Back in 2017, I selected this book as a winner in our Non-Obvious Book Awards program that year because of how perfectly it described a new sort of persuasive art that then President-elect Donald Trump had perfectly mastered. Just in time for this latest election, Dilbert-creator Scott Adams has a 2nd Edition of the book out (released in September 2024) and it’s worth picking up. I have to admit, I’m conflicted about him as a person. The level of delight he takes in childish name calling and his overall smug speaking style is hard to like.
But his writing is clever, his insights are spot on and his perspective is highly useful for understanding why Trump is continually able to connect with so many people. So this is one of those “separate the book from the writer” cases where I recommend reading this new edition of his book anyway despite the author’s personality. Just try to avoid accidentally suffering through listening to Adams give an interview or watching one of his rambling online videos and stick to his writing.
About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:
Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.
