The Lost Tycoon: The Rise & Demise of Donald J Trump

A look at the fortunes and misfortunes of the multimillionaire uses untapped family sources to describe Trump's dealing with political fixers and contractors, his ties to organized crime, his personal life, and his financial situation. 30,000 first printing. Tour.

A deliciously wicked take on casino/real-estate mogul Donald J. Trump. Drawing on a wealth of sources, Hurt (For All Mankind, 1988, etc.) offers an exhaustive, gossipy rundown on a golden boy of the so-called greed decade who lost his touch--and way--in the hard realities of the 1990's. Capitalizing on political contacts made by his father, who amassed a fortune building and managing apartment houses for working-class residents of N.Y.C.'s outer boroughs, the erstwhile Wunderkind made a flashy name for himself in Manhattan property development. Moving on to Atlantic City's glittery gambling dens, the cocksure Trump (who turns 47 this June) took a great fall when his faith in ever-rising asset prices proved unfounded. In the wake of an acrimonious divorce that ended a 13- year marriage to the Czech-born Ivana (inducing bankers to review Trump's balance sheet with greater care), the ambitious hustler's leveraged empire and its trophy holdings now languish in undeclared bankruptcy. While Hurt doesn't wholly dismiss the possibility of a comeback, he leaves little doubt that Trump is bucking tough odds. Nor does the author overlook many opportunities to dish the dirt on his subject's star-crossed personal life and dubious business practices. Cases in point range from the Trump family's long- standing ties to organized-crime figures through The Donald's fling with Marla Maples; inability to weigh a deal's downside risks against its potential rewards; midnight demolition of a Manhattan landmark; and world-class talent for manipulation. Lacking the insider's edge of John R. O'Donnell's Trumped! (1991)--but, still, a slick, informed account of an upstart wheeler-dealer whose brass may be exceeded only by his reach. (Photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Why are so many people writing "interim" biographies of Trump? Presumably because Trump is a flamboyant case of truth being sometimes stranger than fiction and because there is a vast audience for whom his every move is of enormous interest. One hesitates to use the word biography to describe this book. It is more a roundup of what is known to date about the famous financier and playboy, culled from a variety of sources. The chances are that most readers already have seen or heard, somewhere and sometimes in spite of themselves, most of what Hurt has to report. Right now, Trump seems to be down. Will he remain there? Stay tuned. Someone will be sure to let us know. Best to wait until the requests mount up before adding this one to the collection. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/93.
- A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.