Much of the media is treating the contest as just another reality show, in which any day we’re going to tune in to watch Trump get voted off. But in the aptly titled and perfectly timed “Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success,” Michael D’Antonio, a former Newsday reporter and author of over a dozen books, places Trump’s life and career in a context that helps explain why his emergence at the top of Republican presidential polls was not only plausible but inevitable. In the self-absorption and self-promotion he has practiced all his life, “Donald Trump is not a man apart,” D’Antonio contends. “He is, instead, merely one of us writ large.”

“Never Enough” is an admirably straight­forward, evenhanded but nonetheless damning account of Trump’s life, including his failed marriages and businesses and his emergence as a reality television star and presidential ­contender. Trump provided some access before cutting off D’Antonio and his research assistant after they dared to interview someone on his long list of enemies....

This year Forbes pegs Trump’s wealth at $4.1 billion, which, while less than half the $9 billion Trump claims, indeed makes him rich. Much of that wealth comes from the Trump brand rather than deal-making per se. His star turn on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” his licensing fees, his books, his speaking engagements, even his men’s wear line, have brought in millions. He’s had good divorce lawyers.

But he’s hardly another Henry R. Kravis or Carl C. Icahn. Four of his heavily indebted casino companies filed for bankruptcy, stiffing his creditors. Citibank took possession of the ill-fated Trump Shuttle airline. Trump himself narrowly escaped personal bankruptcy. As David Segal of The Washington Post wrote: “The people who know the least about business admire him the most, and those who know the most about business admire him the least.”