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neglet's review against another edition
5.0
Extremely well-researched, thoroughly sourced account of Trump’s history, both as a (mostly failed) businessman and as a politician. Does not stint in showing his documented lies and extreme behaviors. Well worth it, and not just for YA readers.
beths0103's review against another edition
5.0
In a social media culture today that's attention span can't go past a couple days, Martha Brockenbrough made it her mission to document the life, campaign, and first two years of the presidency of Donald Trump.
This book is meticulously researched and meant to report the truth of the 45th president of the United States. It pulls no punches but does its best not to editorialize excessively. If it is unflattering of our president, that's only of his own doing.
What I appreciate so much about this book is that it was written for young adults, but Brockenbrough does not talk down to her audience. Her writing manages to be both succinct and to the point, while also leaving out no important detail. I hope that there are plans for Brockenbrough to write a second edition after Trump leaves (or is forced out of) office.
This book is meticulously researched and meant to report the truth of the 45th president of the United States. It pulls no punches but does its best not to editorialize excessively. If it is unflattering of our president, that's only of his own doing.
What I appreciate so much about this book is that it was written for young adults, but Brockenbrough does not talk down to her audience. Her writing manages to be both succinct and to the point, while also leaving out no important detail. I hope that there are plans for Brockenbrough to write a second edition after Trump leaves (or is forced out of) office.
molly_dettmann's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very comprehensive biography of Donald Trump, from his German immigrant grandparents coming to the US to the early years of his presidency. I felt this was as objective of a biography as we might ever get about Trump, written for teens. Of course it still felt like a surreal read when all of the direct quotes and undercover videos and tweets and firings and marriages and lawsuits and alll that were put together in one chunky narrative. This is a thick read (with an updated epilogue on the ebook version that includes the first impeachment and the beginning of Covid-19). It is about 20% back matter and citations though.
karibaumann's review against another edition
5.0
Impressively documented. This is just what our young people deserve.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent biography of the president for teens (and adults!), well-researched and written. Illustrated with many photos, although they're all blue-tinted to match the catchy design of the book. I especially liked the author's introduction/foreward, where she talks about a journalist's job as truth-gatherer, how important it is to research thoroughly and present all the facts, no matter if positive or negative. She put it much better than I can. I also found the early chapters very interesting, wherein the author gives Trump's family history, how his grandfather emigrated from Germany and how he and later his son Fred started the various family businesses, and sometimes took a few shortcuts that weren't necessarily legal, etc. Fascinating stuff. Also, because it's a teen biography, it is a good concise summary of the Trump administration so far; I found that it helped me to put certain events in context and see how the whole picture fits so far, especially with all of the confusing Mueller investigation pieces and parts.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
An outstanding, thoroughly researched look at 45 and the legacy he built before and during his time as president. I had known little of his history prior to the election -- I watched an episode of a docu-series on Netflix that really dug into that after -- but this book added so much more depth and understanding. There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50+ pages of references here, too, as Brockenbrough did her work. Seeing this only covers through July 2018, I'm hoping there will be a followup at the end of 45's term.
My only little critique is from a design perspective. This is a really good looking book, but the pull quotes made little sense in how they were peppered throughout. They were overused and I knew pretty quickly they were pulled either from the line immediately above or below where they were laid out, which was distracting. It doesn't take away anything from the book itself, but it made me question the design choice since it felt unnecessary.
My only little critique is from a design perspective. This is a really good looking book, but the pull quotes made little sense in how they were peppered throughout. They were overused and I knew pretty quickly they were pulled either from the line immediately above or below where they were laid out, which was distracting. It doesn't take away anything from the book itself, but it made me question the design choice since it felt unnecessary.
wren_in_black's review against another edition
4.0
Yi-yi-yikes.
This book completely covers Donald J. Trump's life up until this point, including the background on the family fortune. It's a fascinating story that every voter in America needs to know.
The author also compiles evidence of entanglements with Russia, racist dealings, and Trump's business entanglements into an easy-to-read narrative. Again, every voter in America should read this and make up their own minds. The author provides plenty of source information from Trump himself. It's almost like the book wrote itself in that regard. It lost me in a couple of points, but overall, it was an excellent and informative read.
This book completely covers Donald J. Trump's life up until this point, including the background on the family fortune. It's a fascinating story that every voter in America needs to know.
The author also compiles evidence of entanglements with Russia, racist dealings, and Trump's business entanglements into an easy-to-read narrative. Again, every voter in America should read this and make up their own minds. The author provides plenty of source information from Trump himself. It's almost like the book wrote itself in that regard. It lost me in a couple of points, but overall, it was an excellent and informative read.
diamondxgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Yesterday, I finished a thriller than featured a serial killer, gruesome details about torture and murder...and yet this factual recount of Tr*mp’s use of racism, sexism, and classism to come to power made me more sick. Martha has done a beautiful thing with this book and I hope every young adult library stocks it.
pernillesripp's review against another edition
5.0
With its carefully researched unflinching look at the life of our 45th president, this is a book worth reading.
jlstevenson6813's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars for the writing, 0 stars for the subject of the book himself. This book was extremely interesting, especially the statistics of his lies.