Bush Books

This is a very well written book made up of short, well-researched, topic-based chapters. These chapters cover a broad range of public policy issues (environment, education, tax cuts, religious right), which Mr. Bush acted on during his short but turbulent career in Texas. For anyone stunned by recent ultra-conservative administration policies that seem at odds with Bush's 2000 campaign rhetoric, this source illuminates the historical origins of America's most recent resident of the White House. It may also suggest that the most dramatic policies are yet to come. This book is an especially good reference work for studious journalists and a thorough primer concerned citizens.

Doctor Ide is a truly gifted writer,and he writes what he deeply knows. No wonder his latest stunning work is so accurate,precise,flawless.

Doctor Ide's book is very detailed and punctual,as in Ide's style,and there are pelnty of useful information.

Go buy this important book. You will not regret it!

Dr. Ide should be given credit for his very easy-to-understand writing style. However, if you're looking for a fair and balanced portrait of Bush, you won't find it here. I was disappointed that Dr. Ide was apparently unable to look past his political views. What a pity he should conduct what seems to be very expansive research but chooses to litter his writing with personal sentiments. As an Independent, I picked up this book hoping to learn more about Bush, but realized its design was to "add fuel to the fire" of those who already dislike him.

I found this book to be an extremely useful and enjoyable read. Unlike many of the other books on the Bush presidency, this collection of essays gets beyond the pundit rhetoric to provide solid, nonpartisan, academic-quality insight. Regardless of how you view the administration, we must admit that Bush has proven amazingly influential, and this book analyzes that influence from a variety of viewpoints. Most important, however, is the inside look it gives on the motivations, tactics, and strategies (or "strategeries") of the Bush Whitehouse, knowledge very useful when attempting to analyze his second term. And don't miss Nicol C. Rae's essay on Bush in historical context, or Bertram Johnson's essay on Bush's congressional policy strategy--two great examples of the kind of scholarly commentary you won't find outside of most political science departments, but will find in Schier's book. All in all, this is a must-read if you want true understanding of the Bush presidency.

Schier's latest book provides an insightful and useful analysis of the presidency of George W. Bush. This collection of academic essays gives the reader a valuable understanding of Bush as a leader and the transformation his presidency underwent following 9/11. While this work stands alone as a helpful analysis of Bush's leadership in a historical context, it is also extremely relevant to understanding the Bush Administration in its second term. The Bush presidency is unusually consequential, and Schier's book explains why. Bush has pursued remarkably ambitious goals to transform America's foreign policy and complete the conservative agenda set in motion by Ronald Reagan. This is a must read for any student of political science, and it is understandable to any interested reader.

This is a collection of ten essays, plus an introduction and conclusion by the editor, about various aspects of the Bush presidency, from an academic perspective. Such an endeavor is limited from the start: with Bush still in office and set to continue for another four years, many outcomes and consequences remain to be seen, and there's a dearth of sources--not to mention the fact that the book already seems outdated, despite being published under a year ago. The result is essays that are mostly objective but also very superficial and "light." Most of the pieces resort to stale, worn-out (though basically true) analyses, such as Bush as hedgehog (versus Clinton the fox) or Bush as essentially having two presidencies, one before 9/11 and another after (this idea appears frequently). Others state what any mildly informed person knows. Did you know, for example, that 9/11 changed poll numbers? The exception is the book's first and strongest essay, which takes a historical perspective and explores the nature of mandates and legitimacy, comparing Bush with other presidents who were initially elected with an electoral but not a popular majority. Despite that essay's insight, I can't imagine that this collection would appeal even to political junkies.

As a firm believer in educational reform, the need for standards, and the virtues of choice, I eagerly awaited this book. Unfortunately, it is a disappointment. While Kearns and Harvey cover the basic ground, their work lacks detail, rigor, and true insight. The book should have covered less and covered it better. The strength of the book is its diagnosis of the current situation.

If you're interested in a better education reform book, I would recommend Hirsch's "The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them" or Harvey's "It Takes a City."

I'd like to be more positive, but the book is mediocre at best.

I'm the mother of 2 young children about to enter school age years and I am concerned about what's happening in our public schools today. Like more and more parents, I've begun saving money to pay for the inevitable, private schooling. So many of us today have become resigned about the difference we can make if we became committed to altering the public school system. After reading this book, I have a better understanding of the breakdown that's occuring right in my own neighborhood. The authors so clearly outlined what's happening, what's not, and what we can do about it. I'm hopeful again that there is something that can be done. The book is poignant yet heartfelt. If you or someone you know has children, you should read this book.

Most books about American education are either unreadable or fail to tell the truth. What a pleasure to read one that is clear, well-written, and above all, truthful. The authors pull no punches, insisting from the outset that "American urban education is a national disgrace." From there, the book is cogently argued, challenging the many shibboleths that distort the school reform debate and refusing to be boxed in by the conventional reform wisdom. See, for example the discussion on "hardwiring innovation" in Chapter 11. Best of all, the analysis carries the debate about public education in America to the next level, i.e., what we can actually change now to starting making things better. Overall, "Legacy" is both perceptive and engagingly written. This book, if widely enough read and heeded, can do what most books on education reform only dream about--make a difference.

Genre: Non-fiction/Political

Title: Sinking the Ship of State

Author: Walter M. Brasch

The disastrous Bush administration is only slightly ameliorated by the humor found in the President's many verbal gaffes.
"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah," said President George W. Bush. This is just one of the Bushisms peppering the book. These bits serve to lighten up what becomes a bit tedious. The book is mostly a collection of newspaper columns, with occasional updating. It has been said that there is nothing so deadly as yesterday's news.
Brasch, a journalism prof and syndicated newspaper columnist, covers the Bush years from 2000, with newspaper columns dealing with the usual complaints about his administration. We read of the smear campaign against John McCain (after all, his campaign manager was a Jew, and McCain was seeking the gay vote), the illegal invasion of Iraq and the inept conduct of that war, the systematic measures consistently used by the president to harass peaceful protesters at his public appearances, torture at Guantanamo and mistreatment of suspects shipped off to overseas secret prisons, corporate welfare, and on and on.
I found Brasch's description of the massive entertainment budgets of certain corporations for delegates to the conventions enlightening. But while Brasch found Clinton's years something to crow about, his welfare "reform" measures targeting the poor, lead me more to Michael Moore's view, which Brasch quotes--that Clinton was perhaps the greatest Republican president.
In 440 pages, Brasch could have produced a solid book on Bush, rather than just a collection of warmed-over newspaper clippings. The stuff is all largely there. Annoyingly, the book lacks an index.
How can we evaluate Brasch's book? In terms of what it tells us, it is very solid. In the format, it stumbles. Reviewer: Reuel S. Amdur, Allbooks Reviews

Quoting from the back cover:

"Sinking the Ship of State traces the arc of the Bush presidency from its humble beginnings in the slime of the South Carolina primary to its zenith on a carrier deck beneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner and down to its sorry demise in proposed impeachment proceedings. Brasch lays the whip to the indolent press, "cash register patriots," and a corrupt Congress. It is an exhilarating ride." - Don Kaul, syndicated columnist; retired Washington columnist, Des Moines Register

"When most Americans and the mainstream media were accepting whatever they were told by the Bush Administration, Walter Brasch was meticulously peeling away the incompetence, deceit, corruption and, most of all, their cavalier attitude to the Constitution." - Jim Hightower, syndicated columnist

"Walter Brasch shines a merciless light on the moral hypocrites and constitutional villains who act as the self-appointed protectors of the nation. His writing is propelled by a lively sense of humor and an acute sensitivity to the darker ironies of our times." - Jeffrey St. Clair, co-editor, CounterPunch

"Brasch is one of the first and most consistent columnists to warn about George W. Bush and his neo-conservative administration's plans for a pre-emptive attack on Iraq and the drummed up evidence of WMD. Brasch is an articulate and entertaining writer exposing constitutional and human right violations." - Regina Huelman, Editor, Liberal Opinion Week."

Walter Brasch has used past writings from his social issues column, Wanderings, as the basis for this book. The columns have been presented in a chronological order, starting in 2000, making the book historical, informative, and easily digestible. If you're interested in politics, this book should be on the table beside your bed.

Walter Brasch is a master at weeding through the political lies, deceit, corruption, rhetoric, and hyperbole to help us find the truth. He is a man we need very much in today's complex society. If you want to know the truth, buy this book and help support his efforts.

Kaye Trout
Reviewer

Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush by journalist, editor, author and journalism professor Walter M. Brasch is a collection of his social issues column 'Wanderings' in addition to a few new columns written specifically for this book.

His is a critical, compelling, in-depth analysis of the Bush Presidency from the Republican primaries in February 2000 through April 2007 and the new Democratic majority in Congress. Under Brasch's unflinching eye, insightful wisdom and scalpel sharp wit the Bush Administration is dissected and laid bare upon the autopsy table of Free Speech. But he doesn't stop there, also slicing and dicing Congress and the mainstream media as enablers of the President and his Cabinet. His columns are real-time snapshots, honest and brutal in their reporting, and do not suffer through the prism of hindsight, where the view is often colored and skewed to fit a preconceived agenda or ideal.

Brasch was ahead of the curve of popular opinion about George W. Bush and many of his policies. In October 2001 he was warning about the perils to civil liberties of the newly passed Patriot Act when the majority of people were cheering its passage and the media largely stood silent. He was criticizing the Administration on it's global warming stance long before it became the Al Gore fueled hot-button issue it is today.

Brasch's commentary is ardent and passionate while always remaining clear-eyed and focused, seeking accountability and responsibility from an Administration notorious for being insular and never admitting to any mistakes. My only quibble is when the author uses personal attacks or insults to make or illustrate a point, whether the target be President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Senator Clinton or Senator Kerry. This serves only to cheapen the discourse while adding nothing of substance, and Walter M. Brasch is better than this. So, for a lively, forthright, witty, comprehensive and intellectual commentary of the Bush Presidency from day one to the present, this is the book.

Michael
Alternative-Read.com
October 2007

Sore Winners is an okay book. He addresses some important areas of consumerism and the celebrity culture; however, he really has a disdain for anyone else who he doesn't agree with.
For example: Paul Krugman and Noam Chomsky. Krugman is a well-respected economist, who like John K. Galbraith, is able to bring the dismal science down to earth for the rest of the population to understand. He attacks Krugman for becoming angry at George W. Bush's policies and not retaining his Ivory Tower status of professor. In particular he takes objection to Krugman's book, The Great Unraveling. Power's argues that Krugman has become too "populist" and less academic. In my view Krugman has every right to be angry at a President who has had a lassiez-faire approach to capitalism.
Second Example: Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is viewed as not framing his criticisms of Bush and our historical foreign policy, in not a branded way. What I mean, is that Power's seems to think that Chomsky is too mean, and that he invites no one in to share his opinion, he turns people off. Well, Chomsky, isn't trying to make people feel good.
By and large the book is ok, but not the best thing written about our culture under Bush. Read Dark Ages America by Morris Berman

John Powers uncle first loaned me this book in Mesa, Arizona. I was fascinated. The author is a progressive and highly intelligent. He makes his points not by beating you over the head with them but by being subtle. Many is the time I had to look up the words he was using in the dictionary. This book is very well written and worth reading concerning the political situation of today. This is a book a major magazine asked him to write. That shows me how much they thought of his capabilities. I have seen him on CPAN and he talks as good as he writes.

Delving beyond sound bites, John Powers explores why George W. Bush was reelected in spite of many odds against him. Corporate scandals, an unpopular war, and culturally divisive social policies did not effectively prevent the Bush administration from remaining in office

What on earth happened to America?

The author argues that for all Bush's gaffes (and he does point them out) he and his campaign teams effectively revived people's strong need for belonging. I initially had associated this stage with preadolescence, so I really was amazed to see it's documentation throughout the campaign trail.

Regardless of what actually benefits him and his friends alone, Bush took many seemingly disparate groups of voters and made them feel like they were also part of the in-crowd. That sense of belonging ultimately provided incentive to vote Republican.

Because nobody likes believing that their crowd is turning on them, these people honestly and sincerely do not want to believe that same president is advocating for policies which will only benefit a very tiny fraction of America---and they are not included among the beneficiaries. Instead of arguing how horrible a person Bush is, a new campaign strategy is needed to reach these voters.

Other books attempted to examine the psyche of Bush supporters and voters, but too often resorted to one-dimensional and partisan caricatures--which turned off the very people most needing to read that information. We had convinced ourselves Bush was a bad president but failed explaining this to other people.

Powers's book is infinitely more valuable because he concedes that the people who voted for Bush are not evil or bereft of their brain cells. Avoiding such cheap shots is the first step for the supporters of other presidential candidates to convince Bush voters that we are also interested in their needs, and are actually looking out for them.

Simply stated, this is a good solid collection of sermons from a mainline church pastor. Theologically sound and with helpful illustrations. A skinny little volume that makes you wish you had been present to hear the man preach the sermons. A good resource for other ministers to refer to.

Simply stated, this is a good solid collection of Easter sermons from a mainline church pastor. Theologically sound and with helpful illustrations. A skinny little volume that makes you wish you had been present to hear the man preach the sermons. A good resource for other ministers to refer to.

A nice collection of "positive thinking" meditations. And they're related to Old Testament texts, something we often miss out on in church because so much emphasis is placed on preaching from gospel texts and Paul's letters. This series touches on the Bible patriarchs. It's in easy language, too, with helpful stories and illustrations.

This was a delightful book. If you know or love anyone who grew up during the depression era, this is a precious display of those days. I've purchased four copies and it saddens me that I cannot find more copies to pass on to dear friends.

When I was very young, Robert Rowland was one of the older "kids" at church...a very devout and eager fella who didn't mind practicing what he would soon be preaching.. He was one of a family of sibs who were older than my sisters and myself...and he always had something to say. And, looks like he still does. Our families share our early history...escape from the dust and poverty of Oklahoma and the stringency and deprivation of the "Great Depression". I salute his efforts to depict this time of his life for younger generations to read and know that it really did happen, just as he said.

Bob did a very creditible job of putting pen to paper and saying what he did...and, as he also said, how would we have survived without humor...? My own family moved out to California just near the end of the depression...and I was born within a month of their arrival in the Central Valley. I know that what he says is truth...my lucid 90 year old mother is verifiable proof of it all.

I would recommend All Around the Mulberry Bush to any age group...the older generations to read with nostalgia and the younger ones to experience first hand the reality of this unique time in our nation's history.

This book offers compelling proof that presidents have dumbed down their public speech in the last two centuries. It is one of the very few political books I've read that is not at all partisan - Lim places equal blame on Clinton as he does on Bush. Lim nevertheless makes it clear that because presidents now tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear, we are headed for trouble.

Lim offers a fascinating account of how the very people who write presidential speeches also call these speeches "rose garden garbage." I especially enjoyed the chapter on speechwriters, all of whom - Republican or Democratic - complain about the fact that, as Peggy Noonan says, America's only "unstimulated organ (is) the brain." If even speechwriters complain of dumbing down, then Houston, we got a problem.

Lim does a good job of defending his case against the accusation of elitism, reminding us that when presidents dumb down, they are the ones who are being cynical. The American people deserve, and can handle better, he argues. Lim offers a particularly poignant account of President Bush's speeches on Iraq in the early months of the war, and argues that the country would have been better served if the president had been pushed to specify and demonstrate the evidence that Saddam Hussein had indeed possessed weapons of mass destruction. Instead, we allowed the president to talk us into war with such rousing, but meaningless catch-phrases as the "axis of evil." Thinking back on those years, Lim's explanation for how we were persuaded to go to war rings more true than any account I have read.

A short book that packs a lot of punch, this is a no-holds barred book on the dangers of a White House perpetually concerned with public relations. While the statistical analysis can be dry at times, Lim's wry, engaging prose (which reminds me of Christopher Hitchen's style) more than makes up for it.

So many academics consider themselves to be "intellectuals" - and most express bafflement at why they are so rejected by the public at large as well as national leaderships. The answer, of course, is that most intellectuals have nothing of value to offer. Lim quotes Lyndon Johnson, unarguably one of the great political manipulators to ever prowl the Senate halls, as saying of intellectuals: " They are "more concerned with style than they are with mortar, brick and concrete. They are more concerned with the trivia and the superficial than they are with the things that have really built America." It should be remembered that Johnson was not only college educated, but a former teacher as well. Golly, a different turn or two and he could have been a genuine intellectual!

As you can probably tell, I have little sympathy for Lim's argument. Contrary to Lim, Presidential rhetoric has never been "intellectual", but rather practical and political. Intellectual influence in Washington resulted in disasters like Wilson's Presidency, Kennedy's involving us in Vietnam and the Cuban missile fiasco. Needless to say, Wilson is one of Lim's paragons of presidential rhetoric along with FDR, whose intellectual advisors argues Amity Shales delayed recovery from the Great Depression by years. Obviously I am not in agreement with Lim's models.

Lim's self-professed "aim" is to "provide a measure of [the] decline of [Presidential discourse] beyond the anecdotal accounts already offered by demonstrating the relentless simplification of presidential rhetoric in the last two centuries and the increasing substitution ocf arguments and applause-rendering platitudes, partisan punch lines, and emotional and human interest appeals. I characterize these rhetoricval trends as manifestations of the anti-intellectual presidency."

Central to Lim's argument is the claimed exceptionalism of intellectuals. If you don't agree with Lim's strawman, you are, de facto, anti-intellectual. In other words, if you don't intrinsically believe that an intellectual knows more about living your life than you do, you are anti-intellectual. The hollowness of the argument is both apparent and revealing: this is a book for unappreciated intellectuals written by an aspiring intellectual. (Lim is an assistant professor.)

Of course, in Lim's view, "presidential anti-intellectualism is a threat to our democracy." Again, intellectuals are smarter than you and if you don't listen to them, democracy is in danger, a hypothesis I do not agree with.

Lim dates presidential anti-intellectualism as beginning in 1969, heaping yet another burden on the much maligned Nixon.

Among the many rhetorical outrages in this book is Lim's attempt to cast an obvious jocular portion of a speech delivered by George W. Bush to a Yale graduating class as "one of the best remembered episodes of anti-intellectualism in recent history". We normal folks thought it was a good joke, but "intellectuals" were obviously offended. Or perhaps they simply have no sense of humor? In this same section, Lim makes it clear that common people with their "simple locution" just don't get it. They're anti-intellectuals too.

Presidential rhetoric was never as good as Lim pretends it was. The Presidency, like every other elective office, is above all first a battle to get elected. To get elected, it takes the votes of the common people, not the self-proclaimed intellectuals - and our democracy is better for that in many ways.

Few in politics listen seriously to the intellectuals because they really don't have much of practical value to say. This book is proof of that. That said, Lim's research and his "linguistical analysis" are interesting.

Jerry

Beschloss and Talbott spin a tremendously absorbing narrative about the collapse of communism. They describe in detail the summits, conversations and debates that took place between Gorbachev and his foreign minister on one side and George Bush on the other. Their main focus is the foreign policy of the Bush administration. Their prose flows well, their anecdotes are interesting their characters are engaging. They only rarely fall into the trap of overly-journalistic prose. Their description of George Bush and his role is a bit under-stated; they focus more on George Schlutz and James Baker. The book is surprisingly straightfoward concerning the opionions of the power elite and their concerns about creating a "culture of compliance." The best part in the book describes the Malta Summit of '89, where Bush and Gorbachev meet on a ship off the Island of Malta amidst a violent storm. This book, while good, misses a couple of crucial areas of the Cold War. There is not a single reference to formerly-communist Yugoslavia, a country whose war in the early 1990's was both bloody and protracted. References to Gorbachev's frustration with the World Bank and the GATT/WTO deserve better examination. The book is at its best describing the spirited jargon and one-liners of the wonks, politicos and statesmen.

This is an interesting, and surprising book. I was expecting a critique of the first Bush presidency's foreign policy, given author Talbott's credentials (he's a lifelong friend of Clinton and served as Deputy Secretary of State under him). Instead, it's a detailed recounting of the diplomatic negotiations during the last three years of the Soviet Union, culminating with Gorbachev's dissolution of the U.S.S.R.

The book focuses, to a large extent, on the relationships between the men (and women) on both sides, and their negotiations. It spends a good deal of time on the positions they take, the ideals they followed, and the tactics they tried. There is detailed discussion of the personalities of the various men involved, the issues they had to deal with domestically, and the things they feared the other side might do. I have to say I was impressed with the way the book was structured, and with the opinions it expressed. Academics here in the U.S.A. tended, at the time, to be exasperatingly infatuated with Gorbachev, and blind to his shortcomings. The authors are smart enough not to fall into these traps, and are refreshingly perceptive of the last General Secretary and his personality quirks, both positive and negative. Even more surprising, given that Talbott is so close to Bill Clinton, the assessment of the elder George Bush is pretty fair, too. The authors spend a good deal of time praising his attitude and intelligence, and while they do criticize some of his decisions and maneuvers, they also praise many of the things he did.

The book is written in the Woodward style, with extensive interviews with people who participated in the various discussions and negotiations. Those interviews are sealed for a serious length of time, and in the meanwhile we have to take the authors at their word. There are extensive discussions of the various negotiations, and they're fascinating. I enjoyed this book a great deal, but thought that it was a bit focused on the narrow subject, and somewhat isolated in narrative as a result.

The true Bush fan will love the rich and well-crafted work of James Spada. Those who do not have such respect for Mr. Bush will see only the irony that a noted and respected photographer of male nudes is the author of this book.

James Spada has done it again! Like his similar books on Jackie, John and Caroline, and Ronald Reagan, Spada has compiled over 300 fascinating, rare photos to tell the story of the Bushes from early in the 20th Century till late last year. The photos are touching, funny, and quirky, and the captions fascinating. Recommended not just for Bush fans, but anyone interested in politics and the presidency.