Trump: The Art of the Deal
Business Memoir Entrepreneurship Collectible First Editions Real Estate Negotiation 1980s Culture
First-edition hardcover of Trump: The Art of the Deal (1988) is the cornerstone title every business-studies shelf needs. Published at the height of the 1980s deal-making boom, this is the uncut, first-printing text that set the template for modern entrepreneurial memoirs. Collectors prize the 1st edition because later printings were subtly shortened and the dust-jacket artwork was changed, making this original black-and-gold jacket instantly recognizable—and increasingly scarce in any condition.
Inside, Donald Trump and co-writer Tony Schwartz walk readers through the $100-million Trump Tower negotiations, the Hyatt hotel transformation, and the Atlantic City casino gambits that became Harvard Business School case studies. Unlike ghost-written CEO puff pieces, the book delivers concrete tactics: how to use “truthful hyperbole,” when to walk away, and why media leverage can multiply a deal’s value. Professors still assign the title for its real-world examples of risk assessment, branding, and creative financing.
This copy shows the honest patina of a 35-year-old survivor: dust jacket has a small corner tear and light edge rubs, while a few page margins display the classic light foxing common to 1988 Ballantine paper stock. The binding is square and tight, all pages are present and readable, and there are no prior owner names, underlines, or bookplates. For collectors, that means an affordable first printing that displays well but is priced below pristine-mint premiums.
Own the book that coined the phrase “deal-maker” in popular culture. Whether you are a business student, a political historian, or a collector of 1980s cultural artifacts, this first-edition hardcover anchors the narrative of American enterprise at the moment of its most flamboyant expansion.
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