Reviews
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump
sierra_owens_taylor's review against another edition
2.0
I’m not precisely sure what I expected out of this book, but it didn’t live up to whatever vague idea I had. It was too much Fred Trump Sr and Jr and too little detail on Donald Trump. While I appreciated the psychological training Ms Trump brought to her analysis of her uncle, she’s also woefully biased. Having lost millions of dollars to Donald Trump doesn’t put you in the best position to see clearly and that’s before adding the emotional aspects of seeing your father suffer at his hand. All of those actions speak to President Trump’s actions and character that we now see writ large, but manages to do so in a way that seems entitled and whiny at times. It was a frustrating book that could never hook me.
debi_g's review against another edition
Not actually salacious at all
Written with restraint
Confirms what is easily observed and provides causes for the effects we see
Written with restraint
Confirms what is easily observed and provides causes for the effects we see
jolietjane's review against another edition
5.0
How do you nurture a sociopath?
If you were not aware, this book is written by Donald Trump's niece Mary. It is a VERY short book, but it is very good.
So let's break down a little bit about what this book is exactly. You aren't going to find any state secrets here. For anyone asking "Why Didn't Mary speak out earlier", this is addresses, but this is isn't a political expose. At it's heart, Too Much and Never Enough is a story about an extremely twisted family, that is much about the other Trumps as it is Donald.
Nothing in this book would sway a true believer. Nothing here is going to rock the world of an undecided voter- because this is a book about who the Trumps are as people. We have already seen Trump mock women, non white folks, disabled people. We have seen him do so many evil things. If you don't know who Trump is by now, I don't really know what to say about you. Too Much and Never Enough is this woman's catharsis- its a way for her to release her trauma. Her book chronicles essentially, how she was became disenchanted with her family before 45 ever decided to run for office, how she was disinherited, and where Fred Trump comes into play as a lynchpin at the center of it all.
Mary's father, Fred Trump junior, was an outlier. Not necessary a good man, but a complicated one who had made a number of visible mistakes before she was even born. She describes his dark relationship with his brother, and her father's slow physical and mental decline as he falls out of favor with Fred Senior. Much of this book is really told through her father's eyes, and through the stories he told her before his passing.
Mary's grandfather Fred is also hi lighted as an abuser that gaslit and traumatized his children, saw the evil in his own younger son, and then raised him as an ideal son to take on the family name. Fred Senior's cruelty towards everyone around him, and shady business practices help shaped the monster we now know today as 45.
As for Donald Trump- Mary uses a number of personal and family stories to paint a picture of Trump's youth. Trump's behavior doesn't come out of thin air, and Mary is really able to paint a picture of 45 at his darkest, which started at a much earlier age than some may expect. These personal stories are chilling and callous- often reflecting his relationships with the American people during his four years as president.
You get some interesting little tidbits about "modern" behavior from the family as well, from small squabbles to election night anecdotes. Imagine the literary families of Long days Journey Into the Night or Haunting of Hill House. The Trump family in Mary's book is almost laughably literary "broken wealthy".
I highly recommend Too Much and Never Enough, even if you don't find yourself often drawn towards non fiction- if only because this is a simple and easy to follow biography that helps us understand how we got where we are now. How Donald Trump, against all odds, rose in the ranks of his own family from a younger "second son", and ended up making all of us pay for his neurosis.
I think most folks would go into this worried that Mary is providing excuses or sympathy for her family, and I can assure you that is not the case. Mary is an exceptional author and intelligent woman who makes no excuses for her family, and manages to tell a hard and painful story with striking objectivity and honesty.
If you were not aware, this book is written by Donald Trump's niece Mary. It is a VERY short book, but it is very good.
So let's break down a little bit about what this book is exactly. You aren't going to find any state secrets here. For anyone asking "Why Didn't Mary speak out earlier", this is addresses, but this is isn't a political expose. At it's heart, Too Much and Never Enough is a story about an extremely twisted family, that is much about the other Trumps as it is Donald.
Nothing in this book would sway a true believer. Nothing here is going to rock the world of an undecided voter- because this is a book about who the Trumps are as people. We have already seen Trump mock women, non white folks, disabled people. We have seen him do so many evil things. If you don't know who Trump is by now, I don't really know what to say about you. Too Much and Never Enough is this woman's catharsis- its a way for her to release her trauma. Her book chronicles essentially, how she was became disenchanted with her family before 45 ever decided to run for office, how she was disinherited, and where Fred Trump comes into play as a lynchpin at the center of it all.
Mary's father, Fred Trump junior, was an outlier. Not necessary a good man, but a complicated one who had made a number of visible mistakes before she was even born. She describes his dark relationship with his brother, and her father's slow physical and mental decline as he falls out of favor with Fred Senior. Much of this book is really told through her father's eyes, and through the stories he told her before his passing.
Mary's grandfather Fred is also hi lighted as an abuser that gaslit and traumatized his children, saw the evil in his own younger son, and then raised him as an ideal son to take on the family name. Fred Senior's cruelty towards everyone around him, and shady business practices help shaped the monster we now know today as 45.
As for Donald Trump- Mary uses a number of personal and family stories to paint a picture of Trump's youth. Trump's behavior doesn't come out of thin air, and Mary is really able to paint a picture of 45 at his darkest, which started at a much earlier age than some may expect. These personal stories are chilling and callous- often reflecting his relationships with the American people during his four years as president.
You get some interesting little tidbits about "modern" behavior from the family as well, from small squabbles to election night anecdotes. Imagine the literary families of Long days Journey Into the Night or Haunting of Hill House. The Trump family in Mary's book is almost laughably literary "broken wealthy".
I highly recommend Too Much and Never Enough, even if you don't find yourself often drawn towards non fiction- if only because this is a simple and easy to follow biography that helps us understand how we got where we are now. How Donald Trump, against all odds, rose in the ranks of his own family from a younger "second son", and ended up making all of us pay for his neurosis.
I think most folks would go into this worried that Mary is providing excuses or sympathy for her family, and I can assure you that is not the case. Mary is an exceptional author and intelligent woman who makes no excuses for her family, and manages to tell a hard and painful story with striking objectivity and honesty.
atirandomness's review against another edition
5.0
The responses to this book are bringing out one of my least favorite human tendencies. When someone is “bad” or “evil” people only want to hear you say “this person is bad and evil” and any attempt to understand why or how that person came to be that way is considered “defending” or “sympathizing” or “justifying” and people get all pissy. It’s so simple minded and toxic and annoying. Human psychology is complex. It’s past time we stop ignoring that. The only way to learn from our mistakes is to dissect them and understand wtf went wrong. We all know Trump is bad and evil and attempting to understand how we got here isn’t justification. All the people angry because this book attempts to dig into the psychology of Trump (even if mostly through his brother’s story which is still relevant) need to grow up. I can’t say whether Mary is right or wrong but I’m giving 5 stars for the attempt.
cakedcrusader's review against another edition
4.0
This added a lot of context to this very toxic family and turdface’s upbringing.. but it left me just sad for so many of the victims of the toxicity in this family.
kristiana28's review against another edition
3.0
I have to admit, the first part of the book was sloooooooow as a turtle. It does get better though!
There are quite a lot of date jumps, which kind of throws you off the timeframe and a bit hard to follow through the events chain. Not to mention the oh so many, many characters have been introduced all too soon in the book.
The book is written mainly about his father and rest of the family. Would have preferred this to have a lot more information on Donald Trump himself. Regardless, a lot has been learned about the family and how they treat each other. Which is quite an eyeopener. Goes to show how media bends a lot of truths.
There are quite a lot of date jumps, which kind of throws you off the timeframe and a bit hard to follow through the events chain. Not to mention the oh so many, many characters have been introduced all too soon in the book.
The book is written mainly about his father and rest of the family. Would have preferred this to have a lot more information on Donald Trump himself. Regardless, a lot has been learned about the family and how they treat each other. Which is quite an eyeopener. Goes to show how media bends a lot of truths.