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BLL Book Reviews -

October 2016 Brewster Ladies’ Library

1822 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631

In this issue…

Seinfeldia: How a Show about Nothing Changed Everything by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

(Jim Mills)

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Sue Carr)

I Am a Story (Picture Book for ages 5-7) by Dan Yaccarino (Nori Morganstein)

Why Save the Bankers? by Thomas Piketty (Doug Wilcock) Fosse by Sam Wasson (Don Boink)

The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution 1783 - 1789 by Joseph J. Ellis

(Jim Mills)

A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli (Sue Carr)

The Big Picture by Sean Carroll (Don Boink)

Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money and Power

by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (Jim Mills)

The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World

by Derek Chollet (Don Boink)

Seinfeldia: How a Show about Nothing Changed Everything

by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

reviewed by Jim Mills

The Seinfeld 1990’s sitcom remains very popular today with numerous re-runs on many cable stations. In

2003, TV Guide named Seinfeld “the best show of all time, holding it in higher esteem than I Love Lucy, The

Honeymooners, All in the Family and The Sopranos.” In Seinfeldia, Jennifer Keishen Armstrong tells the story

of the show’s origins, the recruitment of its profuse talents, and its evolution through the nine years of its initial

run.

In the late 1980s, two veterans of the New York comedy scene, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, pooled

their talents to promote a new sitcom featuring Seinfeld playing himself. The show would initially be written

and produced by David and Seinfeld. The role of “Kramer,” played by Michael Richards, was modeled after

Larry David’s eccentric neighbor; the role of George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, was modeled after

David himself and his life experiences. In fact, most of the programs during the show’s 173 episode run were

based on experiences of the many contributing writers or on life stories that were told to them. The role of

Elaine Benes, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, was a later addition, and her character was felt to be important to

round out story development.

The stringent vetting process encountered by proposed story outlines contributed to the program’s

enduring quality and longevity. Also, many great acting talents contributing to the numerous supporting roles

created memorable characters such as Newman, George Steinbrenner, J. Peterman, and the Soup Nazi. As the

years went by and the program became more popular, the budgets increased and the program’s sets became

more sophisticated, such as the re-creation of a New York subway car and a mall indoor parking lot.

Seinfeldia is a fascinating account of the development and production of a very popular TV sitcom. This

book provides many inside stories that relate to the creation of the plots and the individual characters. This is a

real treat for Seinfeld fans and those interested in the challenges of putting a viable program together. Seinfeld

is a program that seems to go on forever under endless syndication and provides a gift that keeps contributing to

Seinfeld’s and David’s bank accounts. In the 1990s, the Seinfeld program was, at times, controversial. The pro-

gram addressed many social issues that had not been previously covered on network television…. not that there

is anything wrong with that. After surviving years of controversy, the program ultimately came a cropper in the

penultimate episode, over the seemingly benign issue of traffic jams in New York resulting from the annual

Puerto Rico Day parade.

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Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates, 152pp.

reviewed by Sue Carr

We are currently witnessing an avalanche of harrowing stories in the news of black people being pro-

filed and shot. Starting with the murder of Trayvon Martin in Florida, continuing with Michael Brown in Fergu-

son, Missouri, recently with the shootings in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Charlotte, North Carolina, and many in be-

tween… the pattern of the shooting of African-Americans, either out of fear or with just cause, has raised our

consciousness of the continuing racism in this country.

However, nothing has brought the plight of black people as close to me as Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, Be-

tween the World and Me, a letter to his 15-year-old son. Coates grew up in Baltimore, MD. He tells of an inci-

dent when he was eleven of being a part of a group of boys milling about, teasing, threatening, when a boy drew

a pistol and pointed it in his direction. “There the boy stood, with the gun brandished, which he slowly un-

tucked, tucked, then untucked once more, and in his small eyes I saw a surging rage that could, in an instant,

erase my body.” This incident brought realization of the randomness of violence and the fear that he lives with

all of the time…That someone could “erase my body.”

And then the streets, where: “The crews, the young men who’d transmuted their fear into rage, were the

greatest danger. The crews walked the blocks of their neighborhood, loud and rude, because it was only through

their loud rudeness that they might feel any sense of security and power.” And the schools: “…the Schools were

not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance.” Succeeding in school was touted not as

an opportunity to learn but as a way to avoid incarceration and/or death.

After high school, Coates attended Howard University, the college of choice for many African Ameri-

cans. Here his curiosity was allowed to take flight – He found his classes confining but the library provided the

information and freedom to explore. And in “the Yard” where the students met and discussed and mixed with

people from everywhere, he found his Mecca. There he was surrounded by fascinating people and he had no

fear. One of the students was called “Prince Jones”. He was tall, handsome, kind and generous. They were good

friends.

Coates recounts being stopped by the Prince George County police (police renowned for the number of

black people they had shot) and approached by officers on both sides of the car. They took his papers and went

back to the squad car. He sat, terrified, thinking of all the incidents of people who had been shot by these partic-

ular officers. They returned and let him go with no explanation. Weeks later he read that Prince Jones, his

friend, had been shot and killed by a Prince George County policeman. Jones was on his way to visit his fian-

cée; he was yards from her house. The policeman claimed that Jones had tried to run over him with his jeep.

There were no other witnesses.

Time and time and time again…the facts change but the story remains the same.

Weaving together the history of black people and personal memories, Coates paints a vivid picture of

life in America for people of color. Between the World and Me illustrates the fear that all black people live with,

and through that we gain understanding, which is where resolution has to start. His writing flows easily among

memories, analyses, people and feelings. For his son... He isn’t trying to raise him in fear but with an awareness

of the world and of himself. We can see the depth of his love and concern for him.

As Toni Morrison said: ‘This is required reading’.”

Trayvon Martin Michael Brown Ta-Nehisi Coates

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I Am a Story (HarperCollinsPublishers, 2016) Picture Book (for ages 5-7) by Dan Yaccarino

reviewed by: Nori Morganstein, Youth Services Librarian/Assistant Director

I Am a Story deceptively looks like a nice, easy book for toddlers. While a 2- or

3-year-old would appreciate the illustrations, the topic is more for school-aged children.

The story is told in the perspective of the written word. It reads like a mini history of

stories. Ironically, the book is told in few words. The depth of the story comes from

the illustrations. This is a book for adults to read with children. It is a book meant to

bring forth discussion.

It starts with the very first story, told aloud at a campfire, under the stars. The next page shows a story

illustrated on cave walls. It progresses from clay tablets to hieroglyphics, to words written on papyrus, to callig-

raphy, to royal tapestries, to large individual books written by hand, to many books printed on printing presses,

to plays performed on stage, to books kept in personal libraries, to books kept in public libraries, to books found

in the newest and most modern of places. The book shows stories listened to on the radio, watched on TV, and

looked at on a computer. People also carry stories with them on their phones and tablets.

On top of showing all the stages and variations of the written word, readers see the struggles of the

written word as well. Things like censorship, banned books, and burned books are brought up. And of course

the positive, inspiring effects of stories are mentioned as well. The last page brings everything full circle, ending

at another campfire, under the stars in today’s time.

This book is meant to be discussed. Here are just a few discussion topics that will pop up: the history of

the written word, the importance of words, the problems with censoring and banning words, the ability for

words to last forever, and the ways we can use technology to keep reading words. My favorite message is the

one at the end, at the modern campfire. Stories and words change and evolve over time, but no matter what

technology exists or what year it is, people will always want to listen to or read a good story.

The illustrations are simple, bright, and colorful. This book would not work so well without them. It’s

the pictures that convey the time periods and the expressions of those listening and reading. Almost all of the

illustrations involve both adults and children. Never are stories made to seem like something only children like

or only adults are interested in. Stories are for everyone (all ages, genders, races, ethnicities, etc). Adults read-

ing this book will notice clear references to important moments in time, pieces of art, and well-known texts. I

spotted references to unicorn tapestries, the cat and the monk story, the play “Hamlet,” and the novel The Book

Thief. There are probably a lot more that I personally didn’t catch. And while the adult reading this will keep an

eye out for these references, the child reading this can keep an eye out for a little red bird. Each illustration has a

little red bird somewhere (on the librarian’s cardigan, the elephant’s head, the podium in front of an audience,

etc.)

All in all, this is a powerful, smart, and engaging picture book. It tells the history of the written word. It

also addresses the power and immortality of words. This is not a book that young children will necessarily un-

derstand. I recommend it for ages 5 and up. This is a book that is meant to be discussed. It’s also a fun book to

read, because finding the adult references and the little red bird in each illustration can act as a game. This is a

book designed both for the child and the adult reader. It’s one of my favorite picture books of the year.

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Why Save the Bankers? by Thomas Piketty reviewed by Doug Wilcock Why Save the Bankers is a compilation of forty-eight essays written by the French economist Thomas Piketty, famous as the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century. The essays span the years 2008 – 2015 and focus on the global recession, problems with the European Union, and an unsettled world. Piketty is of course famous as the economist who pointed to the increasing concentration of wealth, espe-cially inherited wealth, as the great source of economic inequality in both Europe and the U.S. In many of these essays he returns to that theme, especially in regard to the sclerotic economic growth in Europe. He decries, for example, the fact that after deducting depreciation from gross profits, almost all net profit is returned to shareholders as dividends with effectively no new capital investment. This, he asserts, is not a recipe for economic growth and an equitable distribution of the proceeds of growth. Perhaps the most interesting essays are focused on Europe. While we here in the U.S. were at least dimly aware of the issues surrounding the Euro and the debt problems facing Greece, Spain, and Italy, we might not have had the overview that Piketty brings to these problems. He decries the fact that while France, Germany, and the U.S. can finance their debt at very low interest rates, Spain, Italy and Greece face staggering debt service burdens because they pay interest on their debt of 5-6% (in comparison to 1-3%). He picks up on a German proposal, noting the irony that it comes from a very conservative source, that all debt in the Eurozone in excess of 60% of a country's GDP be mutualized so that this European debt can be financed at the low rates enjoyed by France and Germany. This leads him to the conclusion that a fiscal union is a necessary accompaniment to the monetary union that now exists, and that this un-ion must be representative and transparent. Piketty abhors the Council of Heads of State that opaquely make decisions now, feeling that it is this opaqueness that has helped propel the backlash against the Eu-ropean Union. In making the case for a fiscal union and real representative democracy, he feels that Eu-rope must have a unified corporate profit tax, that the tax competition that currently exists is a zero sum game and that the cheats in this game (Ireland and Luxembourg get top billing) have engaged in a ‘beggar thy neighbor’ strategy. The result is that the economic powerhouse that Europe ought to be is viewed around the world as a dysfunctional basket case. In reading these essays, one is struck by how repetitive they can seem. Entire phrases appear nu-merous times in a number of essays. Also, by their nature of being just a few hundred words, the essays can't develop a sophisticated argument. Despite that, they collectively offer interesting ideas. Anyone interested in Europe and the direction of the European economy and politics would be well served by reading this book. Thomas Piketty may have disappeared from the headlines here in the United States but his ideas continue to animate political and economic discussions around the world.

Thomas Pikkety

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Fosse

by Sam Wasson

reviewed by Don Boink

This is a most incredible account of the life of one of the most famous theatrical people of our time. Bob

Fosse won 3 awards in the same year: The Tony, the Emmy, and the Academy Award (Oscar). He was a

groundbreaking dancer, choreographer and director. Some of his most famous musicals were Chicago, Sweet

Charity, All That Jazz, and dozens more, both on Broadway and in Hollywood films.

One of his wives, considered the greatest musical dancer of her time, was Gwen Verdun. Their daughter

Nicole grew up to be a fine ballerina. Although Fosse was addicted to women, Gwen was his everlasting love.

She was also his close associate in coaching dancers in many shows during their long separation. Despite his

several affairs she and he remained deeply in love.

Fosse’s show business training started at a very young age. His parents enrolled him in a dancing class

and his talent for it soon became apparent. His teacher arranged gigs for him at all sorts of venues such as night-

clubs and most any bar that would have him and his partner. Burlesque was dying at the time but still popular in

some quarters. Thus, in his early teens and being able to pass for an 18-year-old he was working two weekends

per month as a dancer in a burlesque show. His parents eventually allowed him to work every weekend because

they needed the money during the depression. The chorus girls, a tough bunch, took advantage of his innocence

and naiveté and introduced him to things that both scared and amused him. He kept all this from his mother.

This apparently set the stage for his behavior the rest of his life.

Dancing became his life work and he strove to improve and improvise to the point of fanaticism. He be-

came a director and choreographer and as such he was a perfectionist. During rehearsals for shows, he worked

out the steps for each dancer beforehand and demonstrated what he wanted. His style was unique and he insist-

ed that each and every motion and posture, down to the position of the hands and fingers, be exactly right. Eve-

ry number was worked at with changes right up to the opening night. His rehearsals at times extended to the

wee hours of the morning.

He was extremely personable and his little boy attitude appealed greatly to the women. Despite being

driven relentlessly, they knew he was helping them to improve and they would diligently work to please him.

The book is 600 pages long plus copious notes and an index. The author, Sam Wasson, unveils the man

behind the swaggering sex appeal, tracing Fosse’s untold reinventions of himself over a career that would span

60 years, including The Pajama Game, Cabaret, Pippin, All That Jazz, and Chicago, one of the longest-running

Broadway musicals ever. He drew on a wealth of unpublished material and hundreds of sources, friends, ene-

mies, lovers, and collaborators. It is an account that brings out the exhausting activity of show business; it is ex-

hausting even to read. Oftentimes, there were a number of shows in production and on the road simultaneously.

I found the book extremely interesting, and the parade of personalities – Paddy Chayefsky and Buddy

Hackett (his closest friends), and Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Liza Minnelli, and Ann Reinking (who ap-

peared in his shows), as well as authors, songwriters and producers – was staggering. The book begins with the

party at the Tavern On The Green. I found myself rereading that first chapter and being quite moved by the

celebration of Fosse’s life by so many of his surviving friends.

Bob Fosse

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The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution 1783 - 1789

by Joseph J. Ellis

reviewed by Jim Mills

The Quartet is not about music – classical, barbershop or otherwise. The successful end of the American

Revolution left the American political scene in disarray. The Congress created by the Articles of Confederation

(1777) had little power, could not effectively raise funds leaving most of the Revolutionary War veterans un-

paid, and was strapped with large government debt and a nonexistent credit rating. The 13 British colonies had

become 13 essentially independent states each mostly going its own way. The New England, Middle Atlantic,

and Southern states had many conflicting interests dividing them. The future prospects at the time were not too

bright, with the strong possibility of the situation evolving into several competing or waring powers on the

North American continent.

This state of affairs was very disturbing to many of the revolutionary leaders. In particular, the need for

a strong central government for the United States was seen as an urgent issue for four leaders: George Washing-

ton, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The Quartet tells how this quartet worked together to

launch the convention that created the American Constitution and the shape of the federal government that has

directed our fate for over 200 years. The four would have to use all of their political wiles to lead a collection of

13 independent and suspicious states into merging into a federal entity that reminded them too much of the Brit-

ish Monarchy that they had seceded from so vary recently.

All of the states except for Rhode Island were convinced to send delegates to Philadelphia in the sum-

mer of 1787 to come up with a substitute for the ineffective Articles of Confederation. The product that evolved

from these summer meetings was a compromise and was far from what some of the Quartet, Madison in partic-

ular, desired. The resulting constitution was a mix of interests of those who supported a strong federal govern-

ment, those who championed state rights, and those interested in maintaining a strong and expanding slave soci-

ety. As the author points out: “The Constitution was intended less to resolve arguments than to make argument

itself the solution. For judicial devotees of ‘originalism’ or ‘original intent’ , this should be a disarming insight,

since it made the Constitution the foundation for an ever-shifting political dialogue that, like history itself, was

an argument without end. Madison’s ‘original intention’ was to make all ‘original intentions’ infinitely negotia-

ble in the future.” At the end of the deliberations, the aging Benjamin Franklin, who had to be brought into the

meetings on a litter, commented: “Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and I am

not sure that it is not the best.” The author added: “After two centuries later, we can safely say that the Constitu-

tion has stood the test of time and fulfilled Franklin’s fondest hopes.”

The ratification process was based on acceptance by at least nine of the thirteen state conventions. Dur-

ing this period, Madison, Hamilton and Jay wrote a series of essays supporting ratification that have come to be

known as the Federalist Papers. By the summer of 1788, the required nine states had ratified and the process of

creating the new government proceeded. The following year, the new Congress had been formed and Washing-

ton had been selected as the first president. Only after the establishment of this new government did the last two

states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, finally ratify. Even at this point there was a strong call for a second

Constitutional Convention to add a Bill of Rights. This move was opposed by the Quartet as opening up a can

of worms. Madison, at the time a congressman, managed to solve the problem by having the Congress vote on a

series of amendments to the Constitution. Twelve amendments were submitted to the states for ratification and

the ten that passed are today known as the Bill of Rights. The substance and wording of the first ten amend-

ments are essentially the product of Madison’s inventive political mind. The Quartet brings to our attention just

how fragile the political environment existed in the early 1780s, but one that ultimately led to the Government

that we know and admire. It could so easily have gone another way with much bleaker prospects for future gen-

erations. The Constitution, as originally written, was so very imperfect. It took many future amendments to end

slavery, extend citizenship to former slaves and extend suffrage to Blacks and to women. The Constitution is

truly a work in progress.

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A Meal in Winter

by Hubert Mingarelli

reviewed by Sue Carr

Poland, 1943, winter-time. At a German camp, the soldiers’ orders were to look for Jews and bring them

back to the camp, where they were killed the next day. Looking for the Jews was to be preferred to killing them.

And so, because they have been allowed to search on this day, three soldiers left early, without breakfast – be-

fore the Commandant changed his mind.

They knew each other pretty well. The conversation focused on Emmerich and his attempt to keep his

son from smoking.

The air was stone cold. After tramping across a large field, one of them discovered a chimney sticking up

above the snow and a hole. They found a Jewish man hiding in it. Mission accomplished. However, their word

that they had found and killed one was not sufficient; they had to bring him back to the camp to authenticate

that they had found one.

On the long walk back to camp, hunger became the focus. They came across an abandoned shack and

moved in. Creating a fire for warmth and to cook their food was the first job. They put the Jew in the storeroom

and began breaking up the shutters, and a chair for fuel. Their combined food consisted of an onion, some lard,

sausage and corn. They gathered snow and prepared to make their stew.

A Polish man with a dog knocked on the door. He was offensive, but they let him in. Now the group was 3

Germans, a Jew and an anti-Semitic Pole. What follows is an amazing tale. It’s simple, yet, extremely detailed;

it’s tender and it’s intense. The ordinariness of the people and of the event creates its universality. This is one of

the best stories from World War II that I have read.

The Big Picture

by Sean Carroll

reviewed by Don Boink

The author is a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology. A previous book of his I

reviewed was From Eternity to Here. The Big Picture is 433 pages plus notes and index. I really enjoyed the

book in the sense that the author sedulously avoided dogma and avidly chose to present ideas in a non-

committal manner. He attempts to take us incidentally through the most complex aspects of our self-awareness.

Beginning with drawing the comparison of our very infinitesimally finite selves with the immensity of the infi-

nite universe, he puts us together atom by atom and shows how the arrow of time (which always goes forward)

is governed by lesser and greater entropy that proceeds from the Big Bang.

Undeniably the subject is esoteric and not everyone’s cup of tea. The author realizes that and keeps

the vocabulary at a level readable by the average person. On the cover of the book a quote from one of my fa-

vorite science writers, Brian Greene, says “Carroll is a surefooted guide through some of the most perplexing

and fascinating insights of modern physics”. One chapter is entitled “poetic naturalism”. In its simplest terms,

“the universe just is. There is no future goal and no past. Momentum keeps it going.”

Philosophers as well as scientists are referred to and no dogma is invoked. It is all “emergence,” both

micro and macro entirely. Religion is given respectful consideration and granted the same credibility as science.

Science is defined as a search for the truth. No one has the authority to make final judgment on that. Poetic nat-

uralism is consistent with its own standards: it tries to provide the most useful way of talking about the world

we have.

Of course, the final discussion in science deals with quantum mechanics. The subject differs from gen-

eral science in that the same rules just don’t apply. These issues are known as “measurement problems”. A still

not resolved question. At the quantum level (sub microscopic) it might be that there is a deeper way of describ-

ing the world in terms of which the evolution would be, in principle, entirely predictable. Presently the best we

can do is state probability. There is much to do about the “wave theory” and its implications. The final para-

graph on the subject concludes, “in a sense it is the ultimate unification, not only does the deepest layer of reali-

ty not consist of things like “ocean” and “mountains,” it doesn’t even consist of things like electrons and pho-

tons. It is just the quantum wave function. Everything else is a convenient way of talking.” Wow! Does that set-

tle it?

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Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money and Power

by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher

reviewed by Jim Mills

Donald J. Trump has been a major American celebrity for over four decades going back to the 1970s.

Trump carried on in the footsteps of his father, Frederick Trump, as a major real estate developer in New York

City. While his father created a successful and lucrative business building essentially in the outer boroughs of

Queens and Brooklyn, the son extended that success to the city’s heart, Manhattan, and quickly became known

worldwide with an engaging, flashy and gregarious persona. In the following decades, Trump would manage to

keep his name continually before the public, seeking news coverage both good and bad of his relentless activity

both socially and in the business world. His businesses were varied, including the construction of flamboyant

buildings, the promotion of beauty pageants, sports (wrestling, football, cycling and golf), a business-oriented

university, gambling casinos, and reality TV shows. He would also keep his name in the news by trumpeting his

wealth, in the opinion of most analysts well beyond its real value. In Trump Revealed, the authors, a reporter

and an editor from the Washington Post have covered Trump’s life from his early days through his selection as

the Republican Presidential Nominee just last July.

Through the years, Trump has been the darling of the tabloid press. A former Trump Organization execu-

tive, Barbara Res was quoted as saying that: “Donald has a way of getting into print whatever he would say,

even if it weren’t necessarily the whole and honest truth….He has tremendous self-confidence, which is im-

portant. He managed to say what he would say, and people would write it and then it would be the truth. That

was the thing with him that they call the big lie. You say something enough times, it becomes the truth. And he

was the master of that.” Mark Singer, a reporter at the New Yorker, commented on the Trump that he knew:

“He embodied the American Dream to them (recent immigrants). Excessive conspicuous consumption is not a

bad thing in New York to a lot of people. It’s kind of comic what he was doing. I’ve always felt like Donald

was in on the jokes. He knows he’s over the top, but that’s where he likes to live.” Trump would always strike

out at those who gave him what he considered bad press. An editor from Spy Magazine, Susan Morrison, com-

mented: “It was so fun to poke at him. It was like bearbaiting because he would respond and write us letters and

call us losers. He was the gift that kept on giving.” One oddity of Trump’s behavior with the press was his habit

of calling reporters acting as if he were a third party using the name of “John Miller” or “John Barron” to deliv-

er a positive confidential “scoop” on Trump.

Trump has been married three times and his marriages and amours have been top stories for the press.

This type of coverage added to the luster that his name connoted. When Trump and Ivana (his first wife) were

breaking up, Trump greeted a friend who had just returned from England with the inquiry, “Was it big over

there too? I heard it’s a monster over there.” Trump made sure that his wives signed confidentiality agreements

that would penalize them by cutting alimony payments if they talked about their affairs with him. The impact of

the Trump name would become a major asset to “The Donald.” Trump entered into many business deals, where

he allowed his name to be used in conjunction with a business enterprise or a product brand for a royalty fee.

Many of these ventures failed but win or lose Trump would win, receiving his fee regardless of the outcome.

Trump was able to profit directly from his celebrity. This technique was to become a modus operandi of his

business operations where he would have a stake in the profits but would not commit any of his own funds. He

tended to become more highly leveraged than most entrepreneurs with his high debt levels leading to a number

of bankruptcies, in particular in connection with his three Atlantic City casinos. The addition of gambling to

Atlantic City was initially considered a boon to what had been for years a faltering economy. Trump ended up

building three casinos, which some of his advisors though was overkill – this turned out to be the case. By the

early ‘90s the casinos had gone into bankruptcy. Trump seemed to believe that he could enter any field and be a

success regardless of his level of experience. In 1989 he bought the failing Eastern Airline’s shuttle service. Re-

named the Trump Shuttle, this endeavor never turned a profit, defaulted on its loans and was taken over by its

creditors in 1992. In many instances Trump was able to survive these business shortfalls with cash infusions

from his father. (continued on the next page)

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Other areas that attracted Trump’s attention included beauty contests (he owned the Miss Universe pag-

eant for many years), football (he bought the New Jersey Generals in the ill-fated US Football League), Wres-

tleMania (where he was a sometime participant), bicycle racing (Tour de Trump) and Trump University. Trump

U purported to teach business skills. Class fees were high, ranging up to $35,000. There were many complaints

with a significant proportion (25%) of the students demanding refunds. The state of New York would not ac-

credit the institution as a university and Trump U closed its doors in 2010. Trump has been involved through the

years in initiating and being the defendant in many legal suits. Very early on he hired the NY lawyer, Roy

Cohn. Cohn achieved prominence as the chief counsel of Senator Joe McCarthy in his anti-Communist crusades

in the 1950s. Over a thirty year period, “Trump and his companies filed more than 1,900 lawsuits and were

named defendants in 1,450 others according to USA Today analysis.” Many of his opponents were forced to

submit to Trump’s will when they were unable to match the legal funds at his disposal. This procedure added

another catchphrase to the Trump vocabulary, “I’ll sue” in addition to “You’re fired.”

Trump’s entry into the world of television was to be a greater success. His appearance on the popular

program The Apprentice spread his image across the country and directed his attention to the world of politics.

Trump had been very malleable over the years in his political orientation. He tended to give money to both par-

ties, even supporting Hillary Clinton in her NY Senatorial races. Trump has stated that: “It was very important

to me to get along with politicians in my business.” The authors stated that: “Trump changed parties seven

times between 1999 and 2015.” Over the years, Trump had toyed around with running for various political posi-

tions but had never committed himself. In reference to Bill Clinton’s sexual problems in 1998, the authors stat-

ed that: “Trump suggested that if he were a candidate, he would face a similar controversy: ‘Can you imagine

how controversial that’d be? You think about him with women. How about me with women.’” The authors also

noted: “Twelve days after the 2012 election, Trump filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Of-

fice for a phrase that he wanted to be his own: Make America Great Again.”

Soon after Obama’s rise to the presidency, Trump initiated the “birther” movement questioning whether

the President had indeed, as required by the Constitution, been born in this country. This dispute has gone on for

most of Obama’s presidency despite the issuance of Obama’s Hawaii Birth Certificate. It was only in the last

month that Trump acknowledged this fact.

Trump’s entry into the Republican Presidential Primaries is a story familiar to most of us. His opponents

repeatedly underestimated his appeal to Republican voters. Trump has based his campaign on a few basic

themes: returning all illegal immigrants in the US (11 million) to their country of origin, building an impenetra-

ble wall along the 2,000 mile length of the US-Mexican border, and banning immigration to the United States

by any member of the one billion individuals who practice the Islamic faith. In a year, he bested a field of 16

candidates, most of whom were household names around the nation. Republican leaders such as Jeb Bush,

Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, Rick Perry and Chris Christie successively fell by the

wayside. Trump seemed to be the Teflon candidate immune to the effects of a provocative and incendiary rheto-

ric that would have sunk most any other candidate. At the time of this writing (Sep 28, 2016), Trump is in a vir-

tual tie in the battle for the Presidency of the United States. The next month will show whether his quest comes

to fruition and whether the American voter will trust a man of his past with the leadership of this nation for the

next four years.

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10

The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World

by Derek Chollet

reviewed by Don Boink

This book’s aim is to give us an inside assessment of Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy. The au-

thor has been involved for the past two decades with decision-making in senior positions in the State Depart-

ment, the Pentagon, and the Obama White House. He is currently a counselor and senior advisor at the German

Marshall Fund of the US as well as other lofty positions. He has written a number of books on the political and

foreign-policy situations. I classify it as a “warts and all” type of account from his own perspective of the pros

and cons of the manner in which Pres. Obama has performed in his two terms in office.

His overall conclusion is “that Obama has profoundly altered the course of foreign-policy for the bet-

ter and positioned America to lead in the future”. In reaching this conclusion he takes the general world crises

situations one at a time and comments on the intense struggle over their consequential issues. Recent history has

been a stern lesson in how not to make decisions. No matter who makes the decisions, the immediate storm of

critics decries the consequences of the action.

Obama took office during a period that defies a totally objective evaluation of what occurred. To say

the least, it was a total mess. To cover even a small portion of the details given in the book would far exceed my

ability as a reviewer. I will try to give a few of the salient points. One point made over and over is that Obama

was bent on changing the way America addresses our position in world affairs. His critics have latched onto the

phrase “he leads from behind;” a more incisive phrase would be “he leads from behind the scenes.” To begin

with, Obama is a highly intellectual thinker. He is practical, pragmatic, and plans extremely meticulously. The

instance I especially like is his handling of the Iranian nuclear program and the furor across the world that it

created.

The Iranians were aggressively pursuing the capability of creating a nuclear weapon. The Israelis were

concerned to the point of threatening a preemptive attack such as they did in Syria. There was pressure on the

US “to do something about it.” Obama’s advisors felt it necessary to show “strength” by threatening military

action. The hesitancy on Obama’s part seemed to show lack of leadership. Iranians denied they intended a bomb

but only sought peaceful use of nuclear energy. Obama sought to turn the tables and take a different approach.

He sought intelligence that would show if indeed the Iranians’ objective was a bomb, and when he did have suf-

ficient evidence to that effect, he presented it to the press. This confrontation set the Iranians back on their heels

and put them on the defensive. Stricter sanctions were imposed by the US and several other countries that se-

verely impacted Iran’s economy. At the same time, the US indicated that the military option was still on the ta-

ble, and that a nuclear freeze on Iran was the next best solution for them. Eventually this pressure drove them to

seek negotiations, although reluctantly. This then led to an agreement that broke the impasse. Israel was not

pleased, but most other countries were satisfied that at least there would be a 15-year hiatus in Iran’s nuclear

program.

No bombs were dropped; no one was killed. The change in tactic brought a far better result than other

options that had been widely advocated. Obama showed that a change in foreign policy demonstrated a different

kind of “strength” than the more typical military recourse.

Obama observed that “the process of decision-making heretofore led to a binary choice of black or

white answers.” He preferred shades of gray. That is the new model that changes things from the long war to the

long game. Many critics claim that 15 years is a short time before Iran will be again able to pursue its nuclear

aims. This may or may not be the case. In that 15-year period, it can be expected that great changes will take

place in Iran and a much more amenable government will be in place. To be sure, it is a gamble, but at the same

time, we won’t be any further behind than we are now.

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