I never cared much for George H.W. Bush, our 41st President. I thought he was stiff, condescending, and ineffective. But I just finished listening to an audio CD of All the Best, George Bush and my opinon of Bush as a man has completely changed.
This book is comprised almost solely of letters that Bush has written throughout his life, intermingled with diary entries he made during some of our nation’s most historic times. By the nature of how this book was comprised, I was confident that these writings reflected the true nature of President Bush. If you have faith that all of these letters were legitimate (which I do), then you will come away from reading or listening to this book and feel that you really understand the motivations behind the actions of the former President.
Although private and seemingly wooden in public, I came to understand how incredibly
sensitive, humorous, and loyal Bush always was to his family and his country. These were values that remained in him from the time he was a young pilot in World War II through his post-Presidency. I could even feel his frustration and pain when he lost the Presidencial race in 1992.
Bush doesn’t seem to shy away from anything potentially embarassing in his career (although any mention of Dan Quayle is conspicously absent – but the CD is abridged). One of the most engrossing portions of the book tells of Bush’s confusion and eventual disillusion of Nixon’s administration during the Watergate scandal, during which time Bush was serving as the Chairman of the Republican National Committee. This is followed by the “Read my lips” uproar, the broccoli comment, and even the Tokyo vomiting incident on the Prime Minister of Japan.
The high (and low) points of Bush’s Presidency are amply covered as are his WWII years as a Navy pilot, his family life, business ventures, his terms in Congress, his jobs as Ambassador to China, director of the CIA, and Vice-President, and his retirement years (including his near-obsession with making a final parachute jump).
Although Bush himself only reads a handful of his letters during the six-hour audio CD, he does provide historical context before handing each letter over to a member of his family to read. By the time I finished this CD, I felt like I was one of the Bush grandchildren. That ‘condescending voice’ I had always heard became more like a ‘Mr. Rogers’ voice to me. He was a little corny and backwards sometimes, but also a rugged, determined man who always wanted what was best for his country and family. I’d give this book an 8/10.
See the official George Bush posting here…
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