Book Review: Under Siege by Erik Trump

Under Siege

Reading Under Siege is like overhearing a stranger at dinner with the president's son. The conversation is light and lively--sometimes jumping from one subject to another--but never going into any real depth. Eric Trump is far too cautious to spill any beans. Still, this is an engaging discussion of epic events by a principal participant. The writing is clean, and the book moves forward like an engaging conversation. I enjoyed reading Under Siege, and I felt like I learned something about father and son.

Eric is now more focused on business than on politics, and he seems to be an excellent operational manager. That is not to say he is not an empire builder like his father, but with Eric, it seems it will be a smooth upward trajectory rather than his father's grandiose statements that took years to put together. I could be mistaken because at the same time I was listening to The Art of the Deal on my daily walks, and this may have skewed my impression of the two men.

At the moment, for Perfect Storm, I am trying to get a handle on the personalities and characters inside the two Trump administrations. The combination of the two books helps with that goal, and I immediately went from Under Siege to All in the Family by Fred Trump, Donald Trump's nephew. Fred and his sister Mary are negative toward their uncle, which gives me a more critical view of him. (Mary Trump's book, Too Much and Never Enough, was so poor that I put it aside after several chapters.)

Under Siege is a worthwhile and enjoyable read, just don't expect any startling revelations.

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