Perhaps the most topical book of the month we’ve chosen recently, August’s pick is a look into the background of US presidential hopeful Donald Trump. The Making of Donald Trump, published by Melville House, is a stand-out title amongst the many Trump books being published, not least because its author is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has covered Trump specifically for the past thirty years. David Cay Johnston’s insight into Trump gives this book a real edge – albeit a terrifying one – and is the most current and authoritative account of the controversial figure’s alarming rise to power.
The Making of Donald Trump includes all Johnston’s reportage on his subject, including some pieces never before published. It has chapters on Trump’s connections to organised crime, on his father’s involvement with the Ku Klux Klan and on his philandering. There are detailed accounts of his business methods, from his skill at running casinos to his real estate empire, and further pieces on his several bankruptcies and on the questionable nature of his actual wealth. This skilled reportage comes together to paint a scathing, damning portrait of Trump.
David Cay Johnston was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism in 2001. He has written regularly for the New York Times, and is currently a contributor to Newsweek. Johnston is an incredibly well respected figure who appears as a regular talking head on mainstream US media, especially now, in the run-up to November’s election. He has been called “The premier investigative reporter” by Ralph Nadar, with his book receiving widespread early praise; it has been called “Eye-opening” by Harvard Business Review and “Truly shocking” by the New York Times Book Review.
There is no argument that The Making of Donald Trump holds immense public appeal; love or hate Trump – and I expect most in the UK feel the latter – he is a figure with tremendous influence. It is impossible to look at the news without seeing his face, and his rise from business mogul to presidential candidate has been so extreme and outlandish that the UK public are fascinated; not only with Trump as a figure but with the implications of Trump as a potential US president. The election is fast approaching, and The Making of Donald Trump will appeal to any reader with an interest in politics. We can expect the book to be widely read and discussed over the coming weeks and months.