Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. TrumpMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
While this book didn't say anything that the rational world doesn't already know about the fraud and bully that is Donald Trump, it did provide an intimate peek into the life of what must be one of the saddest and most dysfunctional families of all.
I first heard about the book when the news came out that the family was trying to suppress its publication by taking the matter to court (they lost).
Written by the niece of Trump (the daughter of Donald's older brother), this is not an objective book (despite the legitimate qualifications of Mary Trump's PhD in clinical psychology). She openly admitted to providing documents to help New York Times reporters write an expose on Trump (for which they won the 2019 Pulitzer), links of which can be found here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us... and https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...
Mary Trump is very angry, but not just at the POTUS. She is angry at the entire family, for allowing and creating someone like Donald to ascend as the sociopathic leader of the free world. But also because she blames them for her father's death, and for cheating her and her brother out of money that was, in her view, rightfully hers.
As an educator, I found it compelling reading because it provided specific insights into how the child makes the man.
He had been a failure and a bully in school, had to pay someone to take his SATs for him so he could enter college. But his home (and his father) not only protected and supported him... they encouraged him. And so the child grew up to be a monster whose actions have led to deaths.
This is, at its core, the story of a family's ills. No family is exempt from its share of troubles, but if there's one takeaway from this book, it is this: Beware wealth that comes at the expense of love, and beware a family that prioritizes possessions over values and relationships.
Had to put lots of honey in my coffee, to sweeten the taste of this bitter, angry book.
And oh, look! 50th book of the year!
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