by Craig Unger
First published 2018
Craig Unger investigates the multidecade relationship between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Russian organized crime figures. The author documents how this alliance began in the 1970s when Trump entered New York real estate and continued through his presidential inauguration. Unger argues that Putin orchestrated a long campaign to weaken Western democracy, ensnaring Trump through financial bailouts of his failed Atlantic City properties more than twenty years before his election. The book reveals how Trump's real estate empire became a conduit for billions of dollars flowing from the collapsing Soviet Union. Unger connects American political operatives with Russian criminal networks, showing how Trump's financial troubles made him vulnerable to foreign influence. The investigation covers key figures including Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and Felix Sater, demonstrating their roles in this web of relationships. Unger presents evidence that Russia's post-Cold War recovery involved covert operations against the West, with Trump serving as a crucial asset in Putin's efforts to restore Russian global power.
Genres: history, political-science, politics, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, deception
Setting: Atlantic City, New York, Russia, Soviet Union
Period: 1970s, 2010s
354 pages · Hardcover · Dutton