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  • Commander in Cheat

  • How Golf Explains Trump
  • Written by: Rick Reilly
  • Narrated by: Rick Reilly
  • Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (67 ratings)

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Commander in Cheat cover art

Commander in Cheat

Written by: Rick Reilly
Narrated by: Rick Reilly
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best seller

"Reilly pokes more holes in Trump's claims than there are sand traps on all of his courses combined. It is by turns amusing and alarming." (The New Yorker)

"Golf is the spine of this shocking, wildly humorous book, but humanity is its flesh and spirit." (Chicago Sun-Times)

"Every one of Trump's most disgusting qualities surfaces in golf." (The Ringer)

An outrageous indictment of Donald Trump's appalling behavior when it comes to golf - on and off the green - and what it reveals about his character.

Donald Trump loves golf. He loves to play it, buy it, build it, and operate it. He owns 14 courses around the world and runs another five, all of which he insists are the best on the planet. He also claims he's a three handicap, almost never loses, and has won an astonishing 18 club championships.

How much of all that is true? Almost none of it, acclaimed sportswriter Rick Reilly reveals in this unsparing look at Trump in the world of golf.

Based on Reilly's own experiences with Trump as well as interviews with over 100 golf pros, amateurs, developers, and caddies, Commander in Cheat is a startling and at times hilarious indictment of Trump and his golf game. You'll learn how Trump cheats (sometimes with the help of his caddies and Secret Service agents), lies about his scores (the "Trump Bump"), tells whoppers about the rank of his courses and their worth (declaring that every one of them is worth $50 million), and tramples the etiquette of the game (driving on greens doesn't help). Trump doesn't brag so much, though, about the golf contractors he stiffs, the course neighbors he intimidates, or the way his golf decisions wind up infecting his political ones.

For Trump, it's always about winning. To do it, he uses the tricks he picked up from the hustlers at the public course where he learned the game as a college kid, and then polished as one of the most bombastic businessmen of our time. As Reilly writes, "Golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man." Commander in Cheat "paints a side-splitting portrait of a congenital cheater" (Esquire), revealing all kinds of unsightly truths Trump has been hiding.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Rick Reilly (P)2019 Hachette Audio

What the critics say

"[Commander in Cheat] is filled with vivid allegations about Trump's cheating—how he once threw broadcaster Mike Tirico's ball off the green during a round, how he manipulates the value of his courses to get tax breaks, how he exaggerates his golf scores."—The Washington Post

"Commander in Cheat is an incredibly creative book, regardless what you think of President Trump, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum. It takes us places behind the press conferences and the staged interviews....It take us into Trump's past, places where there were no cameras, no speech writers, no handlers, no aides. It is just Donald Trump with his appetites, Donald Trump with his excesses, Donald Trump with his flaws. Donald Trump with both his love for golf, and his propensity to play games with the truth."—The Providence Journal

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Famulous Audio Read!!

I loved this read!!

I found myself laughing out loud so many times. Rick’s reading this in his own words was perfect, when he would imitate Donald it was like I could actually hear Donald saying it.

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3 people found this helpful

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Guilty Pleasure

For me, I started reading this as an act of self-indulgence, a practice of masochism that I continually fuel with late night television, and I imagine it’s the same for you.

I think everyone considering this book goes in knowing what they are going to hear. Donald Trump lies, Donald Trump exaggerates, Donald Trump is altogether not the person you want him to be. So, for reviewing this book, the facts are not really the star or the focus, even with how hilarious, infuriating and downright cringe worthy they are throughout the book. I won’t mention any details here, and all things aside, I would implore you to listen to the book for all the facts you needed for your next dinner party.

However, as an avid golfer myself, I find that Rick Reilly's underlying premise is one I couldn't quite articulate until reading this book, yet I find an apt description of The Donald . "If you are this way on the course, you'll be this way in life." Simple, yet elegant, and the book thesis is well backed up with source material.

Rick's plea for us to understand the man through the lens of the game him and his family loves underlies a broader more politically charged argument ongoing every day in the media. However, I found it refreshing and easy to digest. The background of Golf History, course material, as well as player anecdotes kept it firmly within the sports writing Rick is known for, and I wanted from the book.

All that being said, one thing I found myself regrettably thinking of from this book, whether it was intended or not, was a undeniable sense of...respect? maybe admiration? for the man in question. Regardless of all the help, tactics, and downright mafia style approach to his life, you get the same sense as his playing partners did in the book. "This man is just fun to watch" Like rooting for Walter White in Breaking Bad, yet his decisions actually impact the world around you.

Overall, I firmly recommend this book to anyone with their feet in spikes, yet you might find yourself getting a little more than you bargained for when indulging your guilty pleasure.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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An anti-Trump rant almost from start to finish.

Much more a speculative slander on Trump then a good read for an avid golfer.

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This book must be taken seriously.

There is a danger that the title of this book would lead a potential reader to pass it by as not worthy of serious readers. That would be a mistake. It is a profound extended metaphor of the character of Donald Trump. It is more revealing and disheartening than the political books. The last line summarizes it well: you can buy a trophy and say you won the tournament, but you are no champion.

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  • MM
  • 2019-05-27

A must for every golfer or non golfer!

It all make sense now. A phenomenal book that fills in so many questionable areas regarding Trump. It is a book that I cannot stop talking about. I am a golfer but my non golfers listened as well and loved it. Well done and the presentation was perfect!

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You don't need to love golf to enjoy this book

I have zero interest in golf. None. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fantastic performance. I would recommend.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Very anti Trump

It was okay...I wasn't surprised about much of what I heard in the book. The book just wasn't very interesting. It was the same thing over and over... Trump lies, and he is a terrible person. 100% the author is a staunch Democrat.

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Best book ever

If anyone wants to really know why Trump's a fraud and how it started. This is a must listen for you! ❤️ Love it.

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