The Lost Tycoon is an exhaustive depiction of Trump's scams, cons and lies. Here are just a few take aways:
- Trump used illegal labor from Poland to tear down the old building on the site where Trump Towers would be built. The laborers slept on the construction site, and many were never paid. (And they destroyed the Art Deco statues and grill work in order to meet the construction deadlines. Trump apparently ordered this destruction, despite promising to preserve the statues, etc.)
- Trump used Damin Aviation to ferry himself and others back and forth to Atlantic City. Joe Weichselbaum headed it up until he was indicted on illegal drug smuggling (Hurt wonders if there was any truth to the rumor that Weichselbaum procured cocaine for Trump's casino high rollers). Then the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) forced Weichselbaum out. Weichselbaum pled guilty and was sent to prison. A year later, Weichselbaum's girlfriend paid $2.35 million for two apartments in Trump Towers, claiming the money was her own. When Weichselbaum was paroled, he moved into the apartments (now a duplex) and told the parole board he was going to be Trump's helicopter consultant.
- In 1989, three of Trump's top Atlantic City executives were killed in a helicopter crash following a meeting with Trump. Upon hearing of their deaths, Trump told a colleague that he couldn't resist milking the deaths for publicity. He then falsely claimed he was supposed to be on that flight.
- Ivana worked hard at Trump's hotels and casinos, despite his constant attempts to belittle her work (during their famous divorce, he once claimed she stayed home and did the laundry).
- The book reports on Ivana's divorce-deposition testimony where she claimed that Trump violently raped her and tore out chunks of her hair because he believed her plastic surgeon had harmed him by performing a poor scalp reduction surgery. He was in great pain, and he blamed Ivana. Ivana disclaims the rape in a letter inserted in the beginning of the book. In it she claims that her use of the term "rape" only meant that Trump was "not loving" to her.
Story after story about Trump's temperament fill this book. Trump seems to have lurched from one temper tantrum to the next, from one lie to the next, from one con to the next. He claimed his wife and children were important to him, but business and money seem to always have been his true love. As set out in this book, there are two constants with regard to Trump's personality: if the truth doesn't suit Trump, he changes it, and he will not tolerate criticism of any kind. This is an important, highly charged expose of Trump's past. Unfortunately, it only covers Trump's life up until the early 1990's. Nonetheless, this is a book that should be read by voters in this election year.
(Although I read a Kindle Unlimited version of this book, as of the date of this review, this version has been pulled by Amazon.)
Hardcover: 447 pages
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (May 1993)
Language: English
Kate Waithman, a music therapist who works with children, has been a widow for 12 years. Now at age 40 she is engaged to the "perfect" man. Suddenly she starts having vivid dreams where she is still living with her husband, and they have a 12 year old, hard of hearing daughter. The dreams are so real, Kate begins a course in American Sign Language in order to better communicate with her dream daughter. Through this sign language course, she expands her music therapy to include hard of hearing foster children, and her life takes an unexpected turn.
L. Frank Baum wrote 14 novels about the land of Oz before his death in 1919. The books were so popular that sequels continued to be written after his death by many different authors. There have also been stage plays, musicals, an early silent film and, of course, the glorious 1939 film starring Judy Garland. Yet, despite all of the above, no one has written Toto's side of the story. (You remember Toto, the adorable little dog who never left Dorothy's side. Who can ever forget the Wicked Witch of the West cackling "I will get you and your little dog too"?) Until now.
In "Toto's Tale and True Chronicles of Oz," Sylvia Patience gives Toto his voice. This is his story, and it is very charming and endearing. There are no big surprises. We know he loved Dorothy and that she loved him. We also know he fell asleep in the field of poppies, that he barked at everyone and that he was terrified of the winged monkeys, (every child was terrified of them, I still get chills thinking about them). We didn't know, however, that Toto ran away from an abusive farmer as a puppy, and that he was rescued by Dorothy as she stepped off the Orphan Train in Kansas. We also didn't know that he peed on the Wicked Witch's leg and caused her to begin to melt! (Dorothy threw a bucket of water to stop the melting, and we know what happened then-she melted away completely). Some of these "facts" were added by Patience, some are in the original Baum novels, like the fact that Baum named the Tin Man, Nick Chopper, the Scarecrow, Jack Straw and the Cowardly Lion, Leo the Lion. Ms. Patience weaves all of the above, and more, into Toto's Tale, and the end result is a wonderful children's novel that will delight and enchant children and adults alike. (In exchange for an honest review, I was provided with a review copy by the publisher via NetGalley.)
On a sunny day in April, the ground shook and a thick grey fog encircled Greengage farm, a communal enclave near Sonoma, California. It was 1906, and the great San Francisco earthquake had just struck. Joseph, the British founder of Greengage, soon realizes that the fog kills anyone who tries to go through it. Four months later, the now isolated community still has not found a way to break through this fog. Then Lux, an unwed mother, struggling to make ends meet in San Francisco while caring for a young son and working in a bar, stumbles through the fog. Lux, however, is from 1975. Apparently the only person able to travel through the fog unharmed, Lux discovers that time flows differently in Greengage; while the community has experienced a passage of time of only four months since the earthquake, close to 70 years have passed on the outside.
The Titanic Murders, by Max Allan Collins, all in all is an excellent book. I have read several of Collins' other historical mysteries and I continue to be impressed by his mastery of historical detail. Although Jaques Futrelle, the lead character and the author of the Professor Van Dusen detective stories, was one of the Titanic's victims over 100 years ago, Collins brings him to life and makes his death a recent tragedy.
Six year old Katie loves her plastic angel doll named Etta Ebella. With Etta's magical help, Katie sees the light, vibrant colors and love in her family's hearts. She also sees the darkness and snakes in some other hearts outside her family. Born with red hair, just like her beloved "Grammy Mer," Katie is gifted with unexplainable talents. Although religious belief plays a role in the book, Maysonave approaches faith from Katie's inclusionary standpoint: there is "Jesus-man," who is all things to every religion, and there is the Great Angel Mother who is the feminine side of God. Prejudice, the " pre-judging" of others, is taboo. Those that practice "churchianity" instead of Christianity are called out for being small-minded hypocrites, who are at times dangerous and evil. "The Girl Who Could Read Hearts" is a delightful, inspiring novel. In a world that seems to be getting darker, Maysonave creates a little child to help us focus on the beauty of our planet, and to help us let the light in. (In exchange for an honest review, I was provided a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.)