Trump: How to Get Rich

Rating:
Summary: Not what the title suggests.....
Review: The simplistic title of the book and knowing who the author is, should have been a tip-off that this was not what I was buying. I actually bought it out of curiosity and interest in a very unique and accomplished man. The book, however, is primarily about his organization, his (very general) principles of management and his (also very general) history of his career. It is an interesting read only if you like chatty, superficial books about someone else and their business empire. I will say, however, that if you haven't read any of his other books, it does give the reader an insight into how Trump thinks, his family, and in general, an overview of his lifestyle. The two stars is partly because I do not like misleading titles.

Rating:
Summary: Trash, garbage, trash, waste, worthless
Review: first how to get rich, by working hard no question about that. i liked the first couple of pages. it talks about passion, ambition and focus, key ingredients to succeed. the rest is trash. if u take away the pictures the douple spacing and the empty space it is less than 60 pages. i dont know waht else to say i can write a better book.

Rating:
Summary: THE TITLE IS A MISNOMER...
Review: This book may be about a lot of things, but it is not about getting rich. It is more about being rich. It is also about leadership, a quality of which Donald Trump definitely has in abundance. The book is peppered with little truisms by which The Donald lives in his business life. Most of them are common sense.

All in all, he comes across as a fairly likable, down-to-earth guy with a pretty healthy ego. Definitely, the meek shall not inherit the earth. He has a lot of nice things to say about many of the people with whom he has worked or transacted business. He also has something to say about those people who have crossed him in one way or another, and it ain't pretty.

He also has something to say about his hit show "The Apprentice". He loves that show, and guess what, so do millions of others, including me. He gives a few general tidbits about how the show came into being and a some back stage bits about its first season. Fans of the show will especially enjoy this part of the book.

Though the book is weak on substance, it is an easy, breezy, little read that sounds like the Donald Trump one hears on the radio and television. He is simply a guy who is enjoying himself immensely and wants everyone to know it. Moreover, the time is ripe for the book, because whatever one's take on the author might be, The Donald is a hot commodity right now and shy he is not.



Rating:
Summary: Misleading Title, A lot of Common Sense Information
Review: I purchased the book not quite knowing what to expect. The book title sounds like an infomercial that I would see at 3 AM in the morning. However, common sense told me that this book would not contain the road map to financial independence. I was intrigued however. To borrow a line from the book "The Wealthy Barber", "if you want to learn to do something right, watch someone who does it successfully." Who better to learn about money than "The Donald" himself.

I will begin by saying that I think the title of this book is misleading, but I do feel the book is somewhat useful. The book is not a roadmap to get rich, but rather a collection of philosophies and tidbits of advice on how to survive and succeed in the business world. The book is divided into six sections: The Donald J. Trump School of Business and Management, Your personal Apprenticeship, "Money, Money, Money, Money", The Secrets of Negotiation, The Trump Lifestyle, and Inside the Apprentice.

The first chapter on the "School of Business" is inspiring and useful for aspiring managers. The chapter provides common sense tips that people should already know after being in the business world a couple of years, but sometimes forget. The second chapter on "Your Personal Apprenticeship" seems to have some good advice on people new to the business world, new to their current field, or considering exiting their comfort zone. Once again, mostly common sense tips that people sometimes forget.

Starting with the third chapter, the book rapidly falls apart. The chapter on "Money" covers a mere 12 pages (including some suggestions on personal finance, not just business finance). There are people who dedicate an entire lifetime of constant learning to cover one aspect of money, personal finance, and business finance. I found it appalling that only 12 pages were dedicated to the subject. The Negotiation chapter was better, but still on the weak side. The chapter on the "Trump Lifestyle" was useful, but only because it showed what a day in a billionaire like Trump is like. It is not fun and games. The final chapter on The Apprentice was pretty useless and is hardly worth comment.

While I hate to criticize an author, especially an author who has proven himself in the world of business, this book was average at best (and that would be insulting a lot of "average" books). The book seems to over advertise Trump's properties and The Apprentice. Much of the information is common sense or learned by people who have been in the world of management for a few years. This book might be useful to young people new to the world of management (though some of the information could backfire in the hands of an overzealous, naïve person). The book can also provide focus to a person looking to advance their career.

Rating:
Summary: Book Summary -- How to Get Rich
Review: I am not in the habit of writing negative book summaries. However, I must make an exception after reading "Trump: How to Get Rich." The book should more aptly be titled, "How Trump Gets Rich," because there is little in the book that will actually tell "you" how to get rich. For example, Trump offers the following advice on investing, "Trust the people who [invest successfully] again and again, and who are consistently ranked high by the four best institutional business media outlets [The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, BusinessWeek, and Fortune]" (100). To say the least, I was disappointed that this was the "best" a billionaire with nearly 30 years in the industry and who employs 20,000 people could come up with in a chapter entitled "Be Your Own Best Financial Advisor."

Cashing in on his hit TV show The Apprentice, Trump regurgitates paragraphs of anecdotes printed previously in his other books. The first of three books that Trump had published in 2004, this fifth book gives the overall impression that quality was sacrificed for expediency in order to capitalize on his renewed fame. The overall impression given is that little could be expected in a year that saw three Trump books published along with ones from Apprentice stars Bill Rancic and Carolyn Kepcher.

The advice Trump does proffer is filled with familiar platitudes such as to stay focused and be direct, hire the right people, and stay current. For example, concerning hiring employees Trump writes:

"Save yourself time by getting the best people you can. Sometimes this can mean choosing attitude over experience and credentials (4), Time will do the weeding out for you. All you have to do is pay attention (20), [and] try to see beyond a person's title. You can find talent in unlikely places" (27).

Although at times the book can be entertaining, it does not belong on the same shelf as a book written by Peter Lynch, Warren Buffet, or John Boogle. My impression is simply that this book is not commensurate with the stature accorded to him.