 Don't Miss
More at Powell's
Interviews | November 3, 2009
By Sheila A.
 Donald Miller is a Christian writer, but the question that Miller asks with his latest memoir, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, is applicable to...
Continue »
-
 |
$13.00 List price: $28.00
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
| Qty |
Store |
Section |
| 1 |
Local Warehouse |
Politics- United States Politics |
More copies of this ISBN: -
Used, Hardcover, $16.00
-
Used, Hardcover, $6.95
-
Used, Hardcover, $7.95
-
Used, Hardcover, $9.95
-
New, Hardcover, $28.00
This title in other formats: -
New, Trade paper, $15.00
-
Used, Trade paper, $5.95
-
Used, Trade paper, $8.00
-
Used, Trade paper, $7.95
-
Adobe digital editions, $13.31
-
Microsoft reader ebooks, $13.31
-
Palm reader ebooks, $13.31
Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush
by Robert Draper
|
|
|
|
Synopses & Reviews "In his nearly seven years as president, Mr. Bush has rarely let his guard down with journalists to reveal much of his personal side. But over the course of six roughly hourlong interviews with Mr. Draper, Mr. Bush shared his inner life at the White House. He at times mused philosophically and introspectively, and at others spoke forcefully about his confidence in his own decisions." — The New York Times
In this ambitious work of political narrative, Robert Draper takes us inside the Bush White House and delivers an intimate portrait of a tumultuous decade and a beleaguered administration. Virtually every page of this book crackles with scenes, anecdotes, and dialogue that will surprise even long-time observers of George W. Bush.
With unprecedented access to all the key figures of this administration — from six one-on-one sessions with the president, to Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Karl Rove, and perhaps 200 other players, some well known, some not — Draper has achieved what no other journalist or contemporary historian has done thus far: He has told the story of the Bush White House form the inside, with a special emphasis on how the very personality of this strong-willed president has affected the outcome of events. Review: "There are two questions any definitive account of George W. Bush's presidency must answer. One has dogged him from the very start of his presidential campaign in 1999: Is he as stupid as he seems? The other has dogged him for the last five years: Why did he decide to invade Iraq? The first question about Bush's intelligence is relatively easy to dodge but exceptionally hard to answer. ... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) No, he's not stupid, but he is simplistic and sometimes sloppy. He has a sharp strategic mind when it comes to politics, and he can delve into policy details when he wants to. However, everyone who knows the president realizes that is only a partial answer. The deeper question boils down to this: How does he apply his intelligence? Why does he disdain the policy experts and the nuance in favor of his gut judgment? The answer to this question might ultimately help Bush historians with the other challenge — how to understand the abrupt shift from the war against al-Qaeda to the singular focus on Saddam Hussein and Iraq. At this late stage of his presidency, there really isn't much point in writing a book about Bush without grappling with these huge, unanswered questions. This is a daunting prospect for any biographer, and Bush himself is not exactly helpful here. He hates this kind of psychobabble, and his most loyal aides and friends do, too. At his getting-to-know-you lunch with author Robert Draper, the president declined to gaze into his own navel. 'You're the observer,' he said, 'I'm not. I really do not feel comfortable in the role of analyzing myself.' This is the kind of sly putdown that Bush performs effortlessly. After six sit-down interviews with Draper, Bush seems to have revealed little about the inner workings of his mind. Draper emerges with a treasure trove of detail and anecdotes, but he often doesn't delve — or isn't allowed to delve — into the deeper questions. Early in his book 'Dead Certain,' he tells the story of Bush's failed bid for Congress in 1978. Against all the best advice, Bush decided to run against a conservative West Texas Democrat, Kent Hance. He lost badly, but not embarrassingly. Explaining his decision to Draper, he said, 'You can't learn lessons by reading. Or at least I couldn't. I learned by doing. I knew it was an uphill struggle. But see, I've never had a fear of losing. I didn't like to lose. But having parents who give you unconditional love, I think it means I had the peace of mind to know that even with failure, there was love.' Let 1,000 Ph.D.s bloom. Here is a president who boasts of reading around 100 books a year, promotes reading standards and No Child Left Behind, graduated from Yale and Harvard, and is married to a librarian. Yet he thinks he can't learn lessons by reading. You can almost hear the critics scoff. Given his current situation, if the president had spent more time studying Iraq and less time doing Iraq, he might have emerged with a different conclusion about military action. And what about that lack of fear, that nonchalance about failure? This might just explain the deep trust in his own snap judgments. But why the immediate connection to his parents' love? Are his relationships with his parents and siblings really so simple? Sadly, you won't find the answers to those questions in 'Dead Certain.' But there are plenty of eye-popping moments that Draper has uncovered, to his huge credit. It's not coincidental that the anecdote above comes from a race in Texas and is sourced to a pre-presidency interview in 1998. Draper is far more enlightening about these Texas moments than the Washington years. For instance, he vividly trashes Bush's much-vaunted business experience as general manager of the Texas Rangers baseball team. He describes his groupie behavior with the team, painting a memorable picture of what he mockingly calls the First Fan and the Jocksniffer-in-Chief. But Draper spends just one paragraph on Bush's decision to give up alcohol, and even less space on his rigorous exercise regime. These are two pillars of the president's life and character. He uncovers great anecdotes about Bush's love of punctuality (the president locked Colin Powell out of a Cabinet meeting for being late). He tells a wonderful story about Bush's new wardrobe, and his sartorial transformation from slob to governor (including his former love of beltless polyester slacks). Yet Draper doesn't try to reconcile the self-discipline with the slobbishness, even as he watches Bush stuff a hotdog into his mouth. 'Dead Certain' features a compelling account of the 2000 South Carolina primary and the destruction of the McCain campaign. Yet it reveals far less about the coldblooded calculation inside the White House to exploit 9/11 and Iraq for campaign purposes in 2002 and 2004. Bush's disputed victory in 2000 and the impact on his presidency: half a page. The challenge of electricity generation in occupied Iraq: an entire chapter. As for the most opaque relationship inside the White House — the mystery of the Bush-Cheney axis — the book is mostly silent. We learn that Karl Rove opposed Cheney as the VP pick because choosing one of Bush 41's Cabinet members would appear 'needy' and off-message about the candidate's independence from his father. Then nothing more — not the fateful discussions about Iraq nor the emotional talk about Cheney's hunting accident. Here we have the story of a needy candidate who turns into a swaggering war president. Can one person be both needy and confident? Yes, if you're President George W. Bush. If only we knew why. Richard Wolffe is senior White House correspondent for Newsweek." Reviewed by Richard Wolffe, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
(hide most of this review)Review: "While there are many aspects of the Bush presidency that Mr. Draper completely neglects...what Dead Certain does do and does very nimbly is give the reader an intimate sense of the president's personality and how it informs his decision making." Michiko Kakutani, New York Times Review: "Washington's hottest dinner-party book this autumn." — The Observer (UK) Review: "A fascinating...book. What Dead Certain does very nimbly is give the reader an intimate sense of the president's personality and how it informs his decision making."- The New York Times Review: "What Draper does with great skill in Dead Certain is debunk caricatures of George Bush, both positive and negative. In place of the dim-witted bogeyman of the left and the resolute hero of the right, Draper introduces a three-dimensional man full of contradictions." — Salon.com Review: "Draper is no apologist for the administration, and for Bush-bashers there are plenty of nuggets.... But the overall portrait sheds a humanizing light on a much-vilified president." — Los Angeles Times Review: "An intimate portrait of a White House racked by more infighting than is commonly portrayed." — The Washington Post Review: "Amazing...stunning." — New York Post Synopsis: In the definitive book on the Bush presidency, a gifted reporter and longtime Bush observer with unprecedented access to the White House offers a revealing and balanced look at this most secretive of administrations. About the Author Robert Draper has been a national correspondent for GQ magazine for the past decade, and prior to that was senior editor at Texas Monthly. He lives in Washington, D.C. He is author of a novel, Hadrian's Walls (Knopf), and the biography Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History. Table of Contents Contents Prologue: December 12, 2006 Part I:
BAPTISM Chapter 1: New Hampshire
Chapter 2: Texas
Chapter 3: South Carolina
Part II:
"THROUGH OUR TEARS" Chapter 4: The Building of Bushworld
Chapter 5: Doing a Few Things Right
Chapter 6: Then...
Part III:
DARK CITY ON A HILL Chapter 7: Nightmare Scenario
Chapter 8: Drumbeats
Chapter 9: The Grid
Chapter 10: Thanksgiving
Part IV:
A CHOICE, NOT A REFERENDUM Chapter 11: The One-Legged Runner
Chapter 12: "You Know Where I Stand"
Chapter 13: Ask President Bush
Chapter 14: "Stand with Me"
Part V:
COMEUPPANCE Chapter 15: Eight-Year Men
Chapter 16: Big Ball, Long Bomb
Chapter 17: Heck of a Job
Chapter 18: "This Is Not Your Daughter!"
Part VI:
THE THUMPIN' Chapter 19: The Bolten Bounce
Chapter 20: The Phantom Fence
Chapter 21: "I Owe You a Strategy That'll Work"
Chapter 22: A Fine Line Between Realism and Pessimism
Epilogue Source Notes Author's Note and Acknowledgments Index
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780743277280
- Subtitle:
- The Presidency of George W. Bush
- Author:
- Draper, Robert
- Author:
- Draper, Robert
- Publisher:
- Free Press
- Subject:
- General
- Subject:
- United States - 21st Century
- Subject:
- General Biography
- Subject:
- General Current Events
- Subject:
- Government - U.S. Government
- Subject:
- Government - Executive Branch
- Subject:
- Pride and vanity
- Subject:
- United states
- Subject:
- United States Politics and government.
- Subject:
- United States--Foreign relations--2001-
- Copyright:
- 2007
- Edition Description:
- Free Press Hard
- Publication Date:
- September 2007
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Grade Level:
- General/trade
- Language:
- English
- Illustrations:
- Y
- Pages:
- 480
- Dimensions:
- 9 x 6 in
Other books you might like
-
-
-
-
-
-
Related Aisles
|
