Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump: The brilliant New York Times bestseller 2019
£9.60£12.30 (-22%)
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR. FROM THE JUDGES:
‘Rick Reilly lets Donald’s Trump relationship with his favourite sport speak for itself. Commander in Cheat is full of astonishing ‘you could not make it up’ detail delivered in full knowledge that nothing revealed would embarrass the President one jot. You will be howling with laughter and gasping in disbelief in equal measure so be careful when reading this fascinating book in public.’
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GENERAL OUTSTANDING SPORTS WRITING AWARD AT THE 2020 TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.
‘An eye-watering account of the president’s abuse of the rules of golf’ The Sunday Times
‘Reilly pokes more holes in Trump’s claims than there are sand traps on all his courses combined. It is by turns amusing and alarming’ The New Yorker
Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump is a fascinating on-the-ground and behind-the-scenes survey of Donald Trump’s ethics deficit on and off the golf course.Renowned sports writer Rick Reilly transports readers onto the greens with President Trump, revealing the absurd ways in which he lies about his feats, and what they can tell us about the way he leads off the course in the most important job in the world.
‘Golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man.’
Reilly has been with Trump on the fairways, the greens and in the rough, he has seen how the President plays – and it’s not pretty. Based on his personal experiences, and interviews with dozens of golf pros, amateurs, developers, partners, opponents, and even caddies who have first-hand involvement with Trump out on the course, Reilly takes a deep and often hilarious look at how Trump shamelessly cheats at golf, lies about it, sues over it, bullies with it, and profits from it.
‘Somebody should point out that the way Trump does golf is sort of the way he does a presidency, which is to operate as though the rules are for other people.’
From Trump’s ridiculous claim to have won eighteen club championships, to his devious cheating tricks, to his tainted reputation as a golf course tycoon, Commander in Cheat tells you everything you need to know about the man.
‘You could write a book about what Trump’s golf reveals about him. Here it is.’
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Additional information
| Publisher | Headline (28 May 2020) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 272 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1472266110 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1472266118 |
| Dimensions | 12.6 x 2.6 x 19.6 cm |
by Martha Caflisch
Worth reading. Interesting details about a special character ????
by Richard Blows
Still working my way through but it’s a very insiteful insight into the mind of one of the most polarising people of out time.
Some of the revelations are shocking it’s hard to believe what people put up with in order to do business with him. It also gives an insight as to why people queue up to to so.
It probably won’t change your opinion of him, it will likely galvanise it. I bought the book (rather than a kindle copy) as I knew I would want to share it. Its one your gonna want to talk to other people about.
by Old pharmacist
This book describes what I have thought for many years. Trump has no idea about most things , but when it comes to golf he has sadly done the game a lot of harm.
Golf is a self regulating game , and the biggest sin is cheating deliberately to gain an advantage. It’s a microcosm of life really, and Rick Reilly has done a great job in explaining why Trump is such an untrustworthy and ruthlessly dangerous man to have any responsibility for office again .
by Mr. S. Bailey
I know nothing of golf, other than to smash around a few balls around a public course with a mate once in a blue moon. I know the frustration of the game, losing balls in the rough, or the ‘plonk’ of ball in the lake. But the descriptions of Trumps shenanigans on the course sum up perfectly his behaviour as POTUS. My criticism only extends to the repetition of some tales (which I read as tales that REALLY irked the author) in different chapters, and to many references to American celebrities that are relatively unknown in the UK. For me, the great reveal was in the penultimate chapter, a build up through the stories of the caddies that work at Trumps golf resorts. Everything now makes sense.
by bilbocroft
Well, I’ve completed the book, Commander in Cheat. Although not actually ‘reading’, I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the audio version with the author, Rick Reilly himself reading aloud. I thoroughly enjoyed the amusing personal experiences he’s had with Trump and the anecdotes collected from caddies, golf professionals, other journalists and Trump staff or golf partners (most of whom wanted to remain, for obvious reasons, incognito). Rick and his family are steeped in a love of golf and he uses the game’s protocols and etiquette and vast amounts of detail to illustrate with fascinating insights, the (lack of) character of the so-called leader of the free world – non of which will be surprising or shocking for those of us well-versed in the Trumpian MO. The lying, the cheating, the shameless bullying, the meanness, the BS. The book is dense with detailed research which I appreciated – the only error which stuck out is the same one as Trump himself made and that is the stated birthplace of his father. Overall I was left with an impression that Rick was both sad and angry. Certainly Trump was no sort of a gentleman but nobody was a bigger loser than Trump himself, cheating himself out of the pleasure and satisfaction of the honest achievement of a good, fair game of golf with trusted friends all pitting themselves against a course and the elements. Worst of all for Rick was Trump’s golf legacy. That he’s left, “a big orange stain on the game that they may never get out.”
Trump’s elitist view of golf seen as a game only for the already successful, (despite the vast majority of golfers playing on public courses, “four hours of fresh air fun”, costing no more than $35) Trump’s affect on the future success of Rick’s beloved game of golf, his lies and his cheating has made, “golf terrible again”.
Apologies to any golfers – I’m as yet a golf ????️♀️ virgin.
by Steve Cummins
The facts and figures regarding his golf scores, awards, titles etc – how somebody can cheat so regularly and force those around him to run with him….unbelievable!!
by Ton
I enjoyed this book though I couldn’t read it in one go. I had to take a short break as I was getting too annoyed at the underhanded ways of Mr Trump. Even though the author wrote about him with humour that at times had me laughing out loud I still struggled with his bullying tactics.
by Brougham
Most of this information was already in plain view, but Reilly puts it all together and comprehensively skewers someone he’s known for over 30 years. In doing so he successfully proves his central thesis, that Trump’s approach to golf (both playing it, and developing courses) is perhaps the most accurate predictor of his conduct generally and in office. The cheating when he plays is universally attested to, but is the least interesting bit of the book, because it’s unsurprising and merely pathetic. Reilly is better on the golf course development material – the squalid deals, his lack of taste and the pitiful pathological desire for his ugly courses to be highly rated. The book is all the more effective for not just being an anti-Trump rant. He is a conservative (with a small c) golf writer with no axe other than a golfing one to grind. He even gives some credit where he thinks it’s due (even though it’s not – luxury accommodation at the base of the Turnberry lighthouse is an improvement?!) and speaks to plenty of Trump loyalists. But the basic facts and big lies – “18 Club Championships”, “Trump LA is better than Pebble Beach” – and the stiffing of contractors, locals and members, all speak for themselves.
A highly enjoyable and quick read. Do yourself and the world a favour, and never set foot on a Trump course.