Review:
“A comprehensive and compelling narrative." (Peter Baker The New York Times)
"Smith is particularly good on the nuances of Bush’s character. . . . [A] carefully researched portrait.” (David M. Shribman The Boston Globe)
“Anyone prone to romanticize the old GOP should take a bracing shot of Bush, a hefty biography of our 43rd president by the prolific and acclaimed biographer Jean Edward Smith. Written in sober, smooth, snark-free prose, with an air of thoughtful, detached authority, the book is nonetheless exceedingly damning in its judgments about George W. Bush’s years in office. . . . Authoritative and trustworthy.” (David Greenberg The Washington Post)
"A swift and damning judgment on the 43rd president. . . . Smith writes with a deft sweep and sense of history." (Ray Locker USA Today)
"Harsh though the book is, overall it is well-researched, well-written and convincing." (Morton Kondracke The Wall Street Journal)
"Pulls no punches. . . . A fair, comprehensive and highly readable account of a critical period that is sure to be reassessed by historians over the coming decades.” (Ray Harkavy Associated Press)
“A thought-provoking book that anybody who wants to understand the opening years of this millennium must read.” (James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom)
“Makes a voluminously detailed — and compelling — case that vindication is unlikely to come for the Bush administration anytime soon.” (Glenn C. Altschuler The San Francisco Chronicle)
"A well-rounded portrait of Bush as president. . . . Smith’s account is necessary and valuable in this election year.” (Erik Spanberg Christian Science Monitor)
“An excellent initial assessment of a presidency that began in controversy . . . and ended with the international and domestic failures that saddled Bush with the most sustained negative ratings of any modern president.” (Carl P. Leubsdorf Dallas Morning News)
About the Author:
Jean Edward Smith taught at the University of Toronto for thirty-five years, and at Marshall University for twelve. He has also been a visiting scholar at Columbia, Princeton, and Georgetown. He is the author of Bush, a biography of the 43rd president; Eisenhower in War and Peace; FDR, winner of the 2008 Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians; Grant, a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist; and John Marshall: Definer of a Nation.
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