The Chris Voss Show

NEGOTIATING WITH TRUMP: LESSONS ON POWER, INFLUENCE, AND DEALING WITH EXTREME BARGAINERS by PETER D. JOHNSTON

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980942179

WHAT MAKES DONALD TRUMP TICK? Is the world negotiating with a madman—or a genius? Is his chaotic approach to influence instinct-driven, or is it a calculated strategy? And did the co-author of The Art of the Deal secure a second presidency because of his negotiation style, or in spite of it?

To endure and flourish in the era of the 47th president, we need more than political commentary. We need a playbook—one that helps us see patterns and analyze for ourselves what’s going on, while empowering us to excel in our own negotiations.

In Negotiating with Trump, Peter D. Johnston applies the objective lens of a negotiation expert to decode President Trump’s tactics. Johnston exposes the mechanics of Trump’s leverage, digging into his personality profile, his mastery of our psychological tendencies, and the coalition building that drives his agenda.

From the boardroom and the international stage to your living room, this is a systematic and entertaining examination of what works, what fails, and what we can learn from Trump’s extreme approaches to negotiation. Whether you are closing a business deal, negotiating conflicts at home, or hoping to influence America’s next steps as a nation, this book will force you to rethink what you know about power, persuasion, and the art of the deal.

About the author

Peter D. Johnston is an international negotiation expert, a leading advisor, thinker, practitioner, and negotiation speaker. His bestselling book, “Negotiating with Giants,” relays lessons from his advisory work, research, and history’s most difficult negotiations, ranging from trade deals and hostage-takings to the achievement of Magna Carta. He is also the author of “Negotiating with Trump” (June 2026) and the award-winning novel, “Weapons of Peace” (2019). His negotiation results have been formally recognized by the US Government for their positive economic and social impact, domestically and abroad. He is the Managing Director of Negotiation Advice International (NAI).

The Clinton Mafia by Vonda Crocker

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FCRXPLMM

Vondacrocker.com

A group of drug runners in Mobile, Alabama have been traveling north to the small southern town Clinton to hide cocaine in fudge then continuing to Kansas City .

The plot thickens as the local mafia becomes suspicious and begins investigating.

God, by Man by Oguchi H Nkwocha

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DR3NBT52

In this bound-to-be controversial work of theological scholarship, Oguchi H. Nkwocha, M.D., propounds some fascinating and bold theories about religious beliefs. Rather than support his contentions with an abundance of scriptural quotations, the author skillfully builds the case for his unorthodox views with deductive reasoning.Taking an antifundamentalist stance, he asks readers to reexamine man’s relationship with God. The author reveals how various religions and religious sects function by inventing gods and then assigning those “creations” the qualities of omniscience and omnipotence. Evading the reality of the real Supreme Being, mankind has often manufactured his gods in his own image.Instead of presenting his striking theories in an abstract manner, this writer/philosopher relates the shortcomings of many religions by juxtaposing them with such contemporary issues as homelessness, sexism, and ecology-issues which most religions fail to address squarely, if at all. Dr. Nkwocha’s book is at its most compelling when it dissects the way in which religions have evolved from mankind’s need to understand the complex mysteries of nature.Students of religious history will be eager traveling companions on this journey through times as Nkwocha delves into pagan rituals, the traditional political power of the priesthood, and the manner in which our gods continue to fail us when we seek answers to cosmic enigmas.Whether you are an atheist, an agnostic, or a true believer, this profound treatise offers grounds for enlightened spiritual discussion.

Golden Men: The Power of Gay Midlife by Harold Kooden PH D

Oneness.com

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Men-Power-Gay-Midlife/dp/1967361495

The coming-out process has taught a gay man many lessons that are useful throughout his life. This book details the depth and range of these lessons which in combination with many of the unique life experiences, the gay man is actually well-prepared to successfully deal with his entrance into middle age and beyond. The sequential exercises facilitate a focused path for successful aging in comparison with other books on this topic. This book is unique in its exploration of the coming-out process and its relevance for a lifetime of successful aging. Though originally written and published in 2000 for gay men, the subsequent public response has shown that the exercises and the principles of aging are applicable to all people.

Charles Silverstein, Ph.D., author of The Joy of Gay Sex, writes: “(Golden Men) is certain to be the seminal work on gay middle age. . .Kooden’s book belongs on the bookshelf of every gay man.”

Lessons from a Lost Republic: What Ancient Rome Can Teach Us About This American Moment by Michelle Berenfeld

https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Lost-Republic-Ancient-American/dp/1966302215

Michelleberenfeld.com

A lively pocket history of the Roman Republic’s collapse—and its unsettling echoes in our own political moment.

Americans are obsessed with Rome. Billionaires and manosphere pundits wax on about its military might, its gladiators, its emperors, its greatness.

But we’re telling ourselves the wrong story.

In this sharp, eye-opening account, classics professor Michelle Berenfeld redirects our gaze. The Roman Empire isn’t the lesson—the Roman Republic is. Nearly five centuries of representative government, undone by forces that should sound familiar: wealth and power concentrated in the hands of elites, rampant political violence, endless expansionist wars, and a Senate that normalized emergency measures until it had nothing left to protect. One by one, aspiring strongmen seized what the Senate had surrendered, stretching the limits of their legal power, using the military against their own people, undermining elections, and killing their enemies—until one of them, Augustus, gained total control and became an emperor.

Berenfeld’s argument is both clarifying and urgent: Rome’s slide into autocracy was not inevitable—and neither is ours. Smart, spirited, and packed with revelatory detail, Lessons from a Lost Republic is a wake-up call two thousand years in the making, a reminder that the republic is ours to protect.

About the author

Michelle Berenfeld is the John A. McCarthy Professor of Classics at Pitzer College, one of the Claremont Colleges. An archaeologist and fellow of the American Academy in Rome, she has done research in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, and Italy. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic and numerous scholarly publications. She lives in Los Angeles.