Scan barcode
jnlybbert's review against another edition
5.0
I like to believe that most rational thinking people can recognize that there is something not quite right about Donald Trump. However, he has been able to gain an extremely loyal, powerful, and quite ominous support base over the last 5 years.
I have struggled to understand the phenomenon of Trumpism and have honestly tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away if someone else would be elected in 2020. I have been really shaken up though by learning about QAnon, observing "Stop the Steal" movement and seeing the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump may be out of office, but Trumpism is very much alive and I find that to be quite scary.
I read this book hoping to gain some insight to how Trump has been able to wield so much power and influence over his supporters and it actually turned out to be very insightful. There is definitely a psychology to his appeal to his supporters, both on the side of his supporters and his own.
Trump has been able to take the fears, suspicions and beliefs of a very large group of people and use that to gain a tremendous amount of power. As he stated in his own words, he could stand on 5th Avenue, shoot someone and he wouldn't lose any voters. Is he a genius in how he's able to do this or is he just as crazy as his followers? I think this book does a great job at trying to answer this question.
I have struggled to understand the phenomenon of Trumpism and have honestly tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away if someone else would be elected in 2020. I have been really shaken up though by learning about QAnon, observing "Stop the Steal" movement and seeing the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump may be out of office, but Trumpism is very much alive and I find that to be quite scary.
I read this book hoping to gain some insight to how Trump has been able to wield so much power and influence over his supporters and it actually turned out to be very insightful. There is definitely a psychology to his appeal to his supporters, both on the side of his supporters and his own.
Trump has been able to take the fears, suspicions and beliefs of a very large group of people and use that to gain a tremendous amount of power. As he stated in his own words, he could stand on 5th Avenue, shoot someone and he wouldn't lose any voters. Is he a genius in how he's able to do this or is he just as crazy as his followers? I think this book does a great job at trying to answer this question.
icallaci's review against another edition
2.0
Hmmm...how to review this? A (very) few of the pieces gave me some insight about how mental illness might affect a person's behavior, especially one who is in a position of power, but most of the articles were so biased that even I (who am not DT's biggest fan) couldn't ignore it. Taking every statement literally (as in, "I would kill for a piece of pie") or assuming every inappropriate joke is a serious indication of intent does not make someone dangerous. Most of the authors seemed to be living in a world where politeness and fairness and kindness are the norm, and are shocked--shocked!--that sarcasm, lying, bullying, and other forms of not-niceness could ever occur in a context that does not imply mental illness. Donald Trump may very well be a danger to society, but only two or three of the articles included in this book presented a convincing argument for it.
mcarley88's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic and nearly comprehensive book about the mental illness of the so-called president. Eschewing the "Goldwater Rule," these 37 experts have done their best to illustrate the dangers brought about by this creature, not only to American democracy, but to mankind itself. A must-read for virtually everyone.
seddso's review against another edition
5.0
This is not normal, the book says. Understatement of all time. This is the most terrifying book I've ever read and I'm not sure where to start with a review.
The blurb : "Since the start of Donald Trump's presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him? Constrained by the American Psychiatric Association's "Goldwater rule," which inhibits mental health professionals from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, many of those qualified to answer this question have shied away from discussing the issue at all. The public has thus been left to wonder whether he is mad, bad, or both. In THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP, twenty-seven psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health experts argue that, in Mr. Trump's case, their moral and civic "duty to warn" America supersedes professional neutrality. They then explore Trump's symptoms and potentially relevant diagnoses to find a complex, if also dangerously mad, man....".
Firstly, I would suggest you steer clear of this book ( and even the rest of this review ) if you have a terror of Armageddon. Growing up in the 70s, with nuclear war an ever present threat, I'm not that stressed by it anymore. Meh.
I am in awe of the calibre of mental health professionals gathered together to write this book. Before I started this book, I had an obsession with Trump, his outright inability to execute his role, his ignorance, stupidity etc etc. Now, I have concern. Concern for an elderly man who is clearly unfit for this post, and who is cognitively and physically unwell ( all of his disastrous speeches where the public mock his speech, dry mouth , nasal congestion and substandard vocabulary show clear signs of illness and side effects of medication) , while his friends and family watch him deteriorate on the sidelines. On the other hand, I have concern for the consequences to the entire world arising from how dangerous he is- clearly, he is potentially extremely dangerous.
The book discusses , amongst many, many things, his paranoia, lack of trust, penchant for violence, and disinterest in the consequences of his actions - eg the risk of nuclear war breaking out because he might be baited by a tweet is obviously higher , with a man who has so many psychological defects in power. The Doomsday Clock is discussed, with the threat posed by climate change tipping it ever closer to Midnight. It covers all aspects that arise from having a malignant narcissistic psychopath in the White House , how the administration is operating under a malignant normality, how difficult it is to remove a President under the 25th Amendment, the way forward to prevent a person with these limitations every acceding to the Presidency every again to name just a few.
Although this book has terrified me, I feel reassured that there are many people working behind the scenes in the US to prevent the world suffering as a consequence of Trump's worst instincts. As long as they continue to do that, and are brave enough to act when he steps over the line into utter disaster , then we can look back on the Trump administration as an aberration and a lesson to be learned for future presidencies. The same lessons can be learned globally.
From the chapter about Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis : “That President Trump May ever occupy the loneliness of deciding about a potentially catastrophic course of action is rightly our most urgent and greatest fear”.
The blurb : "Since the start of Donald Trump's presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him? Constrained by the American Psychiatric Association's "Goldwater rule," which inhibits mental health professionals from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, many of those qualified to answer this question have shied away from discussing the issue at all. The public has thus been left to wonder whether he is mad, bad, or both. In THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP, twenty-seven psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health experts argue that, in Mr. Trump's case, their moral and civic "duty to warn" America supersedes professional neutrality. They then explore Trump's symptoms and potentially relevant diagnoses to find a complex, if also dangerously mad, man....".
Firstly, I would suggest you steer clear of this book ( and even the rest of this review ) if you have a terror of Armageddon. Growing up in the 70s, with nuclear war an ever present threat, I'm not that stressed by it anymore. Meh.
I am in awe of the calibre of mental health professionals gathered together to write this book. Before I started this book, I had an obsession with Trump, his outright inability to execute his role, his ignorance, stupidity etc etc. Now, I have concern. Concern for an elderly man who is clearly unfit for this post, and who is cognitively and physically unwell ( all of his disastrous speeches where the public mock his speech, dry mouth , nasal congestion and substandard vocabulary show clear signs of illness and side effects of medication) , while his friends and family watch him deteriorate on the sidelines. On the other hand, I have concern for the consequences to the entire world arising from how dangerous he is- clearly, he is potentially extremely dangerous.
The book discusses , amongst many, many things, his paranoia, lack of trust, penchant for violence, and disinterest in the consequences of his actions - eg the risk of nuclear war breaking out because he might be baited by a tweet is obviously higher , with a man who has so many psychological defects in power. The Doomsday Clock is discussed, with the threat posed by climate change tipping it ever closer to Midnight. It covers all aspects that arise from having a malignant narcissistic psychopath in the White House , how the administration is operating under a malignant normality, how difficult it is to remove a President under the 25th Amendment, the way forward to prevent a person with these limitations every acceding to the Presidency every again to name just a few.
Although this book has terrified me, I feel reassured that there are many people working behind the scenes in the US to prevent the world suffering as a consequence of Trump's worst instincts. As long as they continue to do that, and are brave enough to act when he steps over the line into utter disaster , then we can look back on the Trump administration as an aberration and a lesson to be learned for future presidencies. The same lessons can be learned globally.
From the chapter about Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis : “That President Trump May ever occupy the loneliness of deciding about a potentially catastrophic course of action is rightly our most urgent and greatest fear”.
bjr2022's review against another edition
5.0
{See 1/17/18 addendum at end of review}
10/9/17--revised review after finishing this amazing book:
I've been waiting for this book—the words of highly trained mental health professionals who are brave enough to risk backlash from their own associations by putting the safety of all people ahead of their rules to say nothing about individuals they have not treated. In a meticulously written foreword, one of the authors makes the case that "duty to warn" people whose well-being is in danger trumps the "Goldwater Rule" about silence. (There is an entire section of chapters on the ethics of speaking out—far too much to reduce into a review byte.) We are all in danger from this individual we have installed in the highest office in the land, and I consider the 27 authors of this step-by-step analysis of Trump's severe psychological impairments to be whistle blowers.
But what are the political affiliations of the contributors and are they biased? This is immediately addressed: it doesn't matter. The content is pedagogy not politics: the nature of psychological disorders. They are described in all their variations; they are all recognizable as played out by this president—the proofs are provided; and their dire results are delineated, well researched, and broad. And the final chapter regarding recommended immediate action to assess presidential fitness now and in the future—grounded in Section Four of the Twenty-fifth Amendment issues of "a written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office"—are required to be nonpartisan in nature.
In discussions about the spectrum of the foregoing characteristics, as well as "malignant narcissism," delusional ideation, functional impairment, and many other mental health categories, foremost is the topic of danger. And many of the contributors are specialists in the study of violence and danger and professionally assess whether a person is a danger to themselves or others. Over and over they conclude that even if they are not willing to diagnose a mental illness in somebody they have never treated, they can diagnose clear and imminent danger!
They repeatedly warn about Trump's instability spiraling into psychosis and resulting in the destruction of democracy and a nuclear war.
Says John D. Garner, PhD, in his chapter "Donald Trump is: a) Bad; b); Mad; c) All of the Above": Trump "evinces the most destructive and dangerous collection of psychiatric symptoms possible for a leader. . . . our job is . . . to warn the public that the election of Donald Trump is a true emergency, and that the consequences most likely will be catastrophic."
Says Henry J. Friedman, MD, in the chapter "On Seeing What You See and Saying What You Know: A Psychiatrist's Responsibility": "When as a psychiatrist, I watch commentators and reporters struggling to understand or explain President Trump's latest irrational position . . . I wish that I could help them understand his paranoid character and why there should be no surprise that Trump behaves this way. They should be prepared to witness many more situations in which Trump feels betrayed and turns on those who have previously served him. Paranoids are always finding betrayal in those surrounding them, and react with retaliatory anger—Hitler and Stalin, by murdering their newly minted enemies; and Trump, by firing them. Psychiatric knowledge and terminology will save reporters and the public from remaining confused and attempting to find explanations of behavior that could easily be understood if Trump's paranoid character were always kept in mind. This is the only way to ensure the preservation and viability of our democracy and our national security."
In addition to this kind of material, there is a treasure trove of other psychological stuff: discussion of character traits that we can identify with in moderation and what happens when they become pathological; talk about new areas of therapy opened up by Trump events; repeated discussion of the "Trump Effect" and "Trump anxiety disorder," a specific kind of new anxiety and trauma or reactivation of old trauma due to the culture of Trump and what we can do about it, and an incredible chapter about what Trump tells us about our cultural Self—all informative articles that make this book a page-turner; and for many of us, long-awaited good medicine and, in turn, a call to action to speak out with whatever we have to offer.
I'd wager that anybody growing up in an abusive and abused family has wished there were somebody big to protect them. And perhaps when they've become adults and looked back at their situation, they've been appalled that it could have been as apparent as it was and nobody stepped in. Where were the authorities? How could a community have ignored something so obvious?
We are now that abused family, and I'm grateful that the authorities have finally bucked their own fear of rocking the boat or breaking the rules enough to sound the call, to offer their good medicine. I only hope we will all listen and be as alarmed and therefore as active as they are.
***
Some thoughts on what to do now:
At the same time that it alarms you, reading this book may also calm you down if you are upset about Trump. How? It will validate your feelings and let you know that "this is a real thing"—the opposite of Trump's habit of "gaslighting" (claiming that lies are truth and there is something wrong with anybody who does not see it his way). Once you have calmed a little, you may start to see Trump for what he is—a seriously disturbed individual who does indeed pose a danger to all of us. However, he is only one piece of an orchestrated puzzle designed to destroy our union. If you can see that Trump is a mere player in a much larger societal upset, if you can accept what author Thomas Singer, MD, in his chapter "Trump and the American Collective Psyche," says about what Trump tells us about the state of our collective Self and you can participate ". . . in a deep resurgence of activism to reclaim our most cherished and threatened American values" and "resist our tendency to cocoon ourselves in a self-righteous, arrogant bubble of narcissistic ideals, even in the name of being 'progressive,'" here is a blog that attempts to help with that larger picture, We Are Being Manipulated into Oblivion—See the Big Picture.
And here is useful counsel for our deportment, from Deterrent or Defense by Basil Liddell Hart, used by JFK in his considerations about the Cuban Missile Crisis, as quoted in the chapter "The Loneliness of Fateful Decisions" by Edwin B. Fisher, PhD:
How to do that? Follow cognitive scientist George Lakoff's advice in his book Don't Think of an Elephant:
10/15/17 Update
Duty to Warn video, deals with Goldwater Rule, bias from politics, and other issues.
11/11/17 Update
This powerful letter from all the psychiatrists and therapists has gone out to all of Congress. (You need to be a Facebook user to access the page.)
Also, the book's contributors have a website with actionable suggestions: Duty to Warn.
1/17/18 Update
In light of the recent conclusions from Trump's physician, I think the following two items are important.
From New York Times editorial about fitness to serve from a U.S. Air Force psychiatrist.
From a contributor to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump
"Just a note regarding the White House doctor's use of the MoCA [Montreal Cognitive Assessment] to access the cognitive health of the nation's 'leader.' This is not a test that would diagnose the non-biological mental health issues he has. It is used to measure the progression and severity of cognitive impairment, as with Dementia."
10/9/17--revised review after finishing this amazing book:
I've been waiting for this book—the words of highly trained mental health professionals who are brave enough to risk backlash from their own associations by putting the safety of all people ahead of their rules to say nothing about individuals they have not treated. In a meticulously written foreword, one of the authors makes the case that "duty to warn" people whose well-being is in danger trumps the "Goldwater Rule" about silence. (There is an entire section of chapters on the ethics of speaking out—far too much to reduce into a review byte.) We are all in danger from this individual we have installed in the highest office in the land, and I consider the 27 authors of this step-by-step analysis of Trump's severe psychological impairments to be whistle blowers.
But what are the political affiliations of the contributors and are they biased? This is immediately addressed: it doesn't matter. The content is pedagogy not politics: the nature of psychological disorders. They are described in all their variations; they are all recognizable as played out by this president—the proofs are provided; and their dire results are delineated, well researched, and broad. And the final chapter regarding recommended immediate action to assess presidential fitness now and in the future—grounded in Section Four of the Twenty-fifth Amendment issues of "a written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office"—are required to be nonpartisan in nature.
Personality Disorders
Extreme Present Hedonism—impulsiveness of thought and therefore action with no awareness of consequences; propensity to dehumanize others in order to feel superior.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder—superiority, exaggeration of talents, emotional, dramatic, lacking compassion and empathy (inability to recognize other people's feelings), low self-esteem.
Bully Personality—physical, verbal, prejudicial, relational, cyber, sexual.
Possibility of a neurological disorder—based on delineated observations.
In discussions about the spectrum of the foregoing characteristics, as well as "malignant narcissism," delusional ideation, functional impairment, and many other mental health categories, foremost is the topic of danger. And many of the contributors are specialists in the study of violence and danger and professionally assess whether a person is a danger to themselves or others. Over and over they conclude that even if they are not willing to diagnose a mental illness in somebody they have never treated, they can diagnose clear and imminent danger!
They repeatedly warn about Trump's instability spiraling into psychosis and resulting in the destruction of democracy and a nuclear war.
Says John D. Garner, PhD, in his chapter "Donald Trump is: a) Bad; b); Mad; c) All of the Above": Trump "evinces the most destructive and dangerous collection of psychiatric symptoms possible for a leader. . . . our job is . . . to warn the public that the election of Donald Trump is a true emergency, and that the consequences most likely will be catastrophic."
Says Henry J. Friedman, MD, in the chapter "On Seeing What You See and Saying What You Know: A Psychiatrist's Responsibility": "When as a psychiatrist, I watch commentators and reporters struggling to understand or explain President Trump's latest irrational position . . . I wish that I could help them understand his paranoid character and why there should be no surprise that Trump behaves this way. They should be prepared to witness many more situations in which Trump feels betrayed and turns on those who have previously served him. Paranoids are always finding betrayal in those surrounding them, and react with retaliatory anger—Hitler and Stalin, by murdering their newly minted enemies; and Trump, by firing them. Psychiatric knowledge and terminology will save reporters and the public from remaining confused and attempting to find explanations of behavior that could easily be understood if Trump's paranoid character were always kept in mind. This is the only way to ensure the preservation and viability of our democracy and our national security."
In addition to this kind of material, there is a treasure trove of other psychological stuff: discussion of character traits that we can identify with in moderation and what happens when they become pathological; talk about new areas of therapy opened up by Trump events; repeated discussion of the "Trump Effect" and "Trump anxiety disorder," a specific kind of new anxiety and trauma or reactivation of old trauma due to the culture of Trump and what we can do about it, and an incredible chapter about what Trump tells us about our cultural Self—all informative articles that make this book a page-turner; and for many of us, long-awaited good medicine and, in turn, a call to action to speak out with whatever we have to offer.
I'd wager that anybody growing up in an abusive and abused family has wished there were somebody big to protect them. And perhaps when they've become adults and looked back at their situation, they've been appalled that it could have been as apparent as it was and nobody stepped in. Where were the authorities? How could a community have ignored something so obvious?
We are now that abused family, and I'm grateful that the authorities have finally bucked their own fear of rocking the boat or breaking the rules enough to sound the call, to offer their good medicine. I only hope we will all listen and be as alarmed and therefore as active as they are.
***
Some thoughts on what to do now:
At the same time that it alarms you, reading this book may also calm you down if you are upset about Trump. How? It will validate your feelings and let you know that "this is a real thing"—the opposite of Trump's habit of "gaslighting" (claiming that lies are truth and there is something wrong with anybody who does not see it his way). Once you have calmed a little, you may start to see Trump for what he is—a seriously disturbed individual who does indeed pose a danger to all of us. However, he is only one piece of an orchestrated puzzle designed to destroy our union. If you can see that Trump is a mere player in a much larger societal upset, if you can accept what author Thomas Singer, MD, in his chapter "Trump and the American Collective Psyche," says about what Trump tells us about the state of our collective Self and you can participate ". . . in a deep resurgence of activism to reclaim our most cherished and threatened American values" and "resist our tendency to cocoon ourselves in a self-righteous, arrogant bubble of narcissistic ideals, even in the name of being 'progressive,'" here is a blog that attempts to help with that larger picture, We Are Being Manipulated into Oblivion—See the Big Picture.
And here is useful counsel for our deportment, from Deterrent or Defense by Basil Liddell Hart, used by JFK in his considerations about the Cuban Missile Crisis, as quoted in the chapter "The Loneliness of Fateful Decisions" by Edwin B. Fisher, PhD:
"Keep strong, if possible. In any case, keep cool. Have unlimited patience. Never corner an opponent and always assist him to save his face. Put yourself in his shoes—so as to see things through his eyes. Avoid self-righteousness like the devil—nothing is so self-blinding."
How to do that? Follow cognitive scientist George Lakoff's advice in his book Don't Think of an Elephant:
Show respect.
Respond by reframing.
Think and talk on the level of values.
Say what you believe.
10/15/17 Update
Duty to Warn video, deals with Goldwater Rule, bias from politics, and other issues.
11/11/17 Update
This powerful letter from all the psychiatrists and therapists has gone out to all of Congress. (You need to be a Facebook user to access the page.)
Also, the book's contributors have a website with actionable suggestions: Duty to Warn.
1/17/18 Update
In light of the recent conclusions from Trump's physician, I think the following two items are important.
From New York Times editorial about fitness to serve from a U.S. Air Force psychiatrist.
From a contributor to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump
"Just a note regarding the White House doctor's use of the MoCA [Montreal Cognitive Assessment] to access the cognitive health of the nation's 'leader.' This is not a test that would diagnose the non-biological mental health issues he has. It is used to measure the progression and severity of cognitive impairment, as with Dementia."
speedbird8302's review against another edition
4.0
Every Republican that loves Trump should read this book.
threeundertwopnw's review against another edition
5.0
Terrifying, fascinating, accessible. Should be required reading for everyone.
chicagoliz's review against another edition
3.0
I give this a high three stars. This book is a compilation of 27 papers that were presented at a conference regarding Donald Trump, and since they are all generally about the same topic, it is inevitable that they would be somewhat repetitive. I felt through most of the book that I was reading things I've read and heard before, countless times, although I did often find that I'd hear that night's news and nod my head, thinking, "Yep - that's what I just read about." So there were some tidbits of great insight and some of the papers were a terrific synthesis of what is going on and expressed some of my thoughts and concerns.
I do believe, and this is echoed throughout the book, that it is less important what specific psychiatric diagnoses Trump may have. Virtually all thinking people agree that he is a narcissist. Numerous other co-morbid diagnoses exist, and each one that was discussed fit and had substantial supporting evidence. But really, the primary concern is Trump's behavior itself, rather than whatever specific diagnosis might fit best. And that behavior has been easily observed by even the most casual Trump-watcher. Even more than the dangerousness of Trump, is the fact that we as a society have essentially caused this to happen. I understand our country is suffering from an epidemic of depression, but evidently, we are also suffering from an epidemic of narcissism, as it is posited that Trump finds such rabid support because fellow narcissists embrace him. Personally, what I find most disturbing is that we have 1/3 of the country that embraces Trump's dangerous nature, and actively cheers him on. We have another 1/3 who simply don't care enough about this danger, and even though some may find some of Trump's behavior alarming and disturbing, they aren't motivated enough to do anything to contain the danger. So, we have, at best, only 1/3 of the nation who is actively alarmed, concerned, and at least willing to act. Unfortunately, we seem impotent. The news media constantly reports on daily atrocities and the danger becomes clearer and clearer, yet nothing concrete seems to happen. I do hope that this third of the country is able to save us before it is too late.
In short, this is a useful book to have on hand, and something that might be consulted occasionally in assessing the behavior of Trump. It is probably best read one paper at a time, over a longer time period, perhaps interspersed with other books. I borrowed this one from the library, so I read it all at once, and that exacerbated the repetitive nature of the book. It does make for informative reading, but again, I still often felt that I'd already heard most of it already.
I do believe, and this is echoed throughout the book, that it is less important what specific psychiatric diagnoses Trump may have. Virtually all thinking people agree that he is a narcissist. Numerous other co-morbid diagnoses exist, and each one that was discussed fit and had substantial supporting evidence. But really, the primary concern is Trump's behavior itself, rather than whatever specific diagnosis might fit best. And that behavior has been easily observed by even the most casual Trump-watcher. Even more than the dangerousness of Trump, is the fact that we as a society have essentially caused this to happen. I understand our country is suffering from an epidemic of depression, but evidently, we are also suffering from an epidemic of narcissism, as it is posited that Trump finds such rabid support because fellow narcissists embrace him. Personally, what I find most disturbing is that we have 1/3 of the country that embraces Trump's dangerous nature, and actively cheers him on. We have another 1/3 who simply don't care enough about this danger, and even though some may find some of Trump's behavior alarming and disturbing, they aren't motivated enough to do anything to contain the danger. So, we have, at best, only 1/3 of the nation who is actively alarmed, concerned, and at least willing to act. Unfortunately, we seem impotent. The news media constantly reports on daily atrocities and the danger becomes clearer and clearer, yet nothing concrete seems to happen. I do hope that this third of the country is able to save us before it is too late.
In short, this is a useful book to have on hand, and something that might be consulted occasionally in assessing the behavior of Trump. It is probably best read one paper at a time, over a longer time period, perhaps interspersed with other books. I borrowed this one from the library, so I read it all at once, and that exacerbated the repetitive nature of the book. It does make for informative reading, but again, I still often felt that I'd already heard most of it already.
fitbooks's review against another edition
3.0
The first two sections of this book were fantastic. But I feel it was dragged on and became tediously repetitive. Although overall a good read and would recommend to any psycho-political student.