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No Such Thing As Over-Exposure: Inside The Life and Celebrity of Donald Trump
Presents a life of the New York real-estate magnate, with an analysis of his gift for self-promotion, his hands-on management style, and his deft use of the media to boost the ratings of his popular TV show, "The Apprentice."
247 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
7 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Robert Slater
86 books12 followersRobert Slater was an American author and journalist known for over two dozen books, including biographies of political and business figures such as Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, George Soros, and Donald Trump.
Slater was born in Manhattan and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. He graduated from Columbia High School in 1962 and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, with a degree in political science. In 1967 he received a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He worked for United Press International (UPI) from 1969 to 1971 before moving to Jerusalem, where he worked for UPI until 1974; and for Time magazine in Jerusalem from 1976 to 1996. From 1987 and 1990 he was chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Israel. In his later years he was a columnist for The Jerusalem Report, and mentored young journalists at The Jerusalem Post. He lived for much of his life in Israel, and with his wife, Elinor, co-authored the books Great Jewish Women and Great Jewish Men.
Slater was born in Manhattan and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. He graduated from Columbia High School in 1962 and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, with a degree in political science. In 1967 he received a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He worked for United Press International (UPI) from 1969 to 1971 before moving to Jerusalem, where he worked for UPI until 1974; and for Time magazine in Jerusalem from 1976 to 1996. From 1987 and 1990 he was chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Israel. In his later years he was a columnist for The Jerusalem Report, and mentored young journalists at The Jerusalem Post. He lived for much of his life in Israel, and with his wife, Elinor, co-authored the books Great Jewish Women and Great Jewish Men.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 24, 2017
An interesting insight into the living embodiment of the American dream and of the man whose very name divides the United States of America into two. The book takes a look into lifestyle, background, personality, and much more of the very much over-exposed billionaire Donald J. Trump. Trump, five letters that draws the eyes and ears of every passerby, made out to be a charismatic and successful businessman by Slate; however, the book makes itself out to be mediocre at best. So over-exposed is Donald Trump that every twenty or so pages you'll lose interest and put the book down to pursue some other errand, I suppose showing that the road to success is not always characterized as the easiest task to accomplish. Though, one can only admire the resiliency by Trump to his setbacks and hardships throughout his white-collar career.
July 18, 2021
I couldn’t even finish this book. Robert Slater is so obviously a brown-nosing obsessive fan of Donald Trump. He glosses over the now-notorious failures of The Donald’s career and writes puff pieces about his successes. He even outright lies about aspects of Trump’s childhood and the Trump family. He also has this annoying tic of mentioning that the book is being written in 2004 every few pages, for no discernible reason.
Avoid. Even Trump admirers will find this book a bit too cloying.
Avoid. Even Trump admirers will find this book a bit too cloying.
May 3, 2016
If anyone doubts the genius of Donald Trump, this is the book for you. If anyone is surprised by the "success" of Donald Trump, read this book. He is executing his game plan meticulously, and it's working because no one else saw it coming ... that's how he rolls.
March 27, 2025
There are 2 things that stood out to me while reading this book:
1) Trump may be charming, but he isn’t (and never claimed to be) your friend
The author began his book with the fiasco that Trump threatened to sue him for writing a book about Trump. Yet, after learning more about the author, Trump’s attitude changed dramatically - so much that Trump almost overnight warmed up to the author to make the author feel immediately close to Trump. The author’s bewilderment is extremely evident throughout the first part of the book.
Oftentimes, a person might perceive others based on how others are acting towards the person. Such a person might assume the others’ public face is the same as that person’s private face. Not the case for Trump. Trump could be extremely charming, yet he isn’t - and in fact - never claimed to be your friend.
This might be something that many who have dealt with Trump found puzzling - Trump, too, had written about it. In Trump’s 2009 book Think Like a Champion, Trump wrote that he believes a person ought not to take things too personally, especially in business settings. A person might get fired by the firm, but the entire firing is often a routine business transaction. It’s that person’s insistence to treat a business transaction as a personal transaction that will torment such a person for years to come - Trump isn’t your friend, he is there to do business. He might be charming to you in one instance, and just a few seconds later, he will fire you with a straight face. It’s nothing personal to him - he just doesn’t think you did a good job.
2) Trump is a master at media
In 2011, Barbara Walters asked the Kardashian family - specifically Kim Kardashian this:
Walters made the same mistake that many people - including myself - make constantly about judging a talent that’s so invisible, yet so visible - branding.
What is branding? Why can Coca-Cola, Mars Candy or Hershey sell its product to billions of people worldwide even though their product can be made by anyone following a simple recipe? Why do we believe Apple product stands for good quality, or Toyota cars can endure for a long period of time - or in this case, why is Trump so alluring, even though the author, who has written a book about Bill Gates prior, flatly label Trump as someone who isn’t the wealthiest American in the world?
If we think intuitively, we won’t understand it. Just like Walters didn’t understand the allure of Kardashians. Trump is a master at media in that he understands what the public wants, and he sells exactly what Kim Kardashian sells: fantasy.
The author wrote in the book that Trump innately understands that people buy his product - his hotel rooms, his condos - because of the brand name of Trump. Trump has a masterful way of linking his name with the fantasy of a well connected, well sexed and wealthy businessman. Buying a Trump product gives the customer the allure of potentially linking him or herself with the fantasy Trump paints. Yes - the author noted - Trump is like an open book in terms of his personal lives, something that many others who are in Trump’s position will never do. Yet, Trump understands that by telling people about his conquest, he draws people into him even more, hence elevating his brand value. It’s the price he has to pay in order to continue to obtain his 15 minutes of fame.
This is also why people buy heavily branded designer products. From Gucci to Channel to Prada - brands sell fantasy. At this point, brands themselves often no longer manufacture what they sell - just like Hilton, Marriott or McDonalds do not own many of their venues. Yet, people buy into the brand because they believe in the brand, they believe in the fantasy of the brand - whether the fantasy gives the wearer an idea of finally “arrived”, or a comfortable hotel room or a dependable and affordable meal.
1) Trump may be charming, but he isn’t (and never claimed to be) your friend
The author began his book with the fiasco that Trump threatened to sue him for writing a book about Trump. Yet, after learning more about the author, Trump’s attitude changed dramatically - so much that Trump almost overnight warmed up to the author to make the author feel immediately close to Trump. The author’s bewilderment is extremely evident throughout the first part of the book.
Oftentimes, a person might perceive others based on how others are acting towards the person. Such a person might assume the others’ public face is the same as that person’s private face. Not the case for Trump. Trump could be extremely charming, yet he isn’t - and in fact - never claimed to be your friend.
This might be something that many who have dealt with Trump found puzzling - Trump, too, had written about it. In Trump’s 2009 book Think Like a Champion, Trump wrote that he believes a person ought not to take things too personally, especially in business settings. A person might get fired by the firm, but the entire firing is often a routine business transaction. It’s that person’s insistence to treat a business transaction as a personal transaction that will torment such a person for years to come - Trump isn’t your friend, he is there to do business. He might be charming to you in one instance, and just a few seconds later, he will fire you with a straight face. It’s nothing personal to him - he just doesn’t think you did a good job.
2) Trump is a master at media
In 2011, Barbara Walters asked the Kardashian family - specifically Kim Kardashian this:
You don't really act; you don't sing; you don't dance. You don't have any -- forgive me -- any talent…
Walters made the same mistake that many people - including myself - make constantly about judging a talent that’s so invisible, yet so visible - branding.
What is branding? Why can Coca-Cola, Mars Candy or Hershey sell its product to billions of people worldwide even though their product can be made by anyone following a simple recipe? Why do we believe Apple product stands for good quality, or Toyota cars can endure for a long period of time - or in this case, why is Trump so alluring, even though the author, who has written a book about Bill Gates prior, flatly label Trump as someone who isn’t the wealthiest American in the world?
If we think intuitively, we won’t understand it. Just like Walters didn’t understand the allure of Kardashians. Trump is a master at media in that he understands what the public wants, and he sells exactly what Kim Kardashian sells: fantasy.
The author wrote in the book that Trump innately understands that people buy his product - his hotel rooms, his condos - because of the brand name of Trump. Trump has a masterful way of linking his name with the fantasy of a well connected, well sexed and wealthy businessman. Buying a Trump product gives the customer the allure of potentially linking him or herself with the fantasy Trump paints. Yes - the author noted - Trump is like an open book in terms of his personal lives, something that many others who are in Trump’s position will never do. Yet, Trump understands that by telling people about his conquest, he draws people into him even more, hence elevating his brand value. It’s the price he has to pay in order to continue to obtain his 15 minutes of fame.
This is also why people buy heavily branded designer products. From Gucci to Channel to Prada - brands sell fantasy. At this point, brands themselves often no longer manufacture what they sell - just like Hilton, Marriott or McDonalds do not own many of their venues. Yet, people buy into the brand because they believe in the brand, they believe in the fantasy of the brand - whether the fantasy gives the wearer an idea of finally “arrived”, or a comfortable hotel room or a dependable and affordable meal.
July 28, 2019
This book was very well written and a huge joy to read, Robert Slater in my opinion was able to capture both the character and the person named Donald Trump and he was able to put a lot of information and did it really good.
Since Slater was able to interview Donald Trump about a lot of things that’s the reason why this book is very insightful about many issues or events that affected the life and businesses of Donald Trump.
In my opinion this book was very neutral and just presented what Donald Trump had said and some information he stubbornly could get about him and his businesses. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get to know Donald Trump a bit better.
Since Slater was able to interview Donald Trump about a lot of things that’s the reason why this book is very insightful about many issues or events that affected the life and businesses of Donald Trump.
In my opinion this book was very neutral and just presented what Donald Trump had said and some information he stubbornly could get about him and his businesses. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get to know Donald Trump a bit better.
March 19, 2018
Много добре балансирана книга. Оставя те с усещането, че си научил много за живота му, а всъщност липсват много детайли, които всъщност биха били по-интересната част.
April 1, 2018
Very interesting insight into the lifestyle and mind of Trump.
August 4, 2014
Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro No hay peligro en sobreexponerse, de Robert Slater.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: management, análisis de empresas y líderes de éxito.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro No hay peligro en sobreexponerse, Biografía del excéntrico magnate inmobiliario Donald Trump: No hay peligro en sobreexponerse
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: management, análisis de empresas y líderes de éxito.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro No hay peligro en sobreexponerse, Biografía del excéntrico magnate inmobiliario Donald Trump: No hay peligro en sobreexponerse
August 31, 2015
Fun read about Donald Trump and how he turned his name into a brand. In some sections of the book, the paragraphs are fairly short, like you're reading a press release. It bothered me a little, but worth a read. I'm interested in reading some books Mr. Trump wrote himself.
February 3, 2017
Gives you the inside regarding this man who likes exposure more than anything else
June 15, 2012
interesting information.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews