Rating: 
Summary: Detailed and Thrilling Account of Historic Change
Review: George Bush and Brent Scowcroft have written a great book about a fascinating subject. This is very engaging and at times is very much a page turner. I was left thinking that a more detailed account of history being made by the movers themselves may not exist. The end of the Cold War is a great story in and of itself, but also a story that could have had a very different ending were it not for the team that managed to bring it to a successful close.This is a very honest book by honest men. Evenly though successful on all of the big issues, they write of miscues, uncertainty and difficulties in reaching the "right" decision. It is not a self-praise tome, but a book that is not afraid to lay out an accurate rendering of the facts and atmosphere. The reader has enough information and background to put himself in the role of President and ask, "What would I have done in that siguation." It's the mark of a thorough book. One can not help but come away impressed by the Bush foreign policy apparatus and the President's own grasp of events, the players and the vital interests of the United States. He, aided by one of the best foreign policy / national security teams ever assembled, played America's hand superbly. After reading this book, anyone who still believes that any President's main responsibility is "the economy, stupid" is.....well, stupid.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good and informative
Review: I did not have high expectations for this book, given the dramatically uneven quality of most historical memoirs. But Bush and Scowcroft's book manages to give a fly-on-the-wall view of the truly epoch-making events that took place on their watch. Now it's hard to believe that all this (and more) took place during only one presidential term, but it's clear that in the center of the storm there was a remarkably unified team with the ability to see a few steps ahead -- and even more importantly, understand the consequences of American action. It's not enough for the US to simply follow trends, sabre-rattle, or hew to the middle path. The crucial role of leadership, particularly in the face of dissent, comes through clearly. The best feature about the book is undoubtedly the unique "three-voiced" way of telling the story -- Bush, Scowcroft, and the 'narrarator' that reflects both their input. I was skeptical that they'd be able to pull this off, but they did. While most historical memoirs either read like something put together by a staff of research assistants (Kissinger and Nixon's books come to mind) or are exercises is score-settling (Brzezinski, to a degree), this one really gives a sense of both mens' attitudes and beliefs -- and they're pretty forthcoming about both their counterparts and their own errors.
Rating: 
Summary: Bush Does Well
Review: I read the book with amazement. I thought it both profound in the efforts to grapple with the end of the Cold War and the lengths that were taken to deal with international crisises. I don't care about the prose or style - it was wonderful to get my hands on a book that gave me a more concrete insights and level headed practicality in foreign policy rahter than that foreign policy in more recent times. Brent Scowcroft and Georege H. W. Bush lead the world through interesting and troubled times and helped us establish the United States as the preminent global power. It's a good read if you are interested in the shaping of foreign policy at the very top.
Rating:
Summary: Days that shaped our world
Review: I read the book with amazement. I thought it both profound in the efforts to grapple with the end of the Cold War and the lengths that were taken to deal with international crisises. I don't care about the prose or style - it was wonderful to get my hands on a book that gave me a more concrete insights and level headed practicality in foreign policy rahter than that foreign policy in more recent times. Brent Scowcroft and Georege H. W. Bush lead the world through interesting and troubled times and helped us establish the United States as the preminent global power. It's a good read if you are interested in the shaping of foreign policy at the very top.
Rating: 
Summary: Jumpy...skip to better alternatives
Review: I tried to force down "A World Transformed" after reading George H. W. Bush's outstanding letter- and note-based memoir "All the Best." As much as I wanted to like it, I just couldn't trudge through the entire thing. Mostly, it's the format that's at fault. You get Bush's pieces & Scowcroft's pieces interspersed with a 3rd-party disembodied voice attmepting to tie the segments together. I can appreciate that Gen. Scowcroft was a major player and needs his own voice here. But the resulting patchquilt of a book makes it tough on the reader to develop any semblance of continuity. The other thing is that 'All the Best' introduced you to this charming, delightful, all-too-human side of our 41st President, the charasmatic guy who shows you - through his dedicated letter-writing and human touch - how to build and sustain life-long friendships. I wanted that guy to star in this book. Instead, the guy that wrote "A World Transformed" is a caricature of the tone-deaf (to the US Economy) internationalist we voted out of office in 1992. A better route than "A World Transformed" would be to pair "All the Best" with David Halberstam's "War in a Time of Peace."
Rating:
Summary: Jumpy...skip to better alternatives
Review: I tried to force down "A World Transformed" after reading George H. W. Bush's outstanding letter- and note-based memoir "All the Best." As much as I wanted to like it, I just couldn't trudge through the entire thing. Mostly, it's the format that's at fault. You get Bush's pieces & Scowcroft's pieces interspersed with a 3rd-party disembodied voice attmepting to tie the segments together. I can appreciate that Gen. Scowcroft was a major player and needs his own voice here. But the resulting patchquilt of a book makes it tough on the reader to develop any semblance of continuity. The other thing is that 'All the Best' introduced you to this charming, delightful, all-too-human side of our 41st President, the charasmatic guy who shows you - through his dedicated letter-writing and human touch - how to build and sustain life-long friendships. I wanted that guy to star in this book. Instead, the guy that wrote "A World Transformed" is a caricature of the tone-deaf (to the US Economy) internationalist we voted out of office in 1992. A better route than "A World Transformed" would be to pair "All the Best" with David Halberstam's "War in a Time of Peace."
Rating:
Summary: Jumpy...skip to better alternatives
Review: I tried to force down "A World Transformed" after reading George H. W. Bush's outstanding letter- and note-based memoir "All the Best." As much as I wanted to like it, I just couldn't trudge through the entire thing. Mostly, it's the format that's at fault. You get Bush's pieces & Scowcroft's pieces interspersed with a 3rd-party disembodied voice attmepting to tie the segments together. I can appreciate that Gen. Scowcroft was a major player and needs his own voice here. But the resulting patchquilt of a book makes it tough on the reader to develop any semblance of continuity. The other thing is that 'All the Best' introduced you to this charming, delightful, all-too-human side of our 41st President, the charasmatic guy who shows you - through his dedicated letter-writing and human touch - how to build and sustain life-long friendships. I wanted that guy to star in this book. Instead, the guy that wrote "A World Transformed" is a caricature of the tone-deaf (to the US Economy) internationalist we voted out of office in 1992. A better route than "A World Transformed" would be to pair "All the Best" with David Halberstam's "War in a Time of Peace."
Rating:
Summary: Readable and attention grabbing
Review: President Bush and General Scowcroft give you a sense of the "figure it out as we go" excitement surrounding the events covered in the text: Russia, China, the Persian Gulf and Berlin. The Bush diary entries are heartfelt and moving adding a most personal dimension to the historical text. The interplay between President Bush's and General Scowcroft's entries also keeps the book very, very readable. The format makes the history come alive. Lastly, President Bush's humor comes through the page and adds a human touch to the activities of the principles. As important as were these events in our country's history, the principles working the issues were "regular" people serving the country as best they possibly could.
Rating:
Summary: Readable and attention grabbing
Review: President Bush and General Scowcroft give you a sense of the "figure it out as we go" excitement surrounding the events covered in the text: Russia, China, the Persian Gulf and Berlin. The Bush diary entries are heartfelt and moving adding a most personal dimension to the historical text. The interplay between President Bush's and General Scowcroft's entries also keeps the book very, very readable. The format makes the history come alive. Lastly, President Bush's humor comes through the page and adds a human touch to the activities of the principles. As important as were these events in our country's history, the principles working the issues were "regular" people serving the country as best they possibly could.
Rating:
Summary: Great behind-the-scenes summary.
Review: This book is an excellent behind-the-scenes detailing of many of the major events that transpired during the Bush presidency. Find out what happend that did not make the newspapers. Find out how decisions were made, listen in on conversations. The book approaches each subject from a unique 3-way perspective. The President and Mr. Scowcroft each give their own unique view of what happened, along with a general summary. I couldn't put this book down.
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