal or approach. Keep as many options open as possible. Furthermore, if you took one way still hold other options at hand in order to deliver your goal
4. Know your market – don’t waste too much money on market research and surveys. Get there on your own and talk to real people until you know the market by instinct. Next, trust your gut feeling. Honestly, I’m not so sure about this point. Maybe in the ’80s market surveys weren’t so reliable, nowadays when we have AI, big data etc. I would rather go for it
5. Enhance your location – this rule is specific to the property business. Keep your property spotless and tidy and keep an eye on their surrounding as it’s one of the major price factors... (if you like to read my full review please visit my blog https://leadersarereaders.blog/the-ar...)

This book provides interesting insights into the mind of Mr. Trump. The whole book is him explaining how great he is and how even when he failed, it was because other people had cheated him.

This book has a ton of great insights and shows the inner life of a strong, visionary American. It is especially interesting in light of Trump's new career--the President of the United States. We can tell from this book that Trump is well prepared for his new role. He has spent a lifetime in close contact with government officials, as he had to continually get approval for his development projects. He embarrassed Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City, by repairing an ice rink that the city could not fix in spite of years of effort and a lot of money. He has been in heated lawsuits, and has dealt with the press for many years as he sought to promote his work. At one point, Trump noted how powerful the New York Time was. An article on the architectural features of one of his projects could make or break them. Trump, at the end of the book, says that he is looking for creative ways to give back. It's not money he's interested in giving away, so much as time. Well, he's found that creative way by running for President!

Very little wisdom, a whole lot of self-serving platitudes; I had very low expectations of this book but they weren't low enough. Trump once said at a GOP Debate about the Obama administration, "they clearly didn't read 'The Art of the Deal.'" Not sure how superficial first-hand and self-flattering accounts of a few deals in New York and Atlantic City would have any baring on the Iran Nuclear deal, but in Trump's universe it's all the same.

Two useful insights about Trump from this book:

1 - Trump worships himself and believes he is incapable of poor decision making in any capacity. He never talks about mistakes or instances of bad judgment, only of collateral damage or the incompetency or bad intentions of people around him. This total lack of humility would make him unbelievably dangerous person to give political power.

2 - iI's clear that Trump has no real beliefs, just bargaining positions. He says what will accomplish whatever goal he has and therefore pretty much all means are justified by ends. I couldn't be more confident that he has no intention to deport 11 million people if elected President, and he does not care what damage his message does, so long as it can be used as leverage for his own goals, which may be totally disconnected from his stated goals.

In short, this book unintentionally offers some valuable insights into the Donald, however it is still was a general waste of time; one of the worst non-fictions I have ever chosen to pick up.

The art of the steal?

I don't think Trump is a monster. Sure I don't agree with most (if not all) of his policies, but I do know that there is a system behind what he's trying to do. I heard a lot about his persuasion techniques from Scott Adams, so I thought I'd give this book a read.

It's an ok book (a lot of it drones on into boring details on construction regulation in the 80's), and regardless of if you believe Trump wrote any of it, it still provides a deeper insight into how he thinks. The book does humanize him a bit and shows some of his positive qualities (like his love for New York), but once I had a look behind the mask the thing I realize I don't like about him is his narcissistic lack of empathy. For Trump a good deal is reward in and of itself, and it doesn't matter if the other guy got screwed, just so long as him and his team benefit. In the end it's all fair game, but I guess that's capitalism.

2,5 stars because Reading this was half interesting, half a real pain.

The good: The book concentrates on business decisions taken by Trump and why he has taken them. You can also follow the way his mind works when taking decisions. That was the point of the book.

The "a little bit annoying" part: Finally, you come to understand that the goals of his Deals are not important; what is important to him is the thrill of making deals. One example, he wants to buy a Holiday Inn, he doesnt know if this is an investment, or if he will resell it or demolish it. No goal or objective at all! Important was to make the deal... Maybe that is why some of his businesses went down. I didnt get the point of that. In general, I didn't agree with his way of making business but, that is his way and although a bit dumb, still interesting to read.

The bad: the book was cockyness 100% - I am the best for thinking this way... I am so great for doing this.... Nobody beats me... My worst fear is having bad partners... Ugh! Come on! At least, Mr Trump, your fears should be based on your own weaknesses but not on the weaknesses of others!
He was so conceited throughout the book that I couldn't really enjoy the parts that I found worth reading!

I don’t give these out lightly.

Trump is the hero when he is controlling the narrative. This book was actually a pretty entertaining read. If you are into real estate, then I highly recommend it. It was very cool to see the way Trump built his real estate empire. He is definitely an interesting figure.

Now he is the president and there is one key difference: he's no longer controlling the narrative. He attempts to by tweeting and lashing out at his enemies. Unfortunately for him, reality is the narrative now, and he is out of his wheelhouse. The man obviously had the real estate business in the bag, and probably thought running the country couldn't be so different. I get it, I often think myself how I might run the country. Luckily for me, I don't actually have to.

I must say I'm definitely glad to be done with the book. I enjoyed it, but I was so embarrassed to be reading it in public. When asked what I was reading, I'd often answer with a far less embarrassing title, like Fifty Shades of Grey or something like that.

This book presents the version of Trump that he wants to be perceived as, or maybe this is how he sees himself. So it is not entirely reliable as a testament to his character, but there are many telling moments in the book that foreshadow his infamous future. The whole book was worth it just for those moments. As the real-estate mogul, Trump would con, but he would deliver. As president I feel he has already conned us, I'm just waiting for the delivery.

I was forced to read this, practically at gunpoint

Wow. Much better than I expected. In light of recent events this book is intriguing, Trump knew exactly what he was doing every step of the way. The man is a success not because his father was wealthy, but because he himself is a visionary. He's always been the same, can't tolerate incompetence, cares about others and wants to change this country. In a way it's a shame he started with a million dollar loan because he undoubtedly could have reached the same level of success starting out with one $100K house like most anyone else. The difference between him and others is his determination, vision, patience and sheer energy. I was already a Trump supporter but learning more about his journey gave me an even greater respect for the man. I have no doubt he will make this country greater than it has ever been before. The only bit that didn't interest me much was the football league story. I just don't care about football. I wish all the uninformed Trump haters would read this book although you have to be pretty closed-minded to believe someone who waltzed into the office of President of the United States without spending hardly any money is nothing more than a blowhard or a fool. With so many supposedly educated people criticizing Trump I really wonder what they're teaching in colleges. This book is about true success, applied knowledge and how to create things of real substance. Trump is a national treasure.