I just binge-read eight books by Donald Trump. Here's what I learned. From memoirs to financial advice to politics, inside the collected writings of Donald J. Trump.Carlos Lozada
The Washington Post
July 30, 2015
Sitting down with the collected works of Donald J. Trump is unlike any literary experience I've ever had or could ever imagine. I spent this past week reading eight of his books -- three memoirs, three business-advice titles and his two political books, all published between 1987 and 2011 -- hoping to develop a unified theory of the man, or at least find a method in the Trumpness.
Instead, I found . . . well, is there a single word that combines revulsion, amusement, respect and confusion? That is how it feels, sometimes by turns, often all at once, to binge on Trump's writings. Over the course of 2,212 pages, I encountered a world where bragging is breathing and insulting is talking, where repetition and contradiction come standard, where vengefulness and insecurity erupt at random.
Elsewhere, such qualities might get in the way of the story. With Trump, they are the story. There is little else. He writes about his real estate dealings, his television show, his country, but after a while that all feels like an excuse. The one deal Trump has been pitching his entire career -- the one that now culminates in his play for that most coveted piece of property, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. -- is himself.
