Six years ago real estate developer Trump (Trump: The Art of the Deal, LJ 2/15/88) was several billion dollars in debt, owing in part, he says, to his complacency and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Now, thanks to some skillful negotiating, hard work, and luck, he says he is back. Trump's goal for this third book is to provide "inspiration" for almost anyone, and some of his top-ten comeback tips are to play golf, stay focused, be paranoid, get even, and always have a prenuptial agreement. He even includes investment and marital advice he has offered to friends and acquaintances, e.g., "If he doesn't lose the ballbreaker, his career will go nowhere." Trump comes across as smug, crude, and self-impressed, but one remains fascinated with his business acumen. He dislikes shaking hands because it spreads germs and even informs readers to "simply bow" if they ever meet him. Recommended for curiosity seekers.?Bellinda Wise, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
Trump is forever saying the obvious, as though his perceptions were original or important.... So why bother? Even allowing for hyperbole, Trump makes things happen. His absorbing account of taking ownership of 40 Wall Street, the patriarchal 72-story skyscraper for a piddling $1 million, leaves one thinking "Oh, so that's how it's done." And one has to admire how adroitly he plays his hand on the immense West Side project.... The man combines imagination with muscle. If only he could keep his mouth shut. -- The New York Times Book Review, Fred Andrews
From the Inside Flap
y begins when many real estate moguls went belly-up in what he calls the Great Depression of 1990. Trump reveals how he renegotiated millions of dollars in bank loans and survived the recession, paving the way for a resurgence, during which he built the most successful casino operation in Atlantic City, broke ground on one of the biggest and most lucrative development projects ever undertaken in New York City, and outsmarted one of South America's richest men for rights to the Miss Universe pageant.
Blunt, outrageous, smart as hell, and full of hilarious stories--check out his chapter "The Art of the Prenuptial Agreement"--Trump tells it like it is: the women in his life; the wild and woolly deals; negotiating tactics; his investment philosophy; and his strategy for success or coming back from adversity.
Whether you love him or hate him, one thing is certain about Donald Trump: He is a true American original, with great instincts and billion-dollar dreams
From the Back Cover
"Donald has every reason to feel good about himself these days. His early 1990s brush with bankruptcy is all but forgotten. His fortune is once again estimated at well over $1 billion."
--The Wll Street Journal, front page
About the Author
Donald J. Trump is president and chief executive officer of the Trump Organization. He lives in New York City. He is the author of two previous bestselling books, Trump: The Art of the Deal and Trump: Surviving at the Top.
The co-author Kate Bohner, began her career in the mergers and acquisitions department at Lazard Freres after studying business and international studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Journalism School where she received a Reader's Digest Literary Foundation Fellowship. She wrote for Forbes for three years and is currently a correspondent fro CNBC.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
TRUMP'S TOP TEN COMEBACK TIPS
1. PLAY GOLF
It helped me relax and concentrate. It took my mind off my problems; I only thought about putting the ball in the hole. And, the irony is, I made lots of money on the golf course--making contacts and deals and coming up with ideas.
2. STAY FOCUSED
I am convinced that if I had maintained the same work ethic I had during the 1970s and most of the 1980s, there would have been no recession for me. I wasn't focused and really thought that life and success just came hand in hand. I thought I was better than the rest. When I began to relax and take it a little--or perhaps a lot--easier things got began to fall apart.
3. BE PARANOID
I have noticed over the years that people who are guarded or, to put it more coldly, slightly paranoid, end up being the most successful. Let some paranoia reign! You've got to realize that you have something other people want. Don't let them take it away.
4. BE PASSIONATE
This is a key ingredient to success and coming back. If you don't have passion about who you are, about what you are trying to be, about where you are going, you might as well close this book right now and give up. Go get a job and relax, because you have no chance of making it. Passion is the essence to life and certainly the essence of success.
5. GO AGAINST THE TIDE
When I decided to keep 40 Wall Street as an office building, everyone in lower Manhattan was converting their buildings to residential space--and with good reason. The apartment market is hot as a pistol. I decided to head in the exact opposite direction, and now I am signing up tenants at rents far higher than anything I expected.
6. GO WITH YOUR GUT
Some of the greatest investors I have ever known invest by instinct, rather than research, study, or hard work. If you look back over history, this is the way the greatest fortunes have been built. People had ideas that they truly believed in.
7. WORK WITH PEOPLE YOU LIKE
If you go to the office and don't find the energy in the people you are with, it is highly unlikely that you will be energized toward success.
8. BE LUCKY
I hate to put this in the book because it can't be acquired. People who inherit fortunes are lucky; I call them members of the lucky sperm club. But you can help coax luck into your life by working hard and being at the right place at the right time.
9. GET EVEN
During the bad times, I learned who was loyal and who wasn't. I believe in an eye for an eye. A couple of people who betrayed me need my help now, and I am screwing them against the wall! I am doing a number...and I'm having so much fun.
10. ALWAYS HAVE A PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT
Anyone in a complicated business should be institutionalized if he or she gets married without one. I know firsthand that you can't come back if you're spending all your time fighting for your financial life with a spouse.
