Book ~ "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man" (2020) Mary L. Trump

From Goodreads ~ In this revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him, Mary L. Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and Donald’s only niece, shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric.

Mary Trump spent much of her childhood in her grandparents’ large, imposing house in the heart of Queens, where Donald and his four siblings grew up. She describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. She explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who currently occupies the Oval Office, including the strange and harmful relationship between Fred Trump and his two oldest sons, Fred Jr. and Donald.

A first-hand witness to countless holiday meals and family interactions, Mary brings an incisive wit and unexpected humor to sometimes grim, often confounding family events. She recounts in unsparing detail everything from her uncle Donald’s place in the family spotlight and Ivana’s penchant for re-gifting to her grandmother’s frequent injuries and illnesses and the appalling way Donald, Fred Trump’s favorite son, dismissed and derided him when he began to succumb to Alzheimer’s.

Numerous pundits, armchair psychologists, and journalists have sought to parse Donald J. Trump’s lethal flaws. Mary L. Trump has the education, insight, and intimate familiarity needed to reveal what makes Donald, and the rest of her clan, tick. She alone can recount this fascinating, unnerving saga, not just because of her insider’s perspective but also because she is the only Trump willing to tell the truth about one of the world’s most powerful and dysfunctional families.

I'm not into politics and rarely read books about politics or politicians but was interested in reading this one because it is about Donald Trump and the Trump family, written by a family member.  I was curious to see why Donald is the way he is today (he's a joke!).  I feel sorry for the American people for having him as their leader and hopefully he won't be re-elected in November ... he isn't helping America or the rest of the world at all.

I watched The Apprentice and yes, Donald was arrogant on the show but I figured a lot of it had to be for the cameras, right?  Then surprisingly he gets elected president of the United States.  What?!  Mind blowing!  And I see now that yes, he really is that arrogant unlikable guy.

Fred and Mary Trump had five children ... Maryanne, Freddy, Elizabeth, Donald and Robert.  Fred was a real estate developer and initially started grooming Freddy, his oldest son, to take over the business.  But Freddy was more interested in flying and sailing.  He was weak and let his father walk over him, always trying to get his father's approval.  He passed away at 42 a broken man.  Fred saw a lot of himself in Donald and groomed him instead. 

When Donald did something right, which wasn't often, he was rewarded.  When Donald did something wrong, which was often, he was rewarded by having it covered up.  You can see that in Donald today as president ... he makes mistakes and says stupid things, but in his mind, he is still right, perhaps because the doesn't know any better (though he should) and/or he's that arrogant that he can't be wrong.

I liked the writing style.  It is written by Donald's niece, Mary, who is the daughter of Freddy, and is her point of view and her memories.  I'm assuming it's pretty close to reality.

I read a e-version of this book and was surprised there weren't any pictures.  Maybe there are in other versions?