President George W. Bush : Our Forty-Third President

Rating:
Summary: An excellent juvenile biography of George W. Bush
Review: Beatrice Gromley's biography of George W. Bush was supposedly the first children's biography to be published about the forty-third president. This is probably because the book ends on December 13, 2001, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court ended the Florida recount and the president-elect spoke from the Texas State Capitol; other juvenile biographies get as far as the inaugural. Gromley focuses on a quote from the new president, who once said: "I never dreamed about being president. When I was growing up, I wanted to be Willie Mays." This gets to the heart of the problems Bush presents for a political biography, since he never held political office until elected Governor of Texas in 1994. Compare Bush's life to that of either his predecessor, Bill Clinton, a hardcore political junkie, or his father, George H. W. Bush, with his most impressive political resume, and you will see incredible differences.

That being said Gormley certainly provides a more than adequate juvenile biography of George W. Bush. Yes, you will find out more about the man's life than his politics, but that is indeed a reflection of his life. Gormley does a particularly nice job of boiling down the legal arguments regarding the recount to the legal issues and developments, without including the hot rhetoric that characterized the news coverage. However, I must admit I found a couple of things in this book that could be taken the wrong way (e.g., Bush is proud he can still remember the starting lineup of the 1954 New York Giants baseball team; well, I can do the New York Yankees for a couple of decades, so, should I be President?). But maybe I am just being overly sensitive since, as I said on top, this is not the story of a man driven to be in politics or to become President from early in life. The book is illustrated with photographs and quotes, and also has a list of books, magazines, newspapers and a videotape young readers can turn to for further information. Certainly by this point, students will have a better appreciation for Bush as president and will be able to see for themselves connections between the things he has done throughout his life and his presidency.

Rating:
Summary: he blew it
Review: George W. Bush blew it. His presidency is falling apart at the seams at a critical moment during this election year. Where to begin? Keeping America in the dark about 9/11. An uncessary war against Iraq. Publicly supporting his defense secretary who DIDN'T DO HIS JOB. And feeding hate, fear, and lies into the hearts of Americans all over. But there's hope. We have John Kerry. He's the man who will put Democrats back on the map and save our country and win back confidence from our allies. November should be an easy victory for Kerry. I'm pretty sure of this. I expect nothing less.

Rating:
Summary: he blew it
Review: George W. Bush blew it. His presidency is falling apart at the seams at a critical moment during this election year. Where to begin? Keeping America in the dark about 9/11. An uncessary war against Iraq. Publicly supporting his defense secretary who DIDN'T DO HIS JOB. And feeding hate, fear, and lies into the hearts of Americans all over. But there's hope. We have John Kerry. He's the man who will put Democrats back on the map and save our country and win back confidence from our allies. November should be an easy victory for Kerry. I'm pretty sure of this. I expect nothing less.

Rating:
Summary: This Book is AWESOME!!!!!
Review: I checked it out from the library, I read 1/2 of it and just ordered it "one click" from Amazon.com!!!! I am a 32 year old women, have read every single book that the Bush Family has written (Bush SR's Book, George W's Book, the mother's book that she wrote... I have been to George W. Bush Sr's Library at Texas A&M, I collect every single article, magazine, political button, t-shirt of the Bush Family...and can't tell you how great it was to read this book!!!!!! The book personalizes and puts together all the details in a friendly "fun to read fashion," even thought the book is probably geared to 12 year old reading level, its a great book to buy for ANYONE.... There are so many details that I knew about the Bush Family, the author does a wonderful job of just making the book entertaining... After my personal extensive reasearch, curiousity, admiration of the Bush family... I just can't tell you how well the author even tells you things you did not quite know... Wonderful Wonderful book for any Bush Family (George W.) Fan to read... Highly highly recommend.... I just wish I knew people I could buy the book for... The cover is beautiful although it is a paperback... Just a fabulous book....

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I really enjoyed the book. It tells of President Bush's whole life. I liked the photos of his childhood. When he was three he had his picture taken on a horse. I am a fourth grade student and I love to read. This was a fun book. I did a book report on it. Get it!

Rachel

Rating:
Summary: Great for adults and kids, everyone should own a copy
Review: If you are looking for a book that you can use for your kids' social studies extra credit and your own cocktail party banter, this is the easy read you need. Want to be current on all the little Presidential family tidbits without spending a lot of time plowing through the family history and heavy details? I read A Charge to Keep and some of the other Bush Family tomes, but I really enjoyed this one and my 7th grader grabbed some quick end of quarter extra points toward her "A" by learning about our current Prez.

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Summary: PRESIDENT BUSH IS THE BEST PRESIDENT IN THE WORLD
Review: President Bush is a good CHRISTIAN MAN and hes giving all the ARABS HELL! I LOVE IT! I hope traiter Hillary (STUPID IDIOT) Clinton gets the flu because she thinks it's funny when people get sick. GUESS WHAT HILLARY TRAITER DEMO-RAT, YOU ARE THE SICK ONE. YOUR HUSBAND IS A LIAR.

Rating:
Summary: A lesson for kids on Strength and Courage
Review: The attacks of September 11th changed America ! President Bush declared war on terrorism and the advance of human freedom the priorities of his Administration. The United States military has liberated the people of Iraq from the brutal regime. Thousands of terrorists have been captured and operations have been stopped. In the President's words, "our Nation - this generation - will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."


Rating:
Summary: PRESIDENT BUSH IS THE BEST PRESIDENT IN THE WORLD
Review: This book showed me a whole different side to our president. I was very shocked to hear some of the stories of his college days and some of his outrageous acts even after he graduated. His entrance into politics was not always an assured one, as he seemed to have more interests in enjoying his youth. The author seems to gloss over some things that have a potential to be more damaging to his image than they already are. The story of how he crashed his car into the garage after his wife criticized one of his speeches was one such example. I had also expected him to be more successful at business than he is said to be. Surprisingly, the Bush family has had their share of persecution while living in Texas. In Texas they were not seen as true "Texans" and in the schools George W. attended his views were opposite of a majority of the student population. Given his private school training and Ivy League preparation, it really makes the office of president seem only attainable by those with money. I was disappointed that there wasn't more information on his accomplishments as a Texas governor but I was pleasantly surprised to find his State of the Union address in entirety at the back of the book. The litigation details of the 2000 election were helpful in understanding why the selection for our new president had taken so long. Overall, I would recommend this book to any young reader looking for a biography to read, however, I would warn them that they may have a less respectful opinion of our president after their reading.

Rating:
Summary: From party boy to president
Review: Virtually all some people know about our new president is that he was once a party animal; they have very little idea of what he did throughout his life, before he became the governer of Texas -- then the president.

It starts at the birth of George W. Bush and chronicles his childhood; a pretty happy one, it seems, marred only by the death of his sister Robin from leukemia. Some attention is paid to George Sr., with relatively little on Jeb and Barbara. The books follows George (called "Georgie" early on) through college and into his moderately successful oil business (when oil was bad, he did poorly; when it was good, he did okay); also into his marriage with smart, serene Laura Welch and the birth of their daughters.

Then we go into Bush's entry into politics, where he was running for governer of Texas against a popular candidate. He won by grace toward his apparently shrewish opponent and pleasant charm towards others. Then we shift into the most noticeable of all George W. Bush's actions: running for president of the United States, in the biggest election fiasco of all time.

This book is probably the closest thing to an impartial biography that we'll get, simply because the author usually just states the facts and very little else; there is no delving into Bush's mind or analyzation of his actions. We see him bob up and down, with problems and semi-solutions like any other human being.

At the same time, we get a clearer view of George W. Bush. We see his fierce loyalty to his father, caring for his wife and daughters, his overcoming of his party days and drinking for both faith and family. We also have some endearing quotes from the man himself: "When I was growing up, I wanted to be Willie Mays." Unlike many bios, this does not have a centerpiece of color glossies. The photos are black and white and printed straight onto the page, so they are sometimes a little too dark and not quite as good as newspaper photos.

Some readers may groan when they reach the near-end of the book, when we hear about the nightmarish 2000 election. But Gormley manages to keep it interesting enough that you won't flip to the end, with an explanation of the voting system and why it is the way it is; she doesn's assume that people know these things. Even if you're sick to death of the 2000 elections and the word "chad" you may want to read it. The only thing that could have improved the book can't be helped, as it was finished before the event: coverage of the attack on the US and Bush's response to it.

This book is 9-12, but the info on GWB is good for any age, especially as regards the relative impartiality of it. Definitely worth a read.