George W. BushRecensioni

Informative but rather dry. The most interesting part for me, is that you know who George W. Bush likes on the world stage, and who he didn't quite like.

This took me almost a week to read. Way longer than it normally takes me to read a book. I was surprised by how much I liked it. His personality really came through and it was formatted in a way that you went from one important point in his presidency to the next. Pages weren't filled with names or particulars that weren't relevant. His deep faith and his humor both came through in perfect balance. Also his mother's humor peppered the book and she cracked me up. I think Ill add her book to my tbr list as a result.

Read by the Author President George W Bush

FROM AMAZON: In this candid and gripping account, President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions that shaped his presidency and personal life.

George W. Bush served as president of the United States during eight of the most consequential years in American history. The decisions that reached his desk impacted people around the world and defined the times in which we live.

Decision Points brings readers inside the Texas governor's mansion on the night of the 2000 election, aboard Air Force One during the harrowing hours after the attacks of September 11, 2001, into the Situation Room moments before the start of the war in Iraq, and behind the scenes at the White House for many other historic presidential decisions.

For the first time, we learn President Bush's perspective and insights on:
His decision to quit drinking and the journey that led him to his Christian faith
The selection of the vice president, secretary of defense, secretary of state, Supreme Court justices, and other key officials
His relationships with his wife, daughters, and parents, including heartfelt letters between the president and his father on the eve of the Iraq War
His administration's counterterrorism programs, including the CIA's enhanced interrogations and the Terrorist Surveillance Program
Why the worst moment of the presidency was hearing accusations that race played a role in the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, and a critical assessment of what he would have done differently during the crisis
His deep concern that Iraq could turn into a defeat costlier than Vietnam, and how he decided to defy public opinion by ordering the troop surge
His legislative achievements, including tax cuts and reforming education and Medicare, as well as his setbacks, including Social Security and immigration reform
The relationships he forged with other world leaders, including an honest assessment of those he did and didn’t trust
Why the failure to bring Osama bin Laden to justice ranks as his biggest disappointment and why his success in denying the terrorists their fondest wish—attacking America again—is among his proudest achievements
A groundbreaking new brand of presidential memoir, Decision Points will captivate supporters, surprise critics, and change perspectives on eight remarkable years in American history—and on the man at the center of events.

Since leaving office, President George W. Bush has led the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. The center includes an active policy institute working to advance initiatives in the fields of education reform, global health, economic growth, and human freedom, with a special emphasis on promoting social entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for women around the world. It will also house an official government archive and a state-of-the-art museum that will open in 2013.

First edition as new

I’m not a political being by any stretch of the imagination, but something about this book just made me want to read it. It may have been the fact the election of the 43rd President was my first experience of the US voting system, or the plain and simple fact that most books written about those who have held a position of great power, such as the 41 in this book, they are invariably written by someone who didn’t know them on a personal level.

Whether you are a diehard opponent of the Bush Family, or like me lean neither one way nor the other, this is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone. Within its pages the reader will find not the usual politic rhetoric that is so often the fate of a biography of this nature, but an actual personal look at the life of the 41st President of the United States.

The Author manages to remove the mystic that surrounds his Father by regaling the reader with not only personal stories of a nature known only to a family member, but writes these stories in a loving and caring manner. The stories contained with the pages of this work are not just limited to ‘41’, but also cover anecdotes about other members of the family, including the daughters of ‘43’ himself. Written in a manner that I would not have thought possible from this man, the book is full of humour, life and above all laughter and love.
There is a lot in this book that makes it earn a place on any readers’ bookshelves, and I will definitely purchasing a copy for my library.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/01/30/review-41-a-portrait-of-my-father-george-w...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I was never a fan of President George W. Bush; however, of George W. Bush, the artist, I am a fan. It was for the paintings that I bought this book. But, then I read the biography of each person whose portrait was included in the book. And it was inspiring. It made me proud of the U.S.A. in a way that has been difficult in recent years.
George W. Bush only painted people whom he has known, or at least met. That should be taken into consideration when I point out the weaknesses of the collection. Though there are a few Muslims and other non-Christians portrayed, the vast majority are Christians. Though there are a few "ordinary people" portrayed, the vast majority are those who have been exceptionally successful in business, politics, or sports. I believe I would have found the collection even more inspiring if there had been more school teachers, farm workers, waiters, Walmart employees, etc... The immigrants who love the U.S. even when it hasn't allowed them to become wealthy or famous. But I doubt an ex-President meets very many of these regular Joe's like me.
And the paintings which were my reason for buying the book in the first place? Excellent. Mr. Bush has grown in his retirement from a competent, but amateurish painter, to one who shows exceptional talent, especially in portraiture.

Former President George W. Bush painted pictures of many immigrants from various countries, and told their stories. I don't think his paintings are bad for one who started painting late in life. His real emphasis is on the amazing lives of the individuals he picked.

Former president paints and tells stories about immigrants who have overcome odds to be successful.

Listened to this as an audio book on one of my drives to Little Rock while at RS Dallas. Was given to me by my mom in 2020 as part of the CCHS library collection. I already had a lot of respect for George W, but this book increased that even more. I was afraid this book would come from the perspective of him defending himself and trying too hard to explain certain decisions, but instead it came across as someone who acknowledged many areas where he had to make very difficult decisions and how his moral construct to include his childhood and entire background, his friends and family, and other key influencers like his faith, helped guide him in his decision making process. I think each president should be required to write a book like this at the end of their presidency and the people of America should pick the specific decision points we want the president to write about. Highly recommend this to others.

I've only started reading this book and am enjoying this more than I thought I would.

I just can't get my head around the way this starts off like the xkcd cartoon - world leader destabilising the world or art school...hmmm.... - but it turns out maybe the guy can paint and it all should have turned out differently....

I just can't get my head around the way this starts off like the xkcd cartoon - world leader destabilising the world or art school...hmmm.... - but it turns out maybe the guy can paint and it all should have turned out differently....

The is George W. Bush's memoir of his time in office. Here he explains what he considers to be some of the most important or dramatic events of his presidency. Bush approaches each situation in a matter of fact way, explaining the information that he had at the time, the steps he took to gain more information and how he came to his decisions whether they be right or wrong.

I found some of the stories heartbreaking such as Bush's experiences of 9/11, his visits to Ground Zero, and the decisions he had to make after that. I also found many parts enlightening; in particular, more of the story was revealed relating to the Federal government's slow response to Katrina that shows that there is more than one side to every story. Or how the "Mission Accomplished"

I appreciated Bush's candor in the book in overcoming his own personal demons such as alcohol. I also enjoyed reading about his obvious love and devotion to his wife and family.

Parts of the book got bogged down with details about the minute decisions in government that would probably bore the most avid political science major. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

The notion of this book is very interesting. A Presidential biography written by a fellow President who is also a son. Parallels to the Adams family abound. George Bush the Elder, possessing a lifetime of experience in government, is like John Adams, also a one-term President. George W. Bush and John Quincy Adams are both sons who became President. Both sons had shortcomings which can be linked to their elite birth. Both sons knew how to work an establishment, and both faced the difficulty of seeming out-of-touch with the average American.

Upon completion, this biography left me with conflicting emotions. First, I grew a deeper admiration of George H.W. Bush (the Elder). Obviously W genuinely admires his father, and the writing allows that to shine through. Second, I felt more strongly that W was not qualified to be an American President. He saw the Republican party as a country club of sorts and lacked any real engagement with liberalism. HW seems to have wrestled with the issues of the day. W seems just to have coasted along.

I will dwell upon the positive. Reading about HW reminds me of a time before there was such a partisan divide in our politics. HW was a decent man who wanted to emphasize what we Americans have in common instead of dividing us to gain the upper hand. W chronicles several incidents in his life where HW chose the tougher road because of his commitment to decency.

W ties HW’s decency to his start in forgoing Yale to serve in World War II. Entering (and exiting) a war with purpose united HW’s generation and cemented their broad patriotism. Most men of his generation had fought for each other in war. This provided a common ethic and a common narrative which united them in times of political discord. Unfortunately, we lack that ethic today. With W, I stand in admiration of his father – even as a Democrat.

I’m not a political being by any stretch of the imagination, but something about this book just made me want to read it. It may have been the fact the election of the 43rd President was my first experience of the US voting system, or the plain and simple fact that most books written about those who have held a position of great power, such as the 41 in this book, they are invariably written by someone who didn’t know them on a personal level.

Whether you are a diehard opponent of the Bush Family, or like me lean neither one way nor the other, this is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone. Within its pages the reader will find not the usual politic rhetoric that is so often the fate of a biography of this nature, but an actual personal look at the life of the 41st President of the United States.

The Author manages to remove the mystic that surrounds his Father by regaling the reader with not only personal stories of a nature known only to a family member, but writes these stories in a loving and caring manner. The stories contained with the pages of this work are not just limited to ‘41’, but also cover anecdotes about other members of the family, including the daughters of ‘43’ himself. Written in a manner that I would not have thought possible from this man, the book is full of humour, life and above all laughter and love.
There is a lot in this book that makes it earn a place on any readers’ bookshelves, and I will definitely purchasing a copy for my library.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/01/30/review-41-a-portrait-of-my-father-george-w...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I'd picked up this book in bookstores a number of times and always set it down in favor of something else. But all of the tributes at 41's funeral made me think again - and I'm pleased that I did. His official biographer might have offered more details, but this is a son's portrait of a famous father. It gives a special depth to the tributes we heard earlier this month. It is an easy and often touching read of a truly decent and remarkable man. It will make you sad more of America's politicians are more like him.

He comes across as a little superficial, but not as unsympathetic.

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I think it’s interesting that Bush says that right when he was starting out in politics, he was hurt by being painted as the liberal outsider in Texas because of his Ivy League background. (Not that he comes across as a big student, but you know how ads are.) There’s something very intimidating about being called an outsider by a conservative. Sometimes liberals do it, and sometimes liberals call you cruel/oppressive, and I could be wrong, but there’s this real primitive Darwinian intimidation to being called an outsider or a weirdo by a right-winger.

I realize that doesn’t make Republicans sound good, but it makes Bush’s story more comprehensible if you think that that’s what he was afraid of more— because you can’t out-threaten against that.

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I was surprised how many Democrats there are in Texas state politics, although they sound distinctly Texan. “Tough and earthy”, working-class people.

.... Bush won over a quarter of the black vote to become governor of Texas; it was obviously a weakness of his comparatively but some conservative (perhaps conservative religious) black people did support him. I think that marks him as a different style of candidate than one that virtually no black people support.

.... I mean, I wouldn’t vote for him because I don’t see him making things better, but I don’t think—with the possible exception or two— that he made things worse. Even the things he did poorly (foreign policy) were old patterns; America had been a military spender for a long time; it’s not like he cooked it all up from scratch.

.... At the time, everything seemed new. “Anti-terrorism”. But a lot of Americans don’t trust each other, and the police naturally have some role in preventing people from destroying each other and starting a civil war, which at least did not happen during 2001-2009. There’s more division now, perhaps, but the roots of it can be traced back to historical times, and a past that people still disagree about— it didn’t all start in the age of Twitter.

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The Bush sort of president is far less crude than your average right-wing internet hater.

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It might have benefited from being more chronological, as it's not really a book of theory, but narrative.

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He may have been right about stem cells.

I mean, I support abortion rights because I think some people lack sympathy for girls who get “in trouble”, as they used to say. The whole thing just seems like a way to connive them out of a career.

But to just use human tissues as a resource to be exploited does seem like an extreme position, on a slippery slope to “Brave New World”, and I know that Aldous Huxley was not a stupid man.... I don’t really support this idea of amoral science that’s going to compromise our values, make us feel like anything can be bought. [It’s a scientist’s idle desire for power.]

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He had a difficult job to do after the attack.

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He did what appeared right, but without realizing that for an American president to go to war requires far less courage than to disappoint those who thought it obviously right for foreigners to die.

.... I just don’t think that it was top-down, with the president or some advisor discovering some threat and then telling other people who went along. I think it was bottom-up, with common people who wanted blood, and the president or whoever scrambling to keep up.

It’s not just politics; that’s just the surface. It’s culture. And it’s not a culture of peace, relatively few cultures are, but certainly not such a young culture as this one.

Among the working class, opinion is still mostly male, mostly conservative and mostly fearful, fear covered by anger, of course, because that’s easier. The only even noticeable alternative is mostly a desire for comfort, for wealth, and even that tendency is a little ashamed of itself, and when the wars start everyone just tries to keep up with the cowboys.

It’s not a war of principles, if there is such a thing. You can’t explain it to a monk. It’s pride. “My honor has been slighted; only blood can make it right.” “Gee wiz cowboy, that sounds terrible. On TV, can’t I talk about freedom instead?”

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“We don’t want to put captured terrorists on trial like civilians because they’re not really civilians.”
“So you’ll follow the prisoner of war rules.”
“War? Rules? Well, it’s not *really* a war.”
“So what are they?”
“They’re people who would mistreat us if they had the chance.”
“But you wouldn’t mistreat them; you want justice.”
“Are there rules to justice? I don’t know. But I know I have the moral high ground.”
“Because you’re an American.”
“Land of the free.”
“And you’re fighting a war.”
“Right, but they’re not soldiers.”
“Nor civilians.”
“Exactly.”
“They’re the trolls who live in the swamp.”
“And we’re gonna drain the swamp, praise Jesus!”

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The decision to go into Afganistan was reasonable, despite the risks, although I do think that Bush underestimated his task there by relegating it quickly to secondary status compared to Iraq, because you just don’t transform a place like Afganistan overnight. Even a decade or two in Afghanistan is a short time, winning a battle or two is nothing.

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There was some fuzzy thinking in the Bush White House. I wouldn’t say that there was the fear and loathing of Trump, but there was fuzzy thinking. “Here’s this thing; it’s great; did we plan it No; will it Solve All Problems: Yes!”

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I don’t think that Bush intentionally lied or that every criticism of him is equally just. But I do think that he had some fuzzy, self-deceptive thinking. Basically, “Iraq would be better off if America invaded.... therefore, Iraq is a threat, and America Must invade!”

Invading Iraq wasn’t exactly a vengeance strike, either, despite the fact that Saddam wasn’t behind 9/11 but the US invaded in a decidedly post-9/11 atmosphere when almost everybody in Washington was afraid of terrorism and afraid of looking weak. America had to prove it wasn’t weak; it had to do something great and grand, and Iraq is an important player in the Middle East, while Afghanistan is mostly in the backwoods.

It is true that in light of these grand Middle Eastern narratives Bush granted citizenship to soldiers of Mexican and other foreign national origin, while for Trump, for whom race stands in the forefront, there’s no way that filthy blood can earn anything, not even through the army.

But not having a strategy to avoid civil war after deposing a sectarian regime and sectarian privilege is just lazy. Intellectually lazy. Got-through-school-because-I’m-rich-and-connected-not-because-I-had-to-study lazy. And if Bush wasn’t seeking blood, what he was seeking was flattery, commander’s flattery, war flattery. You go to war, you marshal the troops and they give you their war yell, you’re a hero; it goes to your head. It doesn’t work equally well everywhere, but it works in Texas, and in the army. Although it’s ultimately them who pick up the tab for the president’s fancy night out.

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It’s hard not to overreact.

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His education policy was probably okay.

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Most of the time a single administration doesn’t cause a landslide change in domestic policy.

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While I don’t really agree with this attitude, I think that the militarism of the Bush administration abroad made Democrats perceive everything he did as an attack, even when he was just throwing out ideas for something important like Social Security that seriously needs some long-term thought.

I also think America got way too excited over 9/11, in general. It wounded our pride as the invulnerable superpower, but we really let it divide us.

People are way too eager to have enemies.

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He was not a great president.

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Heathcliff in love.

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The reason why nobody saw the compassionate Bush is that he put up the front of being the tough guy. That’s what he let people see.

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I can’t admit that I made a mistake, and, in the name of all the people I’ve gotten killed, I forbid you to tell them.

.... Because if you’re not a cowboy, you’re not an American.

.... Golly if a few more people die, I’ll never have to admit I was wrong.

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I feel a little conflicted reading the book, because my goal is to be more tolerant of conservatives, but the book doesn’t make me more of a conservative—quite the opposite.

Bush at his worst is quite arrogant, I can’t avoid that. But everyone inevitably acts out their patterns, regardless of how visible they are internationally.

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I get irritated; it passes.

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The Israeli cause is sympathetic.

Freedom in the world in general is a big sell, although I suppose it’s better than anti-communism (or Trumpist nationalism).

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If he hadn’t invaded Iraq, he could have talked about freedom without it sounding like some kind of euphemism; that was the ultimate price he paid for the military adventure— the values price.

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On the one hand he was a bad president; on the other hand, he wasn’t radically different from other presidents.

And we don’t need a civil war right now— as fun as that would be, for the first few hours (of the movie).

Better than I expected. I was reminded of things I had forgotten and also learned things about 41 that surprised me. For example, I knew about his service as a pilot in WW2, but not the story of his being shot down and rescued. I knew that one of his daughters, Robin, had died as a child, but not how. (This particular story is delivered well, without sentimentality; the reader learns that one of the rules of the house was that no one was to cry in front of Robin.) W. also leaves himself out of the picture--save when he occasionally says, "This would be something I learned years later" or when he offers a defense of the surge. Anyone who hates the Bushes will never read this; anyone else might enjoy it, especially the part about 41's friendship with Clinton. 41 had more achievements than he is usually credited with and, judging from the book, it seems out of character for him to crow about them.

I read this book years ago when it first came out. Bush was my Commander in Chief. He was elected shortly before I shipped to basic training and the bulk of my military career was under his leadership. I had always given him the benefit of the doubt and I firmly believed him to be doing what he genuinely thought best for the country.

This book gives a peek into the backroom conversations and the thought processes which went into the visible actions of his presidency. The stories frequently come across as a defense of his actions, though they never sound like excuses.

I was left with a reaffirmed belief in his genuineness and a new appreciation for the depth of his leadership and the frequency with which he took the high road and fell on his sword even when there was plenty of blame to go around.

I think this is a good read for anyone who wants some insight into 9/11 and the immediate aftermath, and if you take this work at face value, I think you will have an added appreciation for the challenges faced by whomever is in the highest office in the land.

I liked this book because it shows that there is a possibility to carve a new niche for your life regardless of age. Don't get me wrong, I know being a former president helps make the transition easier but I am being positive and believing it can happen for us all. GW is donating the proceeds from the sale of these books to Veterans so can't be mad about that. In addition to seeing portraits of soldiers, you are able to learn about them as people. Regardless of how you feel about GW, this is an excellent foray into art and literature.

It's a good read, helps me to know much more about the 41st President of the U.S. Only thing I don't quite like is when George W. Bush is always trying to draw lessons from what his father did, which came across as rather stilted.

I completely support and respect this. Whether you love Bush or weren't a fan, as an American you owe it to these wounded warriors to hear their stories that he is telling. Bravo all of you, and Thank You for everything you've done for me and mine, though we didn't Deserve it. God Bless you All.

I had mixed emotions in reading this book. First I was honored to get to know these brave Americans who sacrificed so much for all of us and our country. There is not enough we can do to repay them for their service. The portraits by President Bush were good and expressed so much and a lot of that was the pain and suffering these veterans went through at so many levels.

The healing was evident also in the participation of the programs like the involving the biking and golfing through the Bush foundation. The President is to be commended for his active roll in reaching out to these deserving individuals in the help they need.

On the other hand I could not help but feel that so much of the suffering that was illustrated here could have been prevented had we looked closer at the consequence of launching this never ending war that has seemed to resolve so little. But that is open for debate by historians of the future. For now we have to provide what we can to assist in the rebuilding of these lives and that is for all of us to attend to.

The mental and moral qualities of an individual. If this defines character, then the examples presented by former President George W. Bush #43 are a collection of character exemplified. American soldiers who have given so much in mental anguish and physical injuries, painted and their story presented let us know that some sacrifice much for the better of others. Yet, these men and women, rise above victimization and the hardship placed upon them. It should remind us all, that life is precious and lives can be turned-around. Let us not forget the men and women whom this book represents. And, let us not forget the character of the President who gave it to us.