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erine's review against another edition
I feel like I just ate too much fast food.
I cannot imagine this was a labor of love. More like a labor of meticulous, cold determination. As a regular person reading the news, the last four years of campaigns and presidency have been a continuous steady drip of bombast, lies, muddled exaggeration, outrage, attempted misdirection, and ridiculous scandal. It’s both overwhelming and numbing. Seeing the whole Trump narrative together in one place was odd, and somewhat disconcerting. I might even call it swampy.
In Unpresidented, Brockenbrough plunges full on into the dripping swamp. She pulls everything together into a mostly coherent narrative (no easy task given the content) and offers context and background as the events go on. Occasionally the flow of the text bogs down in detail and multiple plot threads, but I felt she juggled it all about as well as could be expected. In reading the backmatter and flipping through the endnotes, I could feel the aggressive fact-checking that had been committed. I also felt there was a consciously neutral tone throughout that occasionally seemed strained.
It’s a fascinating story, beginning with a hard luck immigration tale, and filled with bold and brassy business tactics, and a family that just doesn’t seem to believe the rules apply to them. And unfortunately, in large part they were right. Using loopholes, favors, bluster, and luck, the rules never did seem to stick to the Trump family. I was hoping to find some redeeming qualities, but am left with nothing really new. They are persistent.
Looking back on some of the more recent history is striking, given how much has happened since, even since the book was published. As more of this presidency unwinds, this book will rapidly become out of date, but although it only goes up to 2018, it is a sufficiently detailed account and offers great background on Donald Trump, and a good rundown of the 2016 election.
My main complaint was the lack of connection between the main text and the endnotes. The endnotes were numbered according to page instead of corresponding to a unique number in the relevant text, nor was there a text reference prior to each endnote. It was puzzling to have the notes be so inaccessible after going to all the effort to document everything.
I cannot imagine this was a labor of love. More like a labor of meticulous, cold determination. As a regular person reading the news, the last four years of campaigns and presidency have been a continuous steady drip of bombast, lies, muddled exaggeration, outrage, attempted misdirection, and ridiculous scandal. It’s both overwhelming and numbing. Seeing the whole Trump narrative together in one place was odd, and somewhat disconcerting. I might even call it swampy.
In Unpresidented, Brockenbrough plunges full on into the dripping swamp. She pulls everything together into a mostly coherent narrative (no easy task given the content) and offers context and background as the events go on. Occasionally the flow of the text bogs down in detail and multiple plot threads, but I felt she juggled it all about as well as could be expected. In reading the backmatter and flipping through the endnotes, I could feel the aggressive fact-checking that had been committed. I also felt there was a consciously neutral tone throughout that occasionally seemed strained.
It’s a fascinating story, beginning with a hard luck immigration tale, and filled with bold and brassy business tactics, and a family that just doesn’t seem to believe the rules apply to them. And unfortunately, in large part they were right. Using loopholes, favors, bluster, and luck, the rules never did seem to stick to the Trump family. I was hoping to find some redeeming qualities, but am left with nothing really new. They are persistent.
Looking back on some of the more recent history is striking, given how much has happened since, even since the book was published. As more of this presidency unwinds, this book will rapidly become out of date, but although it only goes up to 2018, it is a sufficiently detailed account and offers great background on Donald Trump, and a good rundown of the 2016 election.
My main complaint was the lack of connection between the main text and the endnotes. The endnotes were numbered according to page instead of corresponding to a unique number in the relevant text, nor was there a text reference prior to each endnote. It was puzzling to have the notes be so inaccessible after going to all the effort to document everything.
mackenzievirginia's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
The information here is very well-presented. As the author references in her introduction, facts matter; and facts are what Brockenbrough presents here. While it is difficult for anything written about this man to be seen as unbiased (because his actions and personality are so odious that even a straightforward account paints him in a bad light), this book has fairly successfully achieved that label. The fact that this is designated as a young adult nonfiction title makes that factual approach even more important.
Regardless of one's feelings about Trump, this book and the information therein cannot be argued against by any reasonable person. Hopefully those who read it, especially those of a young age, will come away with an appreciation for fact-based writing, an understanding of the true nature of this man and his administration, and a desire to right its wrongs.
The information here is very well-presented. As the author references in her introduction, facts matter; and facts are what Brockenbrough presents here. While it is difficult for anything written about this man to be seen as unbiased (because his actions and personality are so odious that even a straightforward account paints him in a bad light), this book has fairly successfully achieved that label. The fact that this is designated as a young adult nonfiction title makes that factual approach even more important.
Regardless of one's feelings about Trump, this book and the information therein cannot be argued against by any reasonable person. Hopefully those who read it, especially those of a young age, will come away with an appreciation for fact-based writing, an understanding of the true nature of this man and his administration, and a desire to right its wrongs.
rockinrobin's review against another edition
5.0
The forward should be used in middle and high school curriculum everywhere to teach about unbiased research and the importance of using context.
bethmitcham's review
3.0
I don't know if it's possible to write a fair biography of Trump. People who like him have to ignore vast amounts of reality -- facts, his lies, etc. But people who believe in objective reality have trouble remaining calm while describing his actions. Brockenbrough does her best, starting with the good feelings she had about Trump while watching his first season of his reality TV show. She documents his childhood and business career, noticing the times that he fell afoul of regulations or needed to be bailed out by his father. She then traces his political career, noting the deviations from the truth and the enthusiasm his brash manner evokes. But she is clearly starting to fray as she describes the presidency, especially during the twitter war with Korea followed by the fruitless meetings, and the constant caving to Russia and pandering to Putin. Comparisons to Nazi Germany will never feel balanced. At least her epilogues of Trump campaign workers, family, and political aides aren't separated into columns for Convicted/Indicted/Unburdened by Legal Trouble, although that would have been convenient.
riotbatgrrl's review
4.0
This would have easily been a 5 star book, but I didn't much care for the ending. I understand that the presidency isn't over yet, but I was definitely expecting a chapter to wrap things up and I didn't get one. I also didn't like the pull quotes, and the blue font threw me off.
That said, Martha Brockenbrough did an amazing job with following the facts and stating them clearly without adding in her own opinions. The book was thoroughly researched. I especially think the foreward is going to be helpful with media literacy for teens and tweens. Hopefully an expanded edition is in the works for after the presidency.
That said, Martha Brockenbrough did an amazing job with following the facts and stating them clearly without adding in her own opinions. The book was thoroughly researched. I especially think the foreward is going to be helpful with media literacy for teens and tweens. Hopefully an expanded edition is in the works for after the presidency.
adotzam's review
5.0
Brockenbrough presents a very detailed look at the patterns that have emerged in DJT's life: mainly that he has a history of lying (about almost anything) and self-aggrandizement. The intended audience is teens, but this has great crossover appeal for adults as well.
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