Perhaps a guilty pleasure, but I really enjoyed this book. It's both very readable and very engaging. It serves as a good example of what it means to be proactive.

Many people are saying it - I didn't say it. But let me tell you, many people are saying this book is one of the greatest books in the entire history of literature. Maybe even the greatest book ever written. - 'an anonymous source' probably

I will state at the start, that I am not a fan of the author and horrified and dismayed that he was elected, and concerned at the anti-LGBT and anti-immigrant policies that are likely to result as a result of his rule. I read this book as a free pdf, rather than give him any money. However, as someone who has never lived in the USA, I wanted to understand what was going on in America. I wanted to read his words for myself, rather than just listen to others' opinions. So with that in mind, I'm not going to give a review of what I think of the author, but talk about the book itself. I was probably nowhere near as negative as I should have been, but I was trying not to let my opinion of Trump influence my review.

If any aspect of this book is true (I know that much of it was ghostwritten) then it explains a lot - and honestly I think, reading this, I have a better understanding of someone who goes to his rallies. The entire book felt like what I imagined a Trump rally to be, but without the politics.

The start of the book gives an overview of a week in Trump's life. If you are looking for a book of business advice (and I understand that many people like Trump because of his reputation in business) you may be a disappointed because this is first and foremost about Trump himself, rather than any other subject. Business advice is a very minor part of the book.

There are some bizarre anecdotes in it. Early on in the book Trump describes being friends with a guy who is a famous painter. The guy asks Trump if he wants to see how he can make $25000 before lunch and then proceeds to throw several buckets of paint onto a canvas. According to Trump nobody can tell the difference between this and his 'serious' work. Trump himself even says that the best way to get ahead is just to massively exaggerate how amazing and incredible everything is.

In another story he gives a hagiography for some guy working with him in the rent collection aspect of the business, who he compares to a lion tamer lol, but this time the lion is some guy who accused him of coming onto his wife and 'the whip is his mouth'. I was completely taken aback by this story.

Throughout the book, Trump keeps repeating this kind of story, about people who completely bullshit (his words) about everything, and makes it quite clear that he looks up to and sees this as something to emulate. It is true that in the book Trump comes across as someone who loves himself, to put it mildly. But who knows if it's true, but there are quite a few times in the book where he says that he was taught some 'tough lessons' - for example there's a bit about his 'dingy' apartment and one of these rich guys in New York telling him he has too much furniture and throwing it out of his house. There are quite a few bits where he admits to being wrong about something - usually something that involved millions and millions of dollars.

It was interesting to have the scenes in the movie, 'The Apprentice' which I watched recently, told from his point of view. I was surprised to see that he described the same incidents.

I do think that it was more entertaining and less arrogant, in parts, than I expected. Reading this there were some quite funny moments, although probably not funny for the reasons he thinks. Trump talks about times when he has got something wrong and that some 'incredible guy' has taught him a 'tough lesson'. More often than not, the lesson he took from it is completely bananas.

It's clear that he really loves making deals and lots of the book is dedicated to this. In fact he talks on and on about it in extremely intricate detail giving an exhaustive account of which absurdly corrupt businessman said what to who. I find it quite funny that he keeps saying so and so was a very nice guy and then go on to casually insult them by saying they wore the wrong clothes or had no clue about business or were too enthusiastic or not enthusiastic enough. His grudge against Ed Koch was pretty entertaining to read about.

I'm afraid that his snobbish streak really comes across in parts of his book. For example his extended rants about street vendors etc. But the themes that have come to preoccupy him, most obviously the racism and sexism in many of his comments, aren't really there yet to the full extent. Interestingly, he says plenty of nice things about various Democrats, at least the ones he deems as 'winners'. Also, he does seem to want to present himself as some sort of Robin Hood type figure, doing all his deals for the benefit of the poor people of New York, although this is less than convincing given some of the other legal battles he describes here with his tenants.

Some of this book was really laugh out loud funny, but mostly not for the reasons he would want and I'm afraid it doesn't change my view about his political career. Everything is either 'spectacular' or 'tremendous' or it's 'a total disaster' which seems to be his favourite word. Likewise some of his opinions about business are possibly worth reading, especially if you have impostor syndrome - the guy describing himself in these pages is now the most powerful person in the world.

There were a couple of bits I thought were good business advice. I did like his point that you can have the right instincts and talents but if you don't act on them you won't get anywhere. It was interesting to hear about his perseverance in getting deals as well (although I'm well aware it could be made up). The bit about persevering in something and not being afraid to do something seemingly strange or ridiculous is something we could all probably learn from - such as the bit where he describes ordering people to look busy at a construction site including getting someone to fill a hole they'd just dug, in hopes of seeming hard working and getting the contract. However, I'm guessing he wasn't the first person to think of most of this...

Sorry Americans, but I do have to wonder about his alleged 'Hotel and Real Estate Visionary of the Century' award hahaha, and im also not convinced his building of a casino on time and within budget was 'a near miracle in this day and age'. The book has some fairly batshit quotes, such as:

Ultimately, we got a fabulous man whom I’ll call Irving.
Irving was sixty-five years old and a real character. He was
one of the greatest bullshit artists I’ve ever met, but in addition
to being a very sharp talker and a very slick salesman, he was
also an amazing manager. Irving was the kind of guy who
worked perhaps an hour a day and accomplished more in that
hour than most managers did in twelve hours. I learned
something from that: it’s not how many hours you put in, it’s
what you get done while you’re working.

After we ate, I took Der and another friend back to my
apartment, the tiny studio I was still living in on Third
Avenue, and I asked him what he thought about my furniture.
Some people would just have said,
“Fantastic, great,” but Der didn’t do that. “There’s too much of it,” he said, and he started moving furniture around, and even pushed several pieces out
into the hallway. When he finished, he’d managed to make the
apartment look much bigger, which I liked.

All you had to do was look at Irving to know those hands were hardly registered weapons. But Irving was very much
like a lion tamer. You’ve seen these guys, maybe 150 pounds,
who walk blithely into a cage where there’s a magnificent
800-pound lion pacing around. If that animal sensed any
weakness or any fear, he’d destroy the trainer in a second. But
instead the trainer cracks his whip, walks with authority, and,
amazingly, the lion listens. Which is exactly what Irving did with this huge guy, except his whip was his mouth.

And finally...

Nowadays, if your name is Donald Trump, everyone in the world seems to want to sue you.

I could go on, lmao.

In short, don't read this book as a 'business book', but do if you want an insight into Trump and his appeal, or maybe a (very one sided) history of real estate deals in New York in the 80s. Although it doesn't change my opinion of Trump, I am glad I read it for the educational and entertainment value - although in some ways I'm even more baffled by Trump and the phenomenon around him than I was before. But definitely don't take it all at face value. I won't be rating it for now - when I do, it will probably be a 2 or a 3.

The Art of the Deal makes sense for anyone in business, or anyone planning to be in business. The principles and real-life examples are simple, simply written (much like listening to him speak) and can be applied to anyone from the smallest business operator, to the largest enterprise tycoon.

The book is an autobiographical account of one week in his life, peppered with admonition and principles that can be gained in business. It resonated with me because I’m a property developer and understand the nature of risk-taking and deal-making in the pursuit of success. His stories were familiar in that sense.

One noteworthy surprise was that on a few occasions throughout the book he was considerably complimentary to women in business, highlighting their skill sets, and almost admonishing others in business (like giving a secret tip) to take advantage of this untapped resource, rather than clinging to the vestiges of the 60s Mad Men era carryover that was certainly still alive and well in the 80s when this book was written.