Everyone compares Trump to Hitler. I've read Mein Kampft and this book is nothing like it. What gives?

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Mr P and Mr T doing grown-up transactioning

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It gives an insight into 1970s-1980s real estate in New York especially which has no relevance to my life whatsoever but still quite interesting.

I think if you’re intrested in Trump, the way he thinks or large scale New York construction projects in the 80s the its a book for you. If not then I wouldn’t bother with it.

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Also I really can’t help but see Shane Gillis every time I look at the cover

یک اتوبیگرافی از شرح زندگی و فعالیتهای تجاری ترامپ که خیلی کتاب مفیدی نیست

“I put lipstick on a pig. I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” -- Tony Schwartz

I read this when I was thirteenish? I found it in a used bookstore and read it. The only thing I remember many, many years later is that it recommended washing your used car before selling it to get the best price, which seemed pretty obvious to me. Best summed up as forgettable.

The last half of the book isn't as good as the first half but it's still a great read. Gets into a lot of the nitty gritty of some of Trump's deals and the motivations for doing so and it also part biography of his life and his family's life. And man, Trump really hated Ed Koch. Looking forward to him dismantling another democrat, Hillary, in a few months. Should be glorious.

Has some great quotes and advice too:

"I hate lawsuits and depositions, but the fact is that if you’re right, you’ve got to take a stand, or people will walk all over you."

"11:00 A.M.   I meet with a top New York banker at my office. He’s come to try to solicit business, and we have a general talk about deals I’m considering. It’s funny what’s happened: bankers now come to me, to ask if I might be interested in borrowing their money. They know a safe bet."

"You can’t con people, at least not for long. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press, and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don’t deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on."

"The point is that you can dream great dreams, but they’ll never amount to much if you can’t turn them into reality at a reasonable cost."

"I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what I should have done differently, or what’s going to happen next."

"It takes almost the same amount of energy to manage 50 units as it does 1,200—except that with 1,200 you have a much bigger upside."

"if you want to sell a car and you spend five dollars to wash and polish it and then apply a little extra elbow grease, suddenly you find you can charge an extra four hundred dollars—and get it. I can always tell a loser when I see someone with a car for sale that is filthy dirty. It’s so easy to make it look better."

"You can’t be scared. You do your thing, you hold your ground, you stand up tall, and whatever happens, happens."

"I don’t believe that you can ever be hurt by buying a good location at a low price."

"I announced, before a ton of reporters, that I could build my convention center for $110 million—or at least $150 million less than the city had estimated it would cost to build at West 44th Street. Not surprisingly, that raised some eyebrows and even got us some attention in the press. But there was scarcely an approving peep from the politicians. I discovered, for the first time but not the last, that politicians don’t care too much what things cost. It’s not their money."

"On one occasion, we found a bank that seemed ready to say yes. Then, at the last moment, the guy in charge raised some trivial technical issue that just killed the whole deal. This guy was what I call an institutional man, the type who has virtually no emotion. To him it’s purely a job, and all he wants to do is go home at five and forget about it. You’re better off dealing with a total killer with real passion. When he says no, sometimes you can talk him out of it. You rant and you rave, and he rants and raves back, and you end up making a deal."

"I was relentless, even in the face of the total lack of encouragement, because much more often than you’d think, sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure."

"My attitude is that you do your best, and if it doesn’t work, you move on to the next thing."

"You can budget building costs, but you can’t truly project revenues, because you’re always at the mercy of the market. The variables include how much you get per unit, how long it takes to sell out, and what your carrying costs are along the way. The less you commit to spend up front, the less you’re at risk later."

You can't con people, at least not for long. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press, and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don't deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.

I was prepared for a personal finance book by one of the most prolific figures of my lifetime. What I got was more of a villain origin story of how a man became obsessed with power and started on the path of dishonesty and greed. He tears down his friends and enemies alike all in service of himself. At the same time, he is unaware of his own decision making, thinking he might have acted differently in the past, only to continue to repeat his behavior.

Shortly after its release, I listened to a reading of The Mueller Report. I have no doubt in its validity now. The behavior Mueller describes is the same type of behavior Trump describes of himself in The Art of the Deal. The January 6 Report is on my stack of books to read, and I’m sure this book will give me context for that. Trump’s own skewed perception of his self is the only thing left to cast doubt on these large bodies of evidence against him in major controversies.

As a part of the larger Trump story that includes his presidency and countless controversies, The Art of the Deal has its place. As a finance book, it is trash. I give it 2/5 stars.

First Trump had a ghost writer because he is illiterate and second what a load of crap

A fascinating historical snapshot of, and firsthand insight into, the mindset and personality of Donald J. Trump 30 years ago. Long before he was even a serious prospective presidential candidate, let alone the actual POTUS. Long before his friendship, and later enmity, with the Clintons. Long before "The Apprentice." And most notably, long before all these wild and paranoid accusations of The Donald being a "racist," "sexist," "fascist," "misogynist," yadda yadda, blah blah blah, ad nauseam.

Trump supporters, you'll love this book.
Trump bashers, I dare y'all to read this with an open mind.

RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS AND NOTEWORTHY/QUOTEWORTHY PASSAGES (pages #s from the Nook Edition):

--p. 14: The Annanel Hill story, an incredible act of kindness and charity by both Mr. Trump and Don Imus that the present day MSM would choose to ignore.

--p. 16: Mar-a-Lago!!

--p. 17: Wow, Ivanka at age 6 and Eric at age 3!

--p. 24: "The way I see it, critics get to say what they want about my work, so why shouldn't I be able to say what I want to about theirs?" Amen! Turnabout is fair play!

--p. 33: So, Cardinal O'Connor was "a businessman with great political instincts," eh? What a refreshing contrast to the anti-business, liberation theologist sentiments of the current Pope.

--p. 49: "Have Fun." Gee, what a concept!

--p. 51: "Most of his co-workers were happy just to have a job. My father not only wanted to work, he also wanted to do well and to get ahead."

--p. 52: "We lived in a large house, but we never thought of ourselves as rich kids. We were brought up to know the value of a dollar and to appreciate the importance of hard work."

--58: Damn, actually considered USC Film School!!

"Perhaps the most important thing I learned at Wharton was not to be overly impressed by academic credentials." Tell that to my Dad (R.I.P.).

--p. 60: Mother was Scottish by birth, och aye lass!

--p. 81: I discovered, for the first time but not the last, that politicians don't care too much about what things cost. It's not their money."

--p. 120: "And yet it's turned out that I've hired a lot of women for top jobs, and they've been among my best people. Often, in fact, they are far more effective than the men around them." Roll that in your pipe and smoke it, gender-baiting Pussy Hat-wearers!

--p. 127: Francois Mitterand a "socialist" who "was going to hurt the French economy" and "turned out to be a dangerous man....selling nuclear technology to the highest bidder. It's the lowest anyone can stoop."

--p. 134: "I feel strongly about supporting veterans and was proud to help underwrite both the parade and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial constructed in downtown Manhattan."

--p. 141: "The worst of times often create the best opportunity to make good deals."

--p. 145: "In most large public corporations, getting an answer to a question requires going through seven layers of executives, most of whom are superfluous in the first place."

--p. 163: "Lucky Sperm Club," haha!

--p. 164: Manny Hanny!

--p. 172: "But then, 'modest' isn't my favorite word."

--p. 178: "If there's one thing I've learned about the rich, it's that they have a very low threshold for even the mildest discomfort."

--p. 192: "but I like consultants even less than I like committees."

--p. 193: "You can probably guess how much stock I put in polls." Haha, prescient!

--p. 206: "....take a 9 to 5 job. That's the last thing most politicians want to do." Haha, ZING!!

Ed Koch "a bully." Another ZING!!

--p. 232: Portraying Koch as even worse than King Daley, oh snap!!

--p. 243: "I don't go out of my way to be cordial to enemies." Haha, that's an understatement!

--p. 247: "It's easy to be generous when you've got a lot, and anyone who does, should be."

In the few days since finishing this book, I've brought it up in conversation several times. Mentioning The Art of the Deal in 2017 generates quite a few laughs, eye rolls, and bad jokes. The more savvy will mention that Trump didn't write the book, but rather dictated it and then had little ongoing correspondence with his editor.

I don't see how dissatisfaction with the man's campaign and ongoing presidency can cause such adverse (and negative) reactions to a book written in 1987. If anything, seeing that the brashness, ambition, and ideals first chronicled in this book were still very much the same in 2016 speaks volumes about Trump's character. It's hard to deny that The Art of the Deal shaped the American business-advice book and helped Trump become a household name.

I would go as far as saying that many modern business and self-help books are derivatives of this one. Trump treats people well, generally, but advises that being outspoken, daring, and hyperbolic can help, too. These lessons, stemming from irrefutable business successes, have been repackaged (though I'm not insinuating they've been stolen) countless times by other authors. Personally, I would rather read these things in the context of one of the most notable American success stories than in a disposable paperback from an airport book store.

Trump takes advantage of every opportunity available to him. The biggest surprise to me was how eloquently he described his relationships, complimented those who he worked with, and framed both good and bad deals. He never cared what critics thought but saw more value in good press than anything else. Eventually I realized that many of the business cases in the book were analogous to his campaign strategy, though, in the political sphere, his brand of dealmaking has lead to divisiveness.

Trump mentions various controversies he has been entangled in. He goes to great lengths to explain his side of things. I appreciated his honestly and, upon doing my own research, found only a slight spin put on most stories- nothing egregious. There is a level of candidness that is absent from the world we live in today. The most striking example was when he mentioned that the beautiful women he was meeting at the exclusive club in NYC were hard to hold meaningful conversations with. Nobody talks like that anymore, and while detractors will highlight it as an example of Trump's advocacy for something-or-other-ism, vignettes like that one help cement this book as an important one.

The Art of the Deal helped me gain a deeper understanding of our president and his successes as a real estate developer.