Too Much and Never Enough

Yes, the author has an axe to grind after being cut out of Fred Sr.'s will. Still, this is the most coherent and believable explanation I've seen for the @realDonaldTrump Twitter stream and its pathological braggadocio and belligerent name-calling. Wherever you stand on support for Donald Trump's presidency, you can't REALLY believe that everything he's ever done is the best it's EVER BEEN done. Sheer odds (and, frankly, facts) stand against it. And whether you're offended or delighted by the puerile nicknames he permafrosts to his opponents' names, you can't REALLY think that this is virtuous behavior, or the actions of someone mature. So why is Donald Trump the way he is? Why does he badger and belittle and denounce and deflect and crow and claim persecution?

This book explains the Trump family in the context of Fred Sr. It focuses on Fred Sr., Fred Jr., and Donald, probably in that order. Fred Sr. withheld love, encouraged division, scoffed at kindness or emotion, and applauded what proponents call swagger and detractors call assholery. As a clinical psychologist, the author provides several insights -- some resoundingly quoteworthy -- into the psychological makeup of Fred, Sr., and of Donald. This is more a book of descriptions and conclusions, though family anecdotes are spread through the book.

Donald Trump has been the most polarizing president of my lifetime, and perhaps ever (that "best ever" I'll grant him). Some see his attitudes and actions as what our country needs. Others, that they will prove our country's downfall. Either way, understanding his psychological makeup -- why he is the way he is, why he thinks what he does, what motivates him -- seems important to us as citizens of this country, especially as we prepare for the November (?) vote. This book provides that information.