As a political junkie, I enjoy reading well-written biographies of political figures. Now, I am not a Trump fan, but I appreciated the clear writing and non-sensationalism in "Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power" by Washington Post reporters Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher. Their book is not a hatchet-job by either pro-Trump or anti-Trump agenda writers. The reporters have interviewed both major and minor characters in Donald Trump's rise to wealth and power. People who I wouldn't think to be associated with Trump, had indeed been part of his life.

Whether Donald Trump wins or loses in November, there will be many, many books written about this presidential election. .As a life-long Democrat and, as I said, political junkie, I will probably read most of them. But this book, well-written and presenting the facts of Donald Trump, will, I think, be one of the best. I also realised that Michael Kranish was also the author of a well-written book on Mitt Romney in 2012.

Just as an added note, I wonder if the people who wrote negative reviews actually read this book. It is absolutely one of the most evenly written political books I've ever read. Much like the Mitt Romney bio Kranish wrote four years ago.

Excellent, well-written book that will make anyone -- on either side of the partisan divide -- take a closer look and Think. The authors. and about twenty reporters whose reporting they openly utilize. have painted a portrait that is filled with new information and facts that are not generally known.

Most of all, they bring Insight into the arena. It's easy to simply take a side that supports your already-formed opinion regardless of facts. But living in an echo chamber is hardly the way to figure out the truth.

Very impressed with the depth and understanding that the authors bring to Mr. Trump. Regardless how you feel about Trump, authors Kranish and Fisher go a long way to being truly fair and balanced. They're more interested in comprehensively putting together the whole story than in scoring points. Their writing is lively and hard to put down.

Co-author Marc Fisher has written very insightfully for many years as a reporter for the Washington Post and in other books he's written.

Do yourself a favor and take the time to read this thoughtful book.

*****
This book is almost 450 dense pages and came out yesterday; understand that many of the early reviews will be written by people who already have an agenda regarding Donald Trump and who are not actually reviewing this book, but are delivering their opinion of him as a man and as a political candidate. In making your buying decision, look at the substantive reviews that actually tell you what the book is about--those that help you to decide if you should buy it or not.

I am like many people--wanting a good alternative to Hillary Clinton, yet horrified by many of the things I hear and see about Donald Trump. I feel trapped between two intolerable choices. So I thought I'd read a fact-based biography of Donald Trump. This book IS fact-based. It was written by 20 reporters, 2 fact-checkers, and 3 editors from the Washington Post. It is not a biased screed or someone's opinion or sensationalistic. You, the reader, decides what the facts mean to you and how important various incidents are to you--pro or con for Donald Trump. The reviewers who say it is trash or slapped together or like many of the other biographies are wrong. I've spent 20 hours reading it to tell you that. And I am still thinking about my vote. I am undecided whether or not to vote at all. Even if you think the Washington Post reporters are biased, this book is clearly a presentation of innumerable facts, ones that can easily be checked by the ambitious reader with time on their hands.

Donald Trump did participate in the book for 20 hours of interviews, but much of what is in the book is taken from others' testimonies and historical records. In addition, many previous biographers participated and opened their archives.

The book covers Trump's family background, his early school life, his college years, and his early business ventures. There is a chapter on his marriage and his relationships with women. A chapter covers his involvement with sports teams and team ownership; another chapter goes into his involvement with casinos and Atlantic City. Did you know that Trump owned at one point an airline--the Trump Shuttle? Each chapter gives the reader more insight into how Donald Trump operates and makes decisions and is helpful in determining what kind of president he could make; I have to say that for me, there were pros and cons--for you it might be different, which is the beauty of a factual account. The book covers his bankruptcies and how well he recovered from any "failures". It covers his reality show, "The Apprentice". The book follows his thinking in his own words. The book covers Trump-branded products (menswear, bottled water, fragrance, home furnishings, eyeglasses, wallets, mattresses and more), Trump University, and each of his real estate deals in great detail.

Donald Trump clearly knows how to make great deals for himself. It is up to the readers to decide if he will be able to do the same for his country. But again, YOU decide. No conclusions are drawn!

Trump explains what he means by his speaking style--"truthful hyperbole"--and why he uses it. The book includes transcripts of some of Trump's more interesting comments on Howard Stern's show, revealing more of his feelings about women; I like that these are transcripts and not someone telling me what Trump thinks. The book explores facts about Trump's net worth and leaves the reader to deduce why Trump might be so protective of his tax returns. It covers his involvement with Wrestlemania. It covers why he switched political parties 7 times from 1999-2012. Donald Trump even had a network marketing company (MLM) at one point. I learned a great deal from reading this that now that I've binge-read, I'll have to process and decide.

If you do get this in Kindle, be aware that you have no way of linking up the footnotes/references with the text as there are no numbers to link to as is typical in a Kindle book. I would strongly advocate buying the book in hardcopy. This is the only negative I've found with the book. The writing style could be more entertaining as well, but it is journalism, not entertaining writing filled with judgements and opinions and conclusions--which I appreciated.

There is an index, always a plus in any non-fiction book.

Highly recommended.
*****

This is a meticulously researched (and documented) biography. It is fairly easy to read. I am most of the way through and am still looking forward to the read. I wanted to have a more in-depth understanding of Trump when arguing with my parents. This is definitely providing it!

The latest paperback version I received has an afterword section titled President Trump, a very useful addition.

If you don't understand Trump - why he does what he does or how he thinks (or doesn't think) this book will provide you with a roadmap. It's a fine biography of the world's best three card monte dealer (sorry Bernie Madoff, you lost your title). I'm sure, before long, Trump will have provided enough material for a Volume II, then a Volume III. I hope Kranish and Fisher keep apace.

This book is quite skeptical of the man, but it's well-researched and well-executed nonetheless. I just wanted to understand his bio and this book delivered. Only in the final few chapters did the book begin to go off the rails and become a hit piece. This was better than I feared going in.