War in Iran
The headlines are built on long histories and debates.
Posted on in Hot Topic
He’s Back
Love him or hate him, 10 books on understanding Donald Trump.
Posted on January 23, 2025 in Hot Topic
Corruption and illiberal politics in the Trump era, ed. by Donna M. Goldstein and Kristen Drybread. Routledge, 2022 (c2023). 326p bibl index ISBN 9780367715861, $170.00; ISBN 9780367715878 pbk, $48.95; ISBN 9781003152729 ebook, $48.95.
Reviewed in CHOICE December 2023
Given the enormous proliferation of books and articles on Trump and Trumpism, it might be tempting to dismiss yet another book on Trump. However, with its emphasis on the role corruption played in the administration’s policy making, this book makes an original contribution. It presents corruption as the favoring of private interests over the public interest. The authors explain that the goal of policy making in the administration was to sidestep the rule of law. They discuss the destructive politics of Trump, rooted in policies intended to cause harm—the most striking example of which was the administration’s response to COVID-19. The authors provide examples of how the heads of state in Nigeria, Brazil, and the Russian Federation use Carl Schmitt’s friend/enemy distinction as undermining the public good in favor of authoritarian rule. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump identified diversity as a threat to the goal of achieving a homogenous society. The authors analyze the effectiveness of Trump’s skill in promoting the idea of government as an authoritarian business. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; general readers; professionals. —A. Kolin, Hilbert College
Disruption?: the Senate during the Trump era, ed. by Sean M. Theriault. Oxford, 2024. 296p bibl index ISBN 9780197767832, $29.95; ISBN 9780197767863 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE January 2025
This erudite and accessible collection of essays edited by Theriault (Univ. of Texas) assesses the influence of the Trump presidency on the decision-making of the US Senate. Across 13 essays, the central theme of this volume is whether or not the Trump presidency was a “disruption” or a “culmination” of the Senate’s work. Through solid research and historical analysis, the book also provides a deeper understanding of the Senate’s evolving role in American politics. In many ways, the essays challenge the often imprecise depiction of the Senate in recent years in a manner that allows for greater understanding. For example, Donald Ritchie argues that the Senate has indeed changed in recent years; however, the rules have remained the same. The filibuster, as a legislative device, has remained intact, even with Trump’s contretemps both in favor of and in opposition to the measure. The volume surveys disruption as a strategy of legislative behavior, suggesting that it was commonplace long before Trump. Finally, Theriault examines criticism from liberal academics on the continued relevance of the Senate. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. —H. L. Cheek Jr., emeritus, East Georgia State College
Global media perceptions of the United States: the Trump effect, ed. by Yahya R. Kamalipour. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. 326p bibl ISBN 9781538142417, $120.00; ISBN 9781538142431 ebook, $65.00.
Reviewed in CHOICE August 2022
The presidency of Donald Trump, especially his unorthodox rise to power, leadership style, reliance upon populism, and unprecedented use of new media, generated voluminous scholarly research and debate. Kamalipour (North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State Univ.) brings together 35 scholars from across the world to provide insights into how the “Trump effect” registered in various countries. In the foreword, Cees Hamelink argues that Trump is best seen as a bully and disrupter. Early chapters evaluate Trump’s effect on Americans’ perceptions of the international arena as expressed, for example, by increased embrace of isolationism and sense of threat from China, Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries. Later chapters examine, e.g., how particular countries’ media ecosystems covered the Trump presidency. Contributing authors generally find a love-hate relationship in Trump media coverage, possibly reflecting larger social trends involving polarization. Also mentioned are the delicate relationships respective countries maintain with the US. Notably, despite the common focus on media, varied methodological approaches are employed, and the specific questions addressed differ substantially. The result is a robust treatment overall, providing rich context for readers curious about how other countries covered the Trump presidency. Most significantly, the book may stimulate new lines of inquiry among those already interested in this critical topic. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. —R. M. Alexander, Ohio Northern University
Haberman, Maggie. Confidence man: the making of Donald Trump and the breaking of America. Penguin Press, 2022. 608p bibl index ISBN 9780593297346, $32.00; ISBN 9780593632727 pbk, $34.00; ISBN 9780593297353 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE November 2023
This reviewer has read many presidential biographies but none like this. Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, is meticulous and professional, providing unprecedented context and detail. The closest this book comes to any other presidential biography is Robert Caro’s series on Lyndon Johnson. However, whereas Johnson was revered by most of his staff, noted for being honest, retrospective, and self-aware, Trump is despised by most people who come into contact with him. Further, Trump is never self-aware nor truthful. For these reasons, this biography is in many ways the opposite of Caro’s series. In this account of Trump’s path to and performance in the presidency, he is revealed as nothing but craven and malign. Haberman’s book is by no means a hit piece—simply recounting Trump’s actions is damning enough. If readers are to glean anything positive about former President Trump, it is that he is a brilliant self-promoter. However, although unalloyed self-promotion is fine, even essential in business, it is devastating in the presidency. What makes this book all the more important is that the final chapter has yet to be written. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —D. P. Franklin, emeritus, Georgia State University
Hart, Roderick P. Trump and us: what he says and why people listen. Cambridge, 2020. 264p index ISBN 9781108490818, $84.99; ISBN 9781108796415 pbk, $24.99; ISBN 9781108854979 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE September 2020
Hart (government, Univ. of Texas, Austin) is a communications expert, and in Trump and Us, he explains why “so many reasonable people” continue to “plight their troth to such a preposterous fellow” as Trump (p. 229). Hart uses data analysis and quotations from the president, the press, and the people. Hart is a liberal but does not settle for the standard denunciation of Trump’s supporters as “deplorables.” Indeed, he bends over backward to get past his own revulsion and to view the ideas and feelings that produce support for Trump as sympathetically and seriously as he can. He even manages to give some weight to the weaknesses of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 election, and her party. Moreover, he is properly tough on the adversarial media, which increase Trump’s support among his base the more venomously they attack. Hart concludes that, despite appearances, Trump is a brilliant political artist who, in short-cutting deliberation and rational speech, speaks powerfully to those who feel despised and cheated by the ruling class. In effect, Trump is good at being a demagogue. That conclusion is hardly surprising, and it is to Hart’s credit that he realizes that the big questions are what Trump’s success reveals about the American nation and its people. Summing Up: Essential. All readers. —F. E. Baumann, Kenyon College
McAdams, Dan P. The strange case of Donald J. Trump: a psychological reckoning. Oxford, 2020. 305p index ISBN 9780197507445, $35.00; ISBN 9780197507469 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE December 2020
There is no shortage of fascination in attempts to understand the man known as Donald J. Trump. From tell-all books written by family members and past White House colleagues to sometimes sensational works of journalists, readers have yet to gain a fully comprehensible view of the complexities behind this remarkable persona. Psychologist McAdams (Northwestern Univ.) analyzes Trump’s personality in terms of contemporary psychological concepts. In his first chapter, “Story,” McAdams pieces together life information along with experiences reported by journalists and other individuals who have been given access to Trump’s private world. In later chapters he extends the analysis under broad themes such as “Deal,” “Reward,” “Love,” and even “Primate” and “Redemption.” In a departure from the binary Jekyll and Hyde rationale, McAdams encourages readers to place Trump within the modern perspective that humans have different, multiple selves, including hidden or private ones. At the same time, the author also hints at a notion that there may not be much more to Trump beyond the public persona. Interest in Trump is sure to persist, regardless of whether he serves another term as president or not, and this monograph will remain a monumental gift, helpful for shaping thoughtful discussion and reflection on a conspicuous public figure. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty/researchers. General readers. —J. E. Perez, Florida International University
Miller, Benjamin. Grand strategy from Truman to Trump, by Benjamin Miller with Ziv Rubinovitz. Chicago, 2020. 352p index ISBN 9780226734965, $105.00; ISBN 9780226735016 pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9780226735153 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE August 2021
Miller (Univ. of Haifa) offers a “parsimonious” theoretical explanation of grand strategy, defined as “a set of ideas (or a ‘theory’) informing the overall approach that a state pursues to maximize its security and protect itself against actual or potential threats to its value.” Drawing on the history of US foreign policy since World War II, Miller proposes a model based on four “ideational” approaches to security—offensive and defensive realism, and offensive and defensive liberalism—rooted in two systemic conditions, i.e., the distribution of capabilities and balance of threat. To support his argument, Miller analyzes key events in the conduct of US foreign relations “from Truman to Trump,” with particularemphasis on the Cold War period. A provocative read, this book is a timely and significant addition to the growing literature on grand strategy, generating ample intellectual fodder for discussion. An elaboration of Miller’s 2010 article on the subject of grand strategy, this is an erudite book that will be of interest to all students of US foreign policy, and one that belongs in all libraries with collections on international relations and US foreign affairs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. —D. Ettinger, George Washington University
Resistance and abolition in the borderlands: confronting Trump’s reign of terror, ed. by Arturo J. Aldama and Jessica Ordaz. Arizona, 2024. 488p bibl index ISBN 9780816552320, $100.00; ISBN 9780816552313 pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9780816552337 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE September 2024
The editors of this comprehensive tome have culled 20 interdisciplinary, qualitative chapters that cogently document the extensive harm that Trump’s “brutal reign of terror” has inflicted on immigrant families on the border and beyond. This book is divided into four parts: the first examines xenophobia, abjection, and state violence; the second explores visual arts, music, dance, and community resistance; the third delves into media and popular culture; and the fourth envisions resistance and abolitionist dreams. Drawing on research from historical archives; US government policies; participant observation; poetry, music, and short stories; and artwork created by those in detention, the contributors detail the experiences of immigrants, including the traumatic separation of children from their parents under the zero-tolerance policy, the sexual abuse and exploitation endured by immigrant women in detention, the neglect and denial of medical services to trans and queer migrants, and the tragic deaths of migrant children in Border Patrol custody. This book is well documented by extensive footnotes and citations. Editors call for an end to the detention and deportation regime and the carceral state, and make a call for research agendas and political activism that embrace the abolition of borders and bordering. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —I. Coronado, Arizona State University
The Trump effect: disruption and its consequences in US politics and government, ed. by Steven E. Schier and Todd E. Eberly. Rowman & Littlefield, 2022. 208p bibl index ISBN 9781538149300, $85.00; ISBN 9781538149324 pbk, $32.00; ISBN 9781538149317 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE October 2022
The title of this collection of uniformly excellent essays sums up the Trump presidency: Donald Trump was a disruptor, and his presidency is consequential. As one writer notes, Trump was “an accelerant more than an originator” (p. 22) who spoke to the discontent of his age. The essays in this collection survey the broader US political landscape—including the rise of distrust in the government and the impact of anger and discontent among the public—into which Trump emerged. More important, these essays examine Trump himself: his confrontational style, his hostile takeover and revamping of the Republican Party into his image, his assaults on the media, his rocky relationship with Congress, his (mis)management of the executive branch, his confrontation with the courts, and his domestic and foreign policy achievements and failures. Contributors to this volume treat these topics with skill and balance. This book adds considerably to scholarly efforts to come to grips with the impact of this unique presidency. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates. —M. A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount University
Wright, Kate. Capturing news, capturing democracy: Trump and the voice of America, by Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce. Oxford, 2024. 312p bibl index ISBN 9780197768488, $110.00; ISBN 9780197768495 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780197768518 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE January 2025
The authors of this deep dive into the Trump administration’s attempts to “capture” (that is, control) the messaging coming out of the Voice of America (VOA) provide a chilling case study of partisan stewardship and its impact, most notably during the brief tenure of Michael Pack at the US Agency for Global Media, an umbrella agency overseeing US-funded international media. Pack led a concerted, albeit ad hoc, effort to correct what he perceived as “liberal bias” at VOA by moving pro-Trump staff into key positions and demoting journalists perceived as failing to produce positive stories about the US. Under Pack, there were many different approaches to capture, some of them mimicking media capture by authoritarian regimes in other countries. Drawing on interviews with VOA personnel, thousands of documents (some of them obtained through the Freedom of Information Act), and tapes of the January 6 Committee’s investigations, the authors have broken new ground in explaining how, even in a short time, a venerable agency with a tradition of honest reporting can be turned almost upside down. Unfortunately, this densely argued, jargon-filled monograph will be accessible mainly to interested media scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Faculty and professionals only. —M. J. Birkner, Gettysburg College