Rating: 
(New York: Crown Publishers, 2009)
512 pgs
I suspect this book will be evaluated much like the 43rd president was. Either you will enjoy it or hate it. More than likely your evaluation will be based more on your political leanings than on your editorial concerns. I for one am usually hesitant to purchase a book by a former president only two years after he leaves office. I am always suspicious they are more concerned with “setting the record straight” or enhancing their legacy than actually telling the truth. And, Bush certainly does do some of that in this book.
However, there were two things that attracted me to this book. First, it describes the life of a major leader. I love biographies, especially of leaders. I often find I learn more about leadership by reading a biography than when I read a book specifically on leadership. Secondly, Bush structures his book around 14 key decisions he made. He claims he told his story “focusing on the most important part of the job: making decisions” (xi). Whatever you think of Bush, it is clear that he made decisions and then he resolutely faced the consequences of his decisions.
I applaud him for beginning his book the way he does. The man who decided to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and who authorized TARP and the funding of stem cell research begins his list of important decisions with his decision to stop drinking alcohol. He notes: “Quitting drinking was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. Without it, none of the others that follow in this book would have been possible” (3). Bush notes that he grew to love history. He mentions reading dozens of presidential biographies while he was in the White House. Perhaps tellingly, he read fourteen biographies on Abraham Lincoln alone (368).
It is touching how close he is to his parents and how much he admires his father. He writes: “Over the years there has been a lot of speculation about my relationship with dad. I suppose that’s natural for the first father-and-son presidents in 172 years. The simple truth is that I adore him” (20). Interestingly he notes that he was the first president to leave the White House with both of his parents still living. Bush’s detractors have mercilessly sought to make him out to be an ignorant, uneducated buffoon. The reality is that he earned degrees from Andover, Yale, and Harvard. That is an academic pedigree few of his critics could match.
Throughout the book Bush mentions his faith in God. He outlines his significant encounter with Billy Graham as a young adult and then often refers to sharing his faith in God to such leaders as diverse as Putin of Russia and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. He also notes that he began each day in the Oval Office the same way: reading his Bible (473). It becomes clear that Bush’s faith was not just window dressing to gain the Evangelical vote. He genuinely believes.
Interestingly he notes how gracious his father was to Bill Clinton in his electoral defeat (50). Significantly, not only did Bush learn to act with magnanimity toward his opponents but he concludes that had his father won the election in 1992, “I almost certainly would not have become president” (51).
Throughout this book it is interesting to see how the most powerful person in the world handled difficult decisions. Those of us following the events on the news can gain much by later learning what was going through the minds of those directly involved at the time. While you may not always agree with their decisions, it can still be instructive. While many have viciously denigrated Bush, the fact is that he was a very successful politician. He only lost one election in his life (his first), but he unseated a seemingly invincible governor and overcame numerous challenges to win two terms as president of the United States.
Bush makes a number of interesting observations: “The people you choose to surround you determine the quality of advice you receive and the way your goals are implemented” (65-66). “Win or lose, we would finish this race as a team” (72). “Sometimes the best personnel moves are the ones you don’t make” (73). “If I abandoned my principles on an issue like stem cell research, how could I maintain my credibility on anything else?” (123). “But I was certain that I had just watched more Americans die than any president in history” (131). “’This is my son’s badge. His name is George Howard. Please remember him,’ she said as she pressed the badge into my hand. I promised I would. I served 2,685 days as president after Arlene gave me that badge. I kept it with me every one of them” (150). “For months after 9/11 I would wake up in the middle of the night worried about what I had read” (153). “I knew the cost would be high. But inaction had a cost, too” (253). “When I entered politics, I made a decision: I would confront problems, not pass them on to future generations” (272). “One of the lessons I took from Roosevelt and Reagan was to lead the public, not chase the opinion polls” (272). “What a testimony to the redemptive power of Christ” (281). “But once the public perception was formed, I couldn’t change it. For all my efforts to avoid the perception problem Dad faced during Hurricane Andrew, I ended up repeating it” (318). “Rather than pull troops out, I was on the verge of making the toughest and most unpopular decision of my presidency” (355). “Having a shoe thrown at me by a journalist ranked as one of my more unusual experiences” (392). “Self-pity is a pathetic quality in a leader. It sends such demoralizing signals to the team and the country” (459). “The nature of the presidency is that sometimes you don’t choose which challenges come to your desk. You do decide how to respond” (471).
For someone who loves history, I enjoyed reading of Bush’s interaction with leaders such as Tony Blair and Putin. While many do not agree with Bush and his decisions, this book sheds light on the process he used to make his decisions and the humility and integrity with which he tried to act. I found the book to be well written. While it certainly puts Bush in a good light, it also makes note of many of his failures and mistakes (some of which are quite painful). Overall I felt it helped me not only get a birds’-eye-view of a world leader, but it also helped me gain a new perspective on many of the events that captured the world’s attention between 2000 and 2008.
Whether you are a Republican or a fan of George Bush, I believe students of history and of leadership will gain helpful insights from reading this book.