The Making of Donald Trump

By: David Cay Johnston

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

The culmination of nearly 30 years of reporting on Donald Trump, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston takes a revealingly close look at the mogul's rise to power and prominence.

Covering the long arc of Trump's career, Johnston tells the full story of how a boy from a quiet section of Queens, New York, would become an entirely new and complex breed of public figure. Trump is a man of great media savvy, entrepreneurial spirit, and political clout. Yet, his career has been plagued by legal troubles and mounting controversy. From the origins of his family's real estate fortune to his own too-big-to-fail business empire; from his education and early career to his whirlwind presidential bid, The Making of Donald Trump provides the fullest picture yet of Trump's extraordinary ascendency.

Love him or hate him, Trump's massive influence is undeniable, and figures as diverse as Woody Guthrie (who wrote a scathing song about Trump's father) and Red Scare prosecutor Roy Cohn, mob bosses and high rollers, as well as the average American voter, have all been pulled into his orbit. Drawing on decades of interviews, financial records, court documents, and public statements, David Cay Johnston, who has covered Trump more closely than any other journalist working today, gives us the most in-depth look yet at the man who would be president.

©2016 David Cay Johnston (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A factual account of why one should not vote Trump

Would you consider the audio edition of The Making of Donald Trump to be better than the print version?

Joe Barrett's interpretation of what Donald Trump sounds like. Hahaha!

What did you like best about this story?

It's a never-ending onslaught of all the reasons Donald Trump is unfit to hold any public office.

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

Whenever the man reads a Donald Trump quote -- it's like a weird combination of Donald Trump and Wilford Brimley. It's fantastic!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Unfortunately not. But this has nothing to do with the book itself or the narration. It's just that one can't possibly be assaulted with so much Trump at once. I needed a break from time to time, as I hope you can understand.

Any additional comments?

Be sure to go vote on November 8th!

The Making of Donald Trump

This book is an excellent listen and put together very well. The presentation is excellent. My only “complaint” is that the chapter count was off for most of the book, however if you CAN count it shouldn’t be a problem…😀

Scary, but True

David Cay Johnston’s chilling investigative report elucidating in 2016 the depth and breadth of Trump’s corrupt criminal narcissism and cruelty is especially harrowing because of the accuracy of his predictions of the damage to our democratic rule-of-law which would be (and has been) wrought by a Trump presidency. Johnston’s critically important warning was published a few months prior to the 2016 election. As we approach the 2020 election next month, may God Almighty save us from another four years of the most vile excuse for a HUMANE being ever to infect our Oval Office AND from his amoral spineless enablers up and down the ticket.

Lives for (and profits from) "there is a sucker born every minute"

at best! He comes from a whole Dynasty of Mafia lovers and cheats. This in itself is not necessarily a big deal: the sins of father your own sins, but when they demonstrate where you learned, it's telling, and clearly the whole family learned going down the lines! I am more than all the little annoyed that some of the workings with the Mafia and other unsavory characters were not emphasized during the election, but I'm not sure it would've made much difference to a lot of people voted for him. Several of us are happy to say "what an idiot" about him, but he clearly has talents when it comes to getting people to love him and believe him – getting them to totally ignore any bad, I don't know, stories?, about him. And he has been doing it for years! The author has been threatened with a lawsuit, but at least in the book, he claims that it's all puffery and doesn't concern him. I am curious about the author, but I'm more curious about the lack of communication about this "man" who wants to run the United States of America like a dictatorship!

Good to know

Enjoyed the stories. The narration was good as well. Donald Trump has truly been a character from day 1.