Rocket Man: Nuclear Madness and the Mind of Donald Trump - Political Analysis Book on US Leadership & Global Tensions - Perfect for Historians and Political Science Enthusiasts

This outstanding collection of essays puts a laser-like focus on the alarming character traits and malignant personality disorders of the current White House occupant. The blue-ribbon panel of expert contributors speak with a common voice, but with many threads that detail the alarming implications of these traits - for our nation and for the world at large.The focus of many chapters, and properly so, is the threat of nuclear holocaust from a malignant narcissist with unfettered access to the nuclear codes. But the potentials for destruction in other policy venues, and their everyday reality, are played out as a daily horror show - with families separated at the border, travel bans imposed for religious groups, cuts to budget items that provide lifelines to many millions of Americans, and trade wars started on specious grounds, threatening both the domestic and global economy. All of these actions serve the narcissistic needs of their promulgator, and are delivered with an unending stream of lies, misrepresentations and outright fabrications.As a neuroscientist, I have insights on the brain circuitry and abnormal brain functions that underlie these pathological behavior patterns. That said, there is much here that is familiar to the average American, or at least to those who have paid attention to relevant media reporting. But the sheer force of accumulated facts, and expert warnings, is not just chilling to consider. It is a five-alarm fire that threatens us all - in every walk of life, and across multiple spheres of policy and prospective outcomes.A few sample quotes and chapter titles will provide specific context for the messages from the experts.“A leader who is so grossly ill that he represents a mortal threat to life, liberty, and the American way of life” (Gartner, “Introduction: Everyone on Planet Earth is Trump’s Hostage”).“By having no moral compass, no consistency of values, an inability to defer immediate gratification, or to regulate his emotions and reflect on them, he is always at the mercy of his aggressive impulses and his appetites” (Segal, Chapter 1).Chapter 3 (Buser) expertly details the assertion that Trump would not be certified (as an Airman) psychologically fit to handle nuclear weapons. Chapter 4 (Reiss) documents that as a Policeman, he would have his gun taken away; and Chapter 5 (Enyart) shows that if entering the military, he would not receive a security clearance. These discussions highlight the absurdity of the current situation as a clear and present danger, one that could lead to catastrophic outcomes at any time.(Chapter 8, West): “Facing the Truth: Trump wields the power of a predatory narcissist and may destroy us all”.“Perhaps the most difficult feat…is facing, fully and honestly, just how deeply destructive and dangerous he is at his core…our survival as a species may depend on facing this reality head on”.(Chapter 10, Painter and Watt): “The gospel of war presidency”“With the president’s pronounced instability and bellicose rhetoric on a sharp incline, his appointment of John Bolton as his national security adviser is tantamount to adding a boatload of gasoline to an already raging fire”.Chapter 10 also highlights other key White House advisers who amplify his worst tendencies, and/or recommend policies that play directly to cruelty implicit in his pathologies. As one key example, Trump's zero-tolerance BORDER POLICY hails from Rev. Ralph Drollinger, and his extremist sway over 8 cabinet members who attend his weekly prayer meetings. Drollinger teaches that "separation from their children" is the biblical consequence for parents crossing the U.S. border. Similar accounts of White House and Cabinet enablers are chillingly presented in other chapters.The bottom line that emerges from this stunning collection of expert accounts: we are in a position of extreme and ever-present danger in this country, and the danger threatens everyone in the world. The guardrails of our democracy have failed us to this point - we have gone off the rails and into a very deep ditch. This book is a clear warning that we must take steps to regain control of our political system, before it is too late.