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Summary: Nothing New Here
Review: There was nothing in this book that hasn't already been written about Mrs. Bush. Boring, boring book. As far as the car accident goes, it was an accident, but I know had it been me, I would have served jail time. Enough said.
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Summary: Couldn't put it down!!
Review: This book is an insightful, balanced view of one of the most enigmatic figures in the Bush administration. Laura Bush is a virtually unknown first lady -- our country owes Ann Gerhart a great deal for explaining her journey down the aisle with W and down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. I bought the book yesterday and gobbled it up. This is the perfect gift for political junkies and it is also a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in the influence wives have on their husbands or the difficulties of raising children in the public eye.The chapter on the Bush twins (YIKES!!) is great. Everyone needs to read this book.
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Summary: Bush Bashing at its Best
Review: This book is less a biography of First Lady Laura Bush than it is a personal vendetta against President Bush. The author repeatedly inserts herself into the book and lets it be known how she feels about him, that he is "bombastic" and egotistical, the product of a sinister New England political dynasty, who lords it over his long-suffering wife. It isn't even well written.
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Summary: A story about the choices women make
Review: This book is, first of all, beautifully written --Ann Gerhart can craft the kind of sentence that makes you want to go back and read it again just to linger on the words and the perfect pitch of her writing voice. Beyond that, what struck me is how much The Perfect Wife, while it is the most illuminating portrait I have read to date on the mysterious Mrs. Bush, is really a deeper study on the choices that so many women confront. How to raise a family and be its emotional center of gravity while holding on to some independent sense of self? How to have a career (or not) while being the "perfect wife" to a needy husband. (And, yes, the George Bush portrayed in this book is needy.) What's fascinating is that Laura Bush seems to do this so effortlessly, or so I thought, before reading Gerhart's book, which lays out the First Lady's family history and some real pain that she has experienced along the way. I would recommend this book to anyone -- mothers, daughters, grandmothers, husbands (if you could get them to read it!) -- anyone interested in a really good read and a penetrating look at the challenges and rewards of being a wife and mother.
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Summary: Buy this book!
Review: This book was fascinating. The Perfect Wife is well written, well researched, insightful and informative. Ann Gerhart is able to place Laura Bush in context for us; through every chapter she delineates how the personal and the public coexist within a complex person. Laura Bush seems stereotypical of a certain sort of southern woman, but as we know, stereotypes are confining in their lack of dimension. The Perfect Wife ably shows us how Laura Bush is not one-dimensional, rather, she is an intellectual surrounded with stacks of books at her side, she has had friends who are Democrats (and hippies, back in the day), she has known tragedy first-hand, and, like many wives and mothers, is at times annoyed by her spouse and offspring (but is too well-mannered to ever say so in public.) I loved this book - I never thought I could relate to a "first lady" (or a perfect wife... ) but after reading this, I'm rethinking many expectations.
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Summary: pathetic , uninformative, Bio
Review: This is such a boring read.I'm glad I picked it up at the library. The author Ann Gerhart did an exasperating poor job. It's not much of a biography. Throughout the book she's repeating what she's heard from the people who still live in Midland,Texas, plus she gives alot of second hand reporting from people who now know Mrs.Bush. From the beginning chapter to the end she reiterates that at seven-teen she drove her car into another while speeding. I counted six times then stopped. She used words like terrible car accident, manslaughter, killed, and snuffed! I feel deeply sorry for the young man Mike Douglas (who attented her high school) dying in that unfortunate collision, especially his father who had to see his son die in that explosion. The book made the Bushes girls sound like 'thing one and thing two '( from The Cat in the Hat ).
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Summary: Don't Waste Your Money!!!!
Review: Too bad I bought this book before discovering the author works for the Washington Post. She can't say three sentences in the book without bashing the President. I doubt the First Lady had anything to do with this lousy piece of trash. I wish I could get my money back!
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Summary: Two ex-drunks in a glass bottom Jesus Boat.
Review: Well, I guess Laura really is the "Perfect Wife" for George Bush. Two ex-drunks in a glass bottom Jesus boat. Book was quite dull...even the story of how Laura killed her high school friend is rather dull. But I guess it would be hard to write anything interesting about Laura Bush...she's such a sad little mouse.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: What could have been an interesting, in depth book was not. Some issues were covered with many words, others passed over. I was very disappointed in it and would not recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Must read
Review: You must read this book, it is amazing, the chapter on the girls is possibly the best writing I have ever seen. Ann gerhart is a great author. She penetrates lauras phyche with extreme intellectual ability and goes in depth into it and into her values, concepts, and ideas.
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