Trump: Surviving at the Top

Last updated
Trump: Surviving at the Top
Trump surviving at the top.jpg
Authors Donald Trump
Charles Leerhsen
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectBusiness
Publisher Random House
Publication date
August 14, 1990
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages236
ISBN 978-0-394-57597-1
Preceded by Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987) 
Followed by Trump: The Art of the Comeback (1997) 

Trump: Surviving at the Top is a 1990 book written by businessman Donald Trump and journalist Charles Leerhsen, and published by Random House. In 1991, Warner Books purchased the paperback rights to the book and re-released it as The Art of Survival.

Contents

The photograph used for the book's cover was originally taken by Michael O'Brien for an article of Fortune magazine published on September 11, 1989. The photograph was later installed at the National Portrait Gallery after Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States. [1] [2]

Synopsis

The book serves as a continuation and response to Trump: The Art of the Deal . In the introduction to the book, Trump wrote "Looking back on it, I see that writing The Art of the Deal was one of the most satisfying and fulfilling experiences of my life." [3] Trump also commented on the debt that he faced after writing The Art of the Deal, [4] as well as the problematic relationship of his then-wife Ivana Trump, [5] claiming that his relationship with Marla Maples was "not the cause of the trouble between Ivana and me". [6]

Writing and publication

Trump wrote the book with Charles Leerhsen, who also worked as a senior writer for Newsweek at the time. Trump had considered naming the book Everybody Hates a Winner, stating that he sensed "a lot of jealousy and hostility from many people I do business with or see socially." [7] As the book was being written, Trump was unsure if he would include details regarding his troubled marriage to Ivana Trump. [8]

Peter Osnos, the book's editor, said in June 1990 that the book was being updated repeatedly. [8] Editing of the book was completed on July 16, 1990. The book had initially been scheduled for release in October 1990, but was instead released in August 1990, because of the declining condition of Trump's finances and his separation from Ivana Trump. [5] Because of the success of The Art of the Deal, Random House published and distributed approximately 500,000 copies of Surviving at the Top. [9] After the book's release, Trump stated that it was "a transitional book," and that his next book "will be the real story, describing my comeback and the success of it all." [9]

Warner Books paid Random House nearly $1 million for the paperback rights. Warner Books released the paperback version in July 1991, with a new title: The Art of Survival. Laurence Kirshbaum, the then-president of Warner Books, said, "We really thought 'The Art of Survival' was a more apt representation of what has happened in Trump's career recently." A new introduction was written by Trump for the paperback version. [10]

Reception

John Rothchild, writing for the Los Angeles Times , noted the different writing styles between Trump's first two books due to the change in Trump's ghostwriter. Rothchild also commented that Trump featured more pictures of himself with celebrities than his actual buildings. [11] Meanwhile, Gary Bells of Fortune commented that Trump "taking the blame for mistakes is just not his style." [6] Michael Lewis, writing for The New York Times , criticized Surviving at the Top, believing that the book "is a portrait of an ego gone haywire". [12]

The book spent seven weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, including two weeks at the number one spot. Trump's previous book, The Art of the Deal, had spent 48 weeks on the list. [9] In October 1990, Trump stated that Random House expected to sell between 200,000 and 250,000 copies of the book, out of the 500,000 copies. [9]

In January 2017, Michael Kranish of The Washington Post contrasted Trump's advice in Surviving at the Top to his later book, Think Like a Billionaire, and commented "to read Trump’s books is to find a man of contradiction." [13]

Related Research Articles

Trump most commonly refers to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivana Trump</span> Czech-American businesswoman (1949–2022)

Ivana Marie Trump was a Czech-American businesswoman, media personality, socialite, fashion designer, author, and model. Ivana lived in Canada in the 1970s, before relocating to the United States and marrying Donald Trump in 1977. She held key managerial positions in The Trump Organization, as vice president of interior design, as CEO and president of Trump's Castle casino resort, and as manager of the Plaza Hotel.

Tony Schwartz is an American journalist and business book author who is best known for ghostwriting Trump: The Art of the Deal.

<i>Trump: The Art of the Deal</i> Book by Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz

Trump: The Art of the Deal is a 1987 book credited to Donald J. Trump and journalist Tony Schwartz. Part memoir and part business-advice book, it was the first book credited to Trump, and helped to make him a household name. It reached number 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list, stayed there for 13 weeks, and altogether held a position on the list for 48 weeks. The book received additional attention during Trump's 2016 campaign for the presidency of the United States. Trump cited it as one of his proudest accomplishments and his second-favorite book after the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin Random House</span> Multinational conglomerate publishing company

Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.

<i>Crippled America</i> Book by Donald Trump

Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again is a non-fiction book by businessman Donald Trump, first published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster in 2015. A revised edition was subsequently republished eight months later in trade paperback format under the title Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America. Like his previous work Time to Get Tough (2011) did for the U.S. presidential election in 2012, Crippled America outlined Trump's political agenda as he ran in the 2016 election on a conservative platform.

<i>Trump: The Art of the Comeback</i> 1997 book by Donald Trump and Kate Bohner

Trump: The Art of the Comeback is a 1997 book written by businessman and future President of the United States, Donald Trump and journalist Kate Bohner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of Donald Trump</span>

This bibliography of Donald Trump is a list of written and published works, by and about Donald Trump. Due to the sheer volume of books about Trump, the titles listed here are limited to non-fiction books about Trump or his presidency, published by notable authors and scholars. Tertiary sources, satire, and self-published books are excluded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family of Donald Trump</span> Immediate family of Donald Trump

The family of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family active in real estate, entertainment, business, and politics. Trump, his wife Melania, and son Barron were the first family of the United States for the duration of his presidency. Trump's paternal grandparents, Frederick Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump, had immigrated to the United States from Germany. Donald Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, came from the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland. Trump has five children from three wives, and 10 grandchildren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Trump filmography</span>

Before being elected President of the United States, Donald Trump had produced and hosted reality TV shows The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice from 2004 to 2015. He also made dozens of cameo appearances in films, television series, and advertisements since the 1980s. He has won the Worst Supporting Actor award at the 11th Golden Raspberry Awards for Ghosts Can't Do It in 1990, as well as awards for Worst Actor and Worst screen Combo at the 39th Golden Raspberry Awards for his roles in the documentary films Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9 in 2019.

<i>Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success</i>

Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success is a 2015 biography of Donald Trump by Michael D'Antonio. The book includes interviews with Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., first wife Ivana Trump, second wife Marla Maples, and Theodore Dobias, Trump's coach and drill sergeant at New York Military Academy, which he attended as a teenager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Residences of Donald Trump</span> Overview of Donald Trumps residences

Former U.S. president, businessman, and television personality Donald Trump currently has six residences.

<i>TrumpNation</i>

TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald is a 2005 biographical book about Donald Trump that was written by Timothy L. O'Brien and published by Warner Books. After the book was published, Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against O'Brien, who had written that Trump was not a billionaire and that his net worth actually ranged between $150 million and $250 million. Trump sought $2.5 billion in compensatory damages and an additional $2.5 billion in punitive damages. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2009, and an appeals court affirmed the decision in 2011.

<i>Think Big and Kick Ass</i> 2007 book by Donald Trump and Bill Zanker

Think Big and Kick Ass: In Business and in Life is a non-fiction book by Donald Trump, then head of The Trump Organization and later President of the United States, and Bill Zanker, The Learning Annex entrepreneur, first published in hardcover in 2007 by HarperCollins. Another edition was subsequently published in paperback in 2008 under the title Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life. Trump and Zanker had prior business ventures together before writing the book; Zanker's company helped gain Trump speaking engagements around the world with large audiences.

<i>Why We Want You to Be Rich</i> 2006 book by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki

Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message is a non-fiction book about personal finance, co-authored by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. The book was first published in hardcover format in 2006. The coauthors became familiar with each other through mutual work at The Learning Annex and Trump being impressed by Kiyosaki's writing success with Rich Dad Poor Dad. Trump and Kiyosaki co-authored another book together in 2011, Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich-And Why Most Don't. The book discusses American economic problems including the middle-class squeeze, economic globalization, and the national debt of the United States. The authors advise the reader to gain financial literacy and delve into entrepreneurship. Trump and Kiyosaki criticize mutual funds and advocate real estate investing as a way to build wealth.

<i>Time to Get Tough</i> 2011 book by Donald Trump

Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again is a non-fiction book by Donald Trump. It was published in hardcover format by Regnery Publishing in 2011, and reissued under the title Time to Get Tough: Make America Great Again! in 2015 to match Trump's 2016 election campaign slogan. Trump had previously published The America We Deserve (2000) as preparation for his attempt to run in the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign with a populist platform. Time to Get Tough in contrast served as his prelude to the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign, with a conservative platform.

<i>Trump Revealed</i> 2016 biography of Donald Trump by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher

Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power is a biography of Donald Trump, written by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher. It was first published in 2016 in hardcover format by Scribner. It was released in ebook format that year and paperback format in 2017 under the title Trump Revealed: The Definitive Biography of the 45th President. The book was a collaborative research project by The Washington Post, supervised by the newspaper's editor Marty Baron and consisting of contributions from thirty-eight journalists, and two fact-checkers. Trump initially refused to be interviewed for the book, then relented, and subsequently raised the possibility of a libel lawsuit against the authors. After the book was completed, Trump urged his Twitter followers not to buy it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media career of Donald Trump</span> Overview of Donald Trumps media career

Before entering politics and ultimately becoming the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump pursued a career as a celebrity. He released several ghostwritten books, most prominently The Art of the Deal (1987). Starting in the 1990s, he was a regular guest on the Howard Stern Show and other talk shows, joined the professional wrestling company World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment, and made several cameo film and TV appearances. From 2004 to 2015, Trump hosted The Apprentice, a reality show on NBC in which contestants competed on business-related tasks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Trump Jr.</span> American heir, pilot and brother of Donald J. Trump

Frederick Crist Trump Jr. was an American airplane pilot and maintenance worker. The eldest son to realtor Fred Trump Sr., he fell out of his father's favor when he chose to become an airline pilot. Fred Sr. then chose Fred Jr.'s younger brother Donald to take over the family business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best Sex I've Ever Had</span> Front page headline of the New York Post on February 16, 1990

"Best Sex I've Ever Had" is a headline that appeared on the front page of the New York Post on February 16, 1990. The headline is purportedly a quote from Marla Maples, who would become the second wife of the businessman Donald Trump. The quote refers to Trump's supposed prowess at sexual intercourse. Trump was married to Ivana Trump at the time of the headline; the couple's divorce was granted that year. The headline appeared during a media frenzy concerning the Trumps' marriage and his affair with Maples.

References

  1. ↑ Harlan, Becky (January 13, 2017). "National Portrait Gallery Installs Photo Of President-Elect Trump". NPR.org. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  2. ↑ McGraw, Meridith (January 16, 2017). "Trump Photograph Installed at the National Portrait Gallery". ABC News. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ Gallagher, Patrick W. (January 19, 2017). "Donald Trump's New Deal". Gawker. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ Rosenthal, Max (August 30, 2016). "The Trump Files: Donald Trump perfectly explains why he doesn't have a presidential temperament". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  5. 1 2 McDowell, Edwin (August 15, 1990). "In New Book, Trump Is on the Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Bells, Gary (September 24, 1990). "Book Review: Trump: Surviving at the Top (September, 1990)". Fortune. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  7. ↑ Norris, Floyd (August 22, 1990). "Whom Trump Likes (Himself) and Hates (Many)". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Cohen, Roger (June 19, 1990). "August Publication for Trump Book". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Cohen, Roger (October 11, 1990). "Sales of Trump's Book Are Lagging". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  10. ↑ Cohen, Roger (July 17, 1991). "A Title Change". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ Rothchild, John (September 2, 1990). "The Taj Mahal of Debt : TRUMP Surviving at the Top by Donald J. Trump with Charles Leerhsen (Random House: $21.95; 236 pp., illustrated; 0-394-57597-0)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  12. ↑ Lewis, Michael (September 2, 1990). "Trump Fights Back". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ Kranish, Michael (January 19, 2017). "A fierce will to win pushed Donald Trump to the top". Washington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.