Bush - Tapa dura

"Hard-hitting. . . . A shrewd, nuanced view of Bush. . . . Smith embeds this portrait in a lucid, highly readable narrative, balancing rich detail with clear delineation of the larger shape of policy through the chaos of politics. This is a superb recap and critical analysis of Bush's controversial administration." * Publishers Weekly * "A relentlessly hard-hitting assessment." * Kirkus Reviews * "'Rarely in the history of the United States has the nation been so ill-served as during the presidency of George W. Bush'. . . . Having laid out that thesis in his opening pages, Bush goes on to comprehensively, meticulously and persuasively back up [Smith's] assertions." -- Dale Singer * St. Louis Post-Dispatch * "A compelling examination of George W. Bush's unlikely ascent to the White House and his calamitous administration of it. . . . A masterful retelling." -- Craig Offman * The Globe and Mail (Toronto) * "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 * "A well-rounded portrait of Bush as president. . . . Smith's account is necessary and valuable in this election year." -- Erik Spanberg * Christian Science Monitor * "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 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 "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 * "Harsh though the book is, overall it is well-researched, well-written and convincing." -- Morton Kondracke * The Wall Street Journal * "A swift and damning judgment on the 43rd president. . . . Smith writes with a deft sweep and sense of history." -- Ray Locker * USA Today * "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 * "Smith is particularly good on the nuances of Bush's character. . . . [A] carefully researched portrait." -- David M. Shribman * The Boston Globe * "A comprehensive and compelling narrative." -- Peter Baker * The New York Times *

George W. Bush, the forty-third president of the United States, almost singlehandedly decided to invade Iraq. It was possibly the worst foreign-policy decision ever made by a president. The consequences dominated the Bush Administration and still haunt us today. In Bush, "America's greatest living biographer" (George Will), Jean Edward Smith, demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties. Smith explains that it wasn't until the financial crisis of 2008 that Bush finally accepted expert advice, something that the "Decider," as Bush called himself, had previously been unwilling to do. As a result, he authorized decisions that saved the economy from possible collapse, even though some of those decisions violated Bush's own political philosophy. Bush is a comprehensive evaluation of the Bush presidency-including Guantanamo, Katrina, No Child Left Behind, and other important topics-that will surely surprise many readers. Controversial, incisive, and compelling, it is thoroughly researched and sure to add to the debate over Bush's presidential legacy.