The Trump Survival Guide

January 30, 2017
In this up-to-the-minute work, Stone (How Not To Die) assembles a comprehensive guide for Americans who want to push back against the Trump agenda. With his collaborators (who include Carl Pritzkat, v-p of business development for Publishers Weekly’s parent company, PWxyz), Stone addresses 12 key issues, including civil rights, the economy, entitlement programs, health insurance, and immigration. Each is divided into several sections: a Wikipedia-style quick historical overview; what happened under the Obama administration; worst-case scenarios asking “What might Donald Trump do?”; and “What you can do,” with information on how to get involved, organizations to join and support, further reading, and the like. THis book has everything novice activists need to get started, all in one place. Its historical primers are written with admirable immediacy, reflecting the importance of quick action or perhaps the quick turnaround time of the book’s creation. The “What you can do” sections, which could easily have been repetitive, are instead varied and each worthy of careful perusal. Americans concerned about their country’s fate under a Donald Trump presidency will find that this book is the ideal resource for meaningful civic engagement.

For the majority of the nation's citizens feeling shocked and bereaved by the election of Donald Trump, Stone (The Secrets of People who Never Get Sick, 2010, etc.) offers guidance for dealing with some of the key issues. With the media scrambling to comprehend Trump's stunning victory over Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8, 2016, and with much of the nation continuing to mourn the results, publishers are rushing out books about this unprecedented event. Stone, who wrote a similar book in 2004 regarding George W. Bush, here focuses his attention on the dozen most crucial issues that were contentiously debated during the long, grueling election process. In separate chapters, the author begins with concise overviews of the history and evolution of our nation's civil rights movement, economy, education, Medicare and Medicaid, the environment, immigration policies, LGBTQ issues, national security, Obamacare, political divisions, and women's rights. He then assesses whatever level of progress was made concerning each cause during the eight-year administration of Barack Obama. Acknowledging that Trump hasn't provided much in the way of concrete agendas within his campaign beyond bombastic and often contradictory rhetoric, Stone conjectures on possible worst-case scenarios, especially when considered within the context of Trump's divisive choices for key Cabinet posts. While the futures of any of these issues ultimately remain uncertain, the possible threats cannot be ignored, and the author offers reasonable means to combat each one. Though lacking concrete solutions, the book provides substantial resources, including lists of leading organizations to contact or for volunteer consideration and books worth reading on each subject. First and foremost, however, he advises readers to write or call elected representatives to voice their concerns.A comprehensive resource guide for individuals worried that certain rights may be in jeopardy, offering the encouragement to actively fight back with as much knowledge and authority as possible. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.