Tony Schwartz's Reading List

"I chose Strangers in Their Own Land— and put it first on my list—because Arlie Hochschild is a brilliant writer and a sociologist of great empathy and insight. Although the book was written before Trump was elected president, it goes a long way toward explaining him, and more specifically toward explaining why people embraced him. Hochschild writes about people who live in the bayous of Louisiana. They’re conservative, despite the likelihood that their lives are arguably worse because of the Republican policies that Trump has embraced and advanced. Specifically, she talks about the fact that these folks live in an area deeply threatened by dumping, pollution, poisoned fish, undrinkable water and skyrocketing incidences of cancer. It’s the opposite of self-interest for the people Hochschild writes about to support politicians whose environmental policies have created the crisis they’re facing. “Over the year that I spent on The Art of the Deal , I felt a growing sense of despair and discomfort” Ultimately, this book is about the power of emotion over reason, which is why I chose it. Trump may be the most aggrieved person on the planet. There are many millions of Americans who feel aggrieved. They believe that minorities and immigrants are skipping to the front of the line, to use Hochschild’s phrase, unfairly and at their expense. Hochschild’s understanding of the inner experience of people who represent Trump’s base is what makes this such an important book. Absolutely. Even though he inherited something like $400 million in his 20s, he feels aggrieved every day, all day long. So, he taps into that feeling among voters."

"American Carnage is also a precursor book; it describes what happened to the Republican Party in the period before Trump was elected that made it possible for Trump to co-opt the party. It focuses on the leadership of John Boehner and Paul Ryan. And then it’s the description of the campaign Trump ran. American Carnage was written by a journalist who identifies as conservative and who had great access to people who I don’t think would’ve spoken so openly to mainstream reporters. The book helps you understand, from the inside, how Trump took over the Republican Party. It’s weird and it’s fascinating. And it’s a perspective that I haven’t seen represented anywhere else. Without question. Trump is addictive. We all know that to be true because we’re all preoccupied with him, whether we’re supporters or reporters or critics. Journalists are always looking for an exciting story and Trump can always create drama. As a politician, he creates drama by being utterly odious, but he remains a subject of fascination."

"A lot of journalists hate Michael Wolff and his book. Readers liked it; it sold hugely. There is a legitimate quarrel with some of his facts and sourcing. If you’re looking for the most sober and rigorous account of what happened in the first many months of the Trump White House, this is not your book. But from my experience of Trump, this is the most deeply accurate book that’s been written about him—the chaos he creates and which has enveloped all of us since he took office. Michael Wolff has a remarkable capacity to get inside the heads of people. He does it in this book just as he did it in his book about Rupert Murdoch ."

"The author, Amanda Carpenter, is the former press secretary to Ted Cruz and a die-hard, right-wing Republican. The very fact that she chose to write a critical book is interesting in itself. She does an incredibly good and persuasive job of deconstructing the secret to Trump’s success. She unfolds how over and over again, he takes control of any given news cycle by doing things that would cause the end of other politicians’ careers. She sees the paradox of Trump’s appeal. Like Strangers In Their Own Land , this book helps you to understand the incomprehensible—that voters like Trump not despite his lies, but in some way because of them. Trump invents reality every day, without constraints, bumpers, borders or limits. As he gets into more and more trouble, and faces the prospect of impeachment, he doubles down on convincing people that things that aren’t true are true. Most people are constrained by conscience. That’s the part of you which says, “I couldn’t do that because it’s wrong,” or “I couldn’t do that because people would think poorly of me,” or “I couldn’t do that because it doesn’t feel right.” Freud called that superego and Trump doesn’t have one."

"This is a book of essays, mostly by psychiatrists. The majority of books about Trump focus on his actions. This is a book about why he does what he does. It presents a range of interpretations about what Trump’s underlying personality disorder is, but there is consensus that he suffers from one. There’s a little bit of self-interest in this choice, because I wrote one of the book’s essays based on my own experience with Trump. My own belief is that the person Trump became is deeply attributable to having a brutal father and a neglectful mother. The characteristics that define a sociopath are callousness, hostility, impulsivity. Is there any reasonable person who would say that doesn’t define Donald Trump? Trump isn’t a vampire; he can’t live forever. The silver stake for Trumpism is changing our culture. We need a developmental leap. We need a renewed focus on human development, not just child development but also adult development. That’s what I spent the last thirty years of my life doing—figuring out how to motivate people to take a more embracing view of the world—less selfish and more empathic. What Really Matters was my response to—and my first attempt to do penance for—writing The Art of the Deal . My experience with Trump had left me feeling that the world he represented and the way he lived was the opposite of the way I wanted to live. I set out to learn from people who were more focused on wiser ways of living. What Really Matters is the story of my own search, and that search continues to this day."