Michael D'Antonio

In the hours I spent with President Trump as I researched the biography The Truth About Trump he showed interest in me just once. He suggested that if I wrote a "good book" -- meaning one that pleased him -- I could make "millions." When I explained that a good biography served the reader and not the subject's whims, he replied, "Well, if that's how you see it..."

The way I see it is that the reader always comes first. I owe him/her clarity, precision, and a good story. All this is done with loyalty to the facts and respect for the complexities of human character in context.

Besides the influence of family and growing-up experiences in small town New Hampshire I have been most affected by two people I met in college, my wife Toni and my first mentor, writer Donald Murray. Both have encouraged me to express my creativity, connect with others, and find ways to serve. They understood intuitively what I later found expressed so well by Viktor Frankl in Man's Search for Meaning. Finally, I've found that if I don't take myself too seriously, and add a little silliness, it's a pretty good recipe.

Today I live in Long Island, not far from the sound. I have two grown daughters, Amy and Elizabeth, who have become the other great influences on my life.