Customer Reviews

No Such Thing as Over-Exposure: Inside the Life and Celebrity of Donald Trump

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have read and reviewed many of Slater's previous books and consider him to be among the most perceptive and eloquent commentators on the contemporary business world. It came as no surprise, therefore, that Trump agreed to cooperate with Slater on the writing of this book but only after checking him out with those who had already had a close working relationship with him, notably Jack Welch. There is probably no other executive who has a tighter schedule than does Trump. However, on numerous occasions, beginning in June of 2004, he agreed to meet with Slater or talk with him on the telephone. Trump also arranged for Slater to attend various private meetings related to Trump's building projects; to travel with him to a building site in Manhattan and observe his inspection of it; to journey with Trump for a book promotion appearance at QVC, the shopping channel; and to fly with him on his jet to a "demolition party" in Chicago where Trump planned to build a 90-story $800-million luxury tower on what had been the site of the Chicago Sun-Times. Slater was also allowed to observe a casting call for the third season of The Apprentice television program at during the filming of one of the episodes for its third season. Finally, Trump helped to facilitate many of the interviews of those best qualified to discuss both his business career and the celebrity synonymous with it.

Trump is as protective of the privacy of his three children as he is eager to discuss almost anything and anyone else. Nonetheless, he allowed Slater to meet with one son (Donald Trump, Jr.) and apparently set no restrictions on what they could discuss. Presumably Trump allowed such direct and extensive access, both to himself and to countless others, because he trusted Slater, was favorably impressed by his professional credentials, sensed his inherent integrity, and believed that he would receive fair and circumspect treatment in what later became this book.

With regard to its title, it is Slater's opinion that, at least for now, "there seems to be no downside" to all the attention Trump has so actively sought and has so substantially achieved. "His look of giddy pleasure at the amount of attention he is [currently] getting says it all. He savors having so many choices to make [i.e. he is inundated with participation proposals of various kinds] that put him in the public spotlight. If he could, one imagines, he would not make a choice at all. He would do everything. After all, in Donald Trump's world, there is no such thing as over-exposure." At least for now.

Proportionality is a key element in Slater's earlier discussions of other prominent executives such as John Chambers, George Soros, and Jack Welch and it is also true of what he has to say about Trump. Obviously, there is much that Slater admires but much else which Slater finds irritating (at best) and sometimes infuriating (at worst). Of greatest interest to me is Slater's explanation of how and why Trump "openly names his products after himself and markets his name as synonymous with his products: his luxury residences, his casino hotels, and so on. [Trump] insists, as well -- correctly, at it turns out -- that using his name on his company products enhances their value." (Please see Chapter 8, "Branding a Name.") I was also interested in learning about certain differences between the public Trump and the private Trump. For example, that he seldom fires anyone in the Trump organization and, generally, is far more patient, forgiving, generous, and deferential than his public persona suggests.

More a quibble than a complaint, I wish Slater had included (perhaps as an appendix) an annotated Timeline of the key dates and defining moments in Trump's career thus far. For example, when and why he decided to become a commercial real estate developer in Manhattan, Atlantic City, Chicago, and Las Vegas; also, when and why he agreed to produce and star in The Apprentice television program. Slater addresses these and other issues within his narrative. However, given the complexity of Trump's various business activities, it would be helpful to have a chronological frame-of-reference to consult periodically, one which clarifies when, what, with whom, where, etc.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Slater's earlier work, notably Jack Welch and the GE Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO; Microsoft Rebooted: How Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer Reinvented Their Company; SOROS: The Unauthorized Biography, the Life, Times and Trading Secrets of the World's Greatest Investor; The Wal-Mart Decade: How a New Generation of Leaders Turned Sam Walton's Legacy into the World's #1 Company; Saving Big Blue: Leadership Lessons & Turnaround Tactics of IBM's Lou Gerstner; and Get Better or Get Beaten!: 31 Leadership Secrets from GE's Jack Welch.

Instead of this volume, pick up one of the two editions by Gwenda Blair or any book written by Donald Trump himself. The raw substance between the covers of this title might make three decent installment articles for a magazine or newspaper. There's not enough fresh information here to warrant filling 226 pages.

"No Such Thing as Over-Exposure" isn't really a biography, nor is it a business analysis. It resembles a character sketch or a tribute. The reader gets the impression that Robert Slater idolizes his subject and is determined to make a truthful and perhaps favorable portrait of him. But it doesn't come off that way. Slater may think it's a positive presentation, and even Trump might think it's a positive one, but the average reader won't. At the basic level, DT is portrayed here as an executive who holds little regard for his employees, for the public, and for the media -- unless he thinks he can gain something from any one of them. He micromanages, he disdains staff members who take vacations, and he threatens anyone who gets in his way with a lawsuit, including Slater. Above all, he's a publicity hound who seeks the world's approval at every step. Though the author disparages previous books that painted negative pictures of Trump, he doesn't realize that his supposedly truthful approach turns out to be a negative one as well.

The progression of the text isn't chronological, nor is it thematic. Chapter subheadings interrupt lines of thought instead of separating them, making for disjointed reading. Several stories and concepts are repeated ad nauseum. Slater continually insists that no other corporate head seeks the personal and business publicity that Donald Trump does, and of course that's true. But nearly every time he mentions it, he uses Jack Welch of GE and Bill Gates of Microsoft as comparisons. (Probably because he's written books about them, too.) Readers are smart and have good memories; they don't need to be reminded that Welch and Gates don't seek the limelight like Trump in every chapter of just one book. The point could have been made once or twice, not a dozen times. The same can be said of "truthful hyperbole." If I never hear or read that phrase again, I will be a happy camper.

If the author isn't repeating himself, then he spins around a topic without making a clear summation or supposition. An example is Donald Trump's reaction to negative publicity. Here are excerpts that appear within the span of eight pages:

"A negative article about him 'bothers me for the day and maybe even for the week, but after that it's over...It doesn't have any import.'" (page 130, quoting Trump)

"Indeed, he dislikes any seemingly negative publicity about him." (page 132)

"'I believe that good publicity is far better than bad publicity. But the amazing thing is, the bad publicity has not hurt my business.'" (page 133, quoting Trump)

"He loved it when newspaper articles pointed out his achievements. But he could not let go of articles that seemed negative to him. Unlike many business leaders who simply ignored negative publicity about them or their companies and did not fight back, Donald Trump attacked every time he found himself unjustly treated in the media." (page 137)

Well, which way is it? Or are all these statements somehow saying the same thing? What's needed here is a cohesive analysis of the topic. "In spite of his occasional words to the contrary, it's obvious that Donald Trump pays attention to any kind of publicity -- and negative publicity, most of all." (for example) Then the author could have proceeded with the quotes and the stories supporting or refuting the statement. Random snippets that disagree with each other shouldn't be left alone without explanation.

As I have been reading this book on a wintry New England weekend, I am reminded of seeing a car stuck in the snow. As it rocks back and forth in an effort to get somewhere, the material underneath the wheels becomes an increasingly ugly treaded hash that just gets in the way. When the vehicle is finally gone, the empty space carries only a ghost of what was there before. The truth isn't there anymore, and if we wanted to, we could always follow the tracks to see where it's gone.

This book is an average effort at a larger-than-average subject. There may be no such thing as over-exposure, but there *is* such a thing as poor workmanship. Doesn't Trump fire people for that?

Robert Slater wants you to know that Donald Trump threatened to sue him, to prevent him from writing this book. "Odd and chilling," is how the author describes the letter he received from one of Trump's lawyers, during the height of the success of The Apprentice.

The lawsuit didn't happen, and after wasting several hours of my life reading "No Such Thing as Over-Exposure," the reason is evident. Trump -who must indeed be a very charming person--brought Slater to his side, and used him as a stenographer for his endless hype and self-promotion. Slater doesn't question anything, not even the most ridiculous of Trump's assertions, such as saying that he could go into the Middle East, and bring peace to the area, faster than you can say, "You're Fired."

Slater -who must have picked up something from his subject in terms of hyperbole--wants the reader to believe that he did a tremendous amount of research (More than 150 interviews! Flights in Donald's plane and helicopters!) but the book comes across as nothing more than a quickie job and one more pamphlet proclaiming the wonders of The Donald.

This admiring biography of real estate billionaire Donald Trump begins with a reference to Trump's "swept-back blonde mane" - although his thinning forward comb-over is probably the most famous weird hairdo in America. Perhaps author Robert Slater picked up a bit of his subject's tendency toward what Trump calls "truthful hyperbole." Slater's writing is interesting and accessible, in a breathless sort of way. However, despite being based on 150 interviews, this biography doesn't contain a lot of information that Trump has not already disseminated through his books, TV show and softball press interviews. Slater seems to regard Trump's exaggerations as charming foibles and, given tremendous access, apparently accepts Trump's self-assessment that he is a skilled negotiator, shrewd investor and efficient administrator - even when the author's own anecdotes show Trump in another guise: as a bullying micro-manager. Of course, the insight that negative publicity isn't always a bad thing is a primary theme. We recommend this close-up meeting with Trump to general readers who find that his outsized ego, lifestyle and accomplishments hold a certain fascination and to businesspeople who just want to know how he always lands on his feet. (Hint: he delivers the goods.)

If you are interested in the business world or not, there has been no other business leader consistently in the news more then Donald Trump over the last 20 years. If you think he is an attention starved ego driven showman or just a smart business leader in the right place at the right time, the fact is you have an opinion of him. Few other business leaders share his celebrity. It is this celebrity that prompted me to pick up this book for no other reason then to see what all the fuss was about. As a bit of a perspective to this review I have not watched one episode of his TV show and I have always felt that his biggest skill was an uncanny knack for finding television cameras. If you mentioned Trump to me the only thing I would think was oversized ego.

So I needed a lot of convincing to be done to move my view of Trump into more of a positive light. This author did make me rethink my position, but unlike the subject of the book and his in your face M1A1 tank approach to image, the author laid out facts and present his story with limited bias. The author does cover some history, but the area I found most interesting was the focus on the current Trump activities. The one thing I came away with is that you have it hand it to him, he is driving to have his business empire catch up to his ego. Overall I enjoyed the book. This is the first book on Trump I have read in a long time so there was an element of freshness to the subject. I also found that either the author had an engaging method of writing or the subject mater was just so interesting that I kept moving from page to page excitedly.

Slater has done an excellent job of presenting an incredibly complete picture of the mighty "Donald". The perspectives shown of the man range from his own truly personal reflections to the opinions of friends and foe, from the conqueror and his minions to the vanquished. A must read for all the "Apprentice" lovers in the crowd.

March 13 reviewer Corinne Smith nails it. This is a basically a series or collection of interviews, primarily with fans of "the Donald", who have no problems with his oxymoronic concept of "truthful hyperbole". Trump is a genius at shameless and shameful self-promotion, with an almost endless ego, but the story told here is flat, uninspiring, unrevealing, and tedious.

And the book is simply boring. Did I say boring? It is boring.

The very rich are uniformly thought to be publicity shy. Donald Trump vigorously breaks that mold and steps on it in the bargain, unabashedly observing that, like Muhammad Ali, "I have the goods. I have the best locations." The willingness to beat his own drum is not idle chest-beating given his ability to create a brand out of his own name, with buildings bearing his stamp with tall glittering letters, and, as a result, selling for more than those of his competitors. In the cutthroat world of business he has taken the path little traveled and has made a go of it, and done it his way. Viewers of his show, "The Apprentice," will get more than a glimpse behind the curtains in "a day in the life" of Trump, they'll see how he deals regularly with the media - head on, instead of dodging - and he'll share details of his darkest times as well as his successes, about which he is not shy in the least. Slater has caught the stamp of this enigmatic man in a way even Trump's own books haven't. This is an engaging and readable addition to the shelves of anyone intrigued by the Trump legend, which grows heartily with little resistance from the Trumpster himself. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that Trump's story is a fascinating one, and Slater has made a hearty and honest contribution to it.

I found this very interesting especially the bit where Trump gets into serious financial difficulty and how he pulled it off. This bookshows you how

Trump is a great PR guy and uses this to get the banks tofinance his deals. Knowing how touse the media to generate free publicity for your business is something Trump is great at.

The book is well researched and written in a way that keeps you reading through.

Donald Trump is one of the most unsympathetic characters in the world, and this book just makes one realize how little most people care for the guy who thinks he has perfected the combover. Sadly, there is absolutely nothing important, interesting, or new here - so buy at your own discretion. Why are these books published anyway?