Synopses & Reviews
In one of the most unprecedented developments in the history of national politics, George W. Bush abruptly emerged to lead all presidential aspirants in the national polls for the 2000 election. Yet voters know very little about the man, beyond his famous name and his place in one of the nation's most powerful political dynasties.
First Son is a true, riveting family saga about extraordinary power and politics in America and in the unharnessed state--a state of mind--called Texas. The story begins with the turn-of-the-century emergence of the influential Bush-Walker clan and of Prescott Bush, the Connecticut patrician who ingrained in his family an ethos that continues to exert influence on his son, former President George Bush, and his grandsons, George W. and Jeb. How these scions of the Bush dynasty struggle to live up to their enduring legacy is the central theme of this colorful and perceptive portrait the first authentative book on the governor of Texas.
In the past year, award-winning Texas writer Bill Minutaglio has met with George W. Bush and interviewed dozens of people close to him, from his brother Governor Jeb Bush of Florida to uncles and cousins, from current and former political advisers to high-ranking insiders from his father's years in the White House. Fraternity buddies, political operatives, George W.'s employers, and even ardent critics of the Bush family bring this story to life--from the society circles in his native Connecticut to the family compound in Maine to the backwaters of his adopted Texas. The result is a book that is nuanced, insightful, and surprising in the contradictions and complexities it reveals about this man.
First Son vividly reconstructs George W. Bush's boarding-school days at one of the country's most exclusive institutions; his tenure in one of Yale's secret societies and as president of his unfettered fraternity; his attempts to follow his family's million-dollar path into the wide-open Texas oil patch; his role in major league baseball as the public face and head cheerleader for the Texas Rangers; and, finally, his rise to governor of Texas and national political force, executed with more hard-edged calculation than many people realize.
Written with precision, verve, and fair-minded balanace, First Son will be the political story of 2000--the eye-opening tale of a natural-born politician.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [329]-350) and index.
About the Author
Bill Minutaglio has distinguished himself as one of the top journalists in Texas, with the
Abilene Reporter-News, the
San Antonio Express News,
The Houston Chronicle, and
The Dallas Morning News, where he has worked since 1983 as a special writer. His work has been recognized by The National Headliners, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. His work has appeared in many national magazines and newspapers; he has co-authored two books and served as a contributing author to three other books. He lives in Austin with his two children and his wife, Holly. He can be reached at
[email protected].
Table of Contents
ch. 1.Reality day --ch. 2.Deep money --ch. 3.Core --ch. 4.Style --ch. 5.Arrogance --ch. 6.Heaviness --ch. 7.Flying --ch. 8.Primogenitor --ch. 9.Despair and capital sins --ch. 10.Someone really political --ch. 11.Big elephant field --ch. 12.Behavior modification --ch. 13.Amazing grace --ch. 14.Dog with a bone --ch. 15.Giant killer --ch. 16.Dynasty.