PDF MaraLago Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump Presidential Palace Laurence Leamer Books

Product details Hardcover 304 pages Publisher Flatiron Books (January 29, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1250177510

MaraLago Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump Presidential Palace Laurence Leamer Books Reviews

• Although “Mar-a-Lago” has little of the sizzle of the best sellers (Fear, Fifth Risk, Fire and Fury, Team of Vipers, or of Let Me Finish) the author HAS amassed an impressive history of the famed winter home of our current president. Oh, and, by the way, he has provided an extensive history of President Donald J. Trump. Indeed, the references and bibliography comprise some 13 percent of the estimated 297 pages.
  
  Mind you, as with many histories, patience is needed, especially during the first few chapters, as it is a little slow. Stay with it, though, so you can learn the truth on how, as the writer puts it, Trump’s experiences at Mar-a-Lago reformed the builder into the news page dominated billionaire President that is Mr. Trump.
  
  BLUSH FACTOR It probably surprises nobody that the eff-word is used. More often, perhaps, than one might prefer, but not so frequent that it bothered me.
  
  WRITING & EDITING The mechanics and flow are good. The flow is fairly smooth and logical. Not exactly a page turner, but the information provided is presented with extraordinary skill.
  
  Many Trump fans will likely not read this, because it does not expose the so-called ‘Deep State’ or tend to idolize their hero. Those who do read it, though, aren’t likely to change their opinion of Trump, as it tends to confirm their impression of the current president.
  
  Trump haters, especially those among us who are suffering ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ are only slightly more likely to read this work, I suppose, because the news media is unlikely to post excerpts even of the most harsh allegations in this book.
  
  That is a shame. I found it more than worth my investment in time and money.
  
  BOTTOM LINE
  
  Four stars out of five.
• Leamer takes a deep dive into Trump’s history at Mar-a-Lago and comes up with a story you won’t find anywhere else. This is not a political book. While Trump’s boorishness and flash are on full display, Leamer chronicles how Trump crashed through the snobbery in Palm Beach like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack and opened the club to people whose ancestries would never have allowed them admission before. What’s also amazing is how with Trump what goes around never comes around. Ever. He can treat people monstrously and there are not only NOT consequences, the man actually advances with every failure and gains new allies. Perhaps his most audacious stunt was the utterly false claim that Prince Charles and Princess Diana had joined the club. They hadn’t, but so what? Trump hasn’t been without humiliations but it’s how he plays them that’s a thing of beauty – Trump became aware of Marla Maples tryst on the beach and rather than divorcing her immediately he waited for the buzz to die down before making his move to increase the chances that the story would seem untrue. Among other things, Mar-a-Lago may be the only real business success Trump has ever had despite the farce that he’s a self-made billionaire. Leamer can really write and this book is a blast to read, that is when you’re not in a state of disbelief about the stuff Trump pulls (and gets away with).
• If you want to understand what Trump is truly like and how he became what he is as president, you must read Mar-a-Lago. In his book, Leamer reveals
  
  * “How Donald Trump bought a property now valued by some at as much as $500,000,000 for less than three thousand dollars of his own money.
  
  * “Why Trump was blackballed by the WASP grandees of the island and how he got his revenge.
  
  * “How Trump joined forces with the National Enquirer, which was headquartered nearby, and engineered his own divorce.
  
  * “How by turning Mar-A-Lago into a private club, Trump was the unlikely man to integrate Palm Beach’s restricted country club scene, and what his real motives were.
  
  * “What transpires behind the gates of today’s Mar-A-Lago during ‘the season,’ when President Trump and assorted D.C. power players fly down each weekend.”
  
  Anyone who knows Larry Leamer, who is a long-time friend of mine, he/she also knows that he has always written with both authority and integrity.
• I like books about interesting houses, and this book is good. The house description is fine- I've read about Mrs. Merriweather-Post and have seen Dina Merrill in movies when she was acting. I've seen promos for this book that says Trump was King. This might have been what he thought, but he gave the people of Palm Beach nothing but a lot of headaches. Down there he was nothing. His taste in house décor (plastic ice buckets from his casinos in the bedrooms), his manners- he had none- his wish to fit in and was never able to. He was embarrassing in his speech, gauche in his entertaining, and never made it with the right people. He thought he could move down to the old established community and be "one of them" but he tried to build new homes, went to court, sued people and generally upset everyone. He was then as he is now. His way or bust. I liked the writing, very easy to read and the descriptions of the house made me want to take a tour, or at least see it, flying over. I've been to that area several times but I was always just on the outskirts. The book is worth reading to get an idea of who he is and how he operates.
• As always, Larry Leamer delivers the goods. Full of detail and insight, "Mar-a-Lago" makes clear that all you need to know about Trump is revealed in his Florida escapades his narcissism, crassness, racism, bullying, boorishness -- you name it. Incredibly, one almost comes close to feeling sorry for this lonely, needy man. Nah -- Trump is too cruel for that. But the author wields his scepter with a velvet glove. No overwrought prose here, just facts from the people who know Trump. Turns out Trump is the perfect match for the equally vacuous Palm Beach, which Leamer also captures perfectly.
• This is a great read of you're interested in how the Winter Whitehouse came to be. The people who are the old money of Palm Beach.DETEST HIM. And they have never stopped. This is a good read filled with answers to questions you didn't know you had. If you're not already sick of Trump, I recommend it.