Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Rosemary Stevens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0786248025 | ISBN-13: 978-0786248025 | Edition: 1

From her protected childhood to her early marriage and motherhood, from her adventures as a young wife to her journey to the White House and beyond, this riveting biography gives a new perspective on the woman who was married to one President, gave birth to another, and quietly became an American icon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist Kilian (What Was Watergate?) quotes newspaper reports and interviews members of the Bush White House staff, presidential scholars and Barbara's friends to paint a fond, somewhat lackluster portrait of the popular former first lady. Sandwiched between the highly visible Nancy Reagan and the controversial Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush will primarily be remembered as a mother and wife to presidents; her years in the White House, Kilian admits, were "not especially notable." There's nothing genuinely remarkable about her life either, but Kilian makes sure to toss in the occasional odd tidbit along with the basic biographical facts. Readers may know, for example, that Barbara Pierce grew up in an affluent suburb of New York City, was well adjusted if a trifle sheltered and met her future husband at a country club dance. But they might be surprised to learn that she took an auto mechanics class and, as wife of the then vice president, occasionally repaired the family cars. Though Barbara has always been well liked, and later in life has seemed rather like America's grandmother, Kilian maintains that she has a dark side: she suffered from a bout of depression during her husband's term as head of the CIA, for instance, and she's fiercely protective of her family. Kilian wraps up her workmanlike tale with the election of George W. and some speculation about Barbara's feeling vindicated for her husband's defeat. A competently researched and reasonable general account, this title will be popular with fans of the former first lady, even though it fails to break new ground.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Having known the Bushes for over 20 years, journalist Kilian is well prepared to tell Barbara Bush's story.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 483 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (January 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786248025
• ISBN-13: 978-0786248025
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,333,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK for the general fan, but not much for the historian, October 7, 2002

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty (Hardcover)

I call it Clementine Churchill (or if you prefer, Denis Thatcher) Syndrome: spouses of the great and powerful frequently haven't had lives as newsworthy as that of their more famous partner. And as Barbara Bush herself has noted, it's "fate and an extraordinary husband" (p. 141) that have made her part of history. However, Barbara Bush has always been a popular individual -- sometimes much more so than her husband. And for casual fans looking for an inoffensive and readable popular biography, this work by Pamela Killian more than fits the bill.

On its own terms, it does have its weak points. How much weight you choose to give them depends on what exactly you're looking for, I suppose. For example, there's no evidence Mrs. Bush herself was interviewed for this book -- although according to the acknowledgements some current and former staff-members and friends were. Many of the quotes, and much of the other information, are recycled from newspaper coverage and other media sources (including, interestingly, an episode of the A&E cable network's "Biography" program). Author Kilian also gives a disturbing amount of emphasis to those notoriously fickle (as well as politically tendentious) "polls of presidential historians."

There are also a couple of errors (arguably minor) that need to be pointed out, including a misquotation of Al Gore's famous "no controlling legal authority" phrase (p. 217) and an odd mention of the House of Representatives' "interference" with the election of 1824 (there was no "interference," just the process laid out in the Constitution).

Where I thought this biography particularly shined, though, was in the discussion of Barbara Bush's 1990 commencement address at Wellesley College (pp.146-53). Some feminists in the graduating class had objected to Mrs. Bush's presence, on the grounds that she had no individual achievements and was only being honored because of whom she was married to. Mrs. Bush handled that issue well at the time, and Kilian does the same here. I found this chapter, in many ways, the defining point of the book, giving testimony (if any were needed) to the value of the life Barbara Bush has led.

While not terribly in depth or deeply psychologically revealing, this biography does give a good picture of a woman who, in my opinion, justifies the high regard in which she is still held by so many people. Think what you will about her husband's and/or son's politics, it's harder not to like the Silver Fox, as this title helps make clear.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, December 21, 2003

By 

Opptimizer (Opp, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty (Hardcover)

I read this book and I was just left wondering where the new material was. This book just goes over some general things that everyone knows. We need something a little meatier. Barbara can really be a great leader when she wants to. I just wish she didn't leave these books up to other people such as biographers and ghost writers.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Barbara Bush's memoirs, September 18, 2008

By 

Mary Kate Cary - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty (Kindle Edition)

This is not the book you think you're buying. I thought I was buying "Barbara Bush: A Memoir" by Barbara Bush, which has the exact same cover. But this one is a biography in the third person by someone named Pamela Kilian. Unfortunately I figured this out only after I had paid for the book. This is a real bait and switch. Don't fall for it like I did!