From Publishers Weekly
This boastful, boyishly disarming, thoroughly engaging personal history offers an inside look at aspects of financing, development and construction in big-time New York real estate. "I don't do it for the money," maintains Trump, the son of a Queens realtor who, at age 27, bought and transfigured the colossal Hotel Commodore at Grand Central Terminal. Now 40, he has built, among other projects, and owns outright, Fifth Avenue's retail and residential Trump Tower (where he occupies a double-triplex suite); owns and operates Trump's Castle, a casino in Atlantic City; is arguably the most visible young man on Manhattan's celebrity circuit ("Governor Cuomo calls. . . . dinner at St. Patrick's Cathedral. . . . I call back Judith Krantz"); and is currently developing a controversial 100-acre West Side "Television City" project that is planned to include the world's tallest building. For those who would do likewise, Trump articulates his secrets for success: imagination, persistence, skill at "juggling provisional commitments" (e.g., for land or lease options, bank financing, zoning approval, tax abatement, etc.) and most crucial of all, a true trader's instinct. 135,000 printing; first serial to New York magazine and Vanity Fair; Fortune Book Club main selection; BOMC alternate. (December Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
This is a fascinating book because it is incredible. At the age of 41, Trump, the son of a Queens, New York, developer of moderate-income apartment houses, presides over a vast real estate empire with assets in the billions. Trump's world is composed of an endless series of deals and ventures, most of them monumentally successful from his point of view. The book is less an autobiography than an hour-by-hour recapitulation of how Trump spends his time plus a few lessons for those who would do the same. Trump seems to be a clever entrepreneur and exhibitionist. There should be requests aplenty for this. A.J. Anderson, G.S.L.I.S., Simmons Coll., BostonCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the Impresario of NBC's hit show The Apprentice

TRUMP ON TRUMP: "I like thinking big. I always have. To me it's very simple: if you're going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big."

And here's how he does it: the art of the deal.

Beginning with a week in Trump's high-stakes life, Trump: The Art of the Deal gives us Trump in action. We see just how he operates day to day--how he runs his business and how he runs his life--as he chats with friends and family, clashes with enemies, efficiently buys up Atlantic City's top casinos, changes the face of the New York City skyline . . . and plans the tallest building in the world.

TRUMP ON TRUMP: "I play it very loose. I don't carry a briefcase. I try not to schedule too many meetings. I leave my door open. . . . I prefer to come to work each day and just see what develops."


Even a maverick plays by rules, and here Trump formulates his own eleven guidelines for success. He isolates the common elements in his greatest deals; he shatters myths ("You don't necessarily need the best location. What you need is the best deal"); he names names, spells out the zeros, and fully reveals the deal-maker's art: from the abandoned property that became the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to the seedy hotel that became the Grand Hyatt; from the race to rebuild Central Park's Wollman Skating Rink to the byzantine saga of the property that became Trump Tower. And throughout, Trump talks--really talks--about how he does it.

TRUMP ON TRUMP: "I always go into a deal anticipating the worst. If you plan for the worst--if you can live with the worst--the good willalways take care of itself."

Donald Trump is blunt, brash, surprisingly old-fashioned in spots--and always, always an original. Trump: The Art of the Deal is an unguarded look at the mind of a brilliant entrepreneur and an unprecedented education in the art of the deal. It's the most streetwise business book there is--and a sizzling read for anyone interested in money and success.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This boastful, boyishly disarming, thoroughly engaging personal history offers an inside look at aspects of financing, development and construction in big-time New York real estate. ``I don't do it for the money,'' maintains Trump, the son of a Queens realtor who, at age 27, bought and transfigured the colossal Hotel Commodore at Grand Central Terminal. Now 40, he has built, among other projects, and owns outright, Fifth Avenue's retail and residential Trump Tower (where he occupies a double-triplex suite); owns and operates Trump's Castle, a casino in Atlantic City; is arguably the most visible young man on Manhattan's celebrity circuit (``Governor Cuomo calls. . . . dinner at St. Patrick's Cathedral. . . . I call back Judith Krantz''); and is currently developing a controversial 100-acre West Side ``Television City'' project that is planned to include the world's tallest building. For those who would do likewise, Trump articulates his secrets for success: imagination, persistence, skill at ``juggling provisional commitments'' (e.g., for land or lease options, bank financing, zoning approval, tax abatement, etc.) and most crucial of all, a true trader's instinct. 135,000 printing; first serial to New York magazine and Vanity Fair; Fortune Book Club main selection; BOMC alternate. (December 14)

Library Journal