Published in 1987, The Art of the Deal is a fairly recent addition to a long line of books by business titans that double as memoir and modus operandi. From Ben Franklinâ??s Autobiography to John D. Rockefellerâ??s Random Reminiscences to Jack Welchâ??s Straight from the Gut, these books aim, by battle scar and bromide, effrontery and object lesson, to present â??the very definition of the American success story.â?
That, at least, is how the dust jacket of the The Art of the Deal recommends its author, Donald Trump. Trump was just 41 when the book was published, but he had already enjoyed a decade as a real-estate wunderkind whose big mouth and brash deal-making saw his reputation waver between Elon Musk and Martin Shkreli. Trump was still a few years from fully embracing the anti-hero persona that has commandeered this election cycleâ??in a 1985 profile for 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace incredulously notes that he presents himself as full of â??Boy Scout principlesâ?â??but the young tycoon had already suffered enough unpleasant encounters with the Fourth Estate that one imagines he was eager to take his case directly to the public.
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