Review
If you're tired of all the rhetoric-spewing and mud-slinging from this year's presidential eelction campaign's, this candid pictorial will show you a side of Bob Dole you'd never expect.
The photos and accompanying excerpts piece together a well-written, informative scrapbook of the man behind the solemn mug. This book has it all - from childhood photos to a fraternity composite to his recovery bed when he returned from the war.
And if the idea of a warm, fuzzy side of Dole surprises you, wait 'til you flip through the pages of his college/military years. Bob Dole was (gasp) a babe. Believe it or not, Dole was quite the stud in his early years.
In a 1941 excerpt from the Pony Express, the student newspaper at Russell High School, the paper reports, "Bob Dole was rated the ideal boy of Russell High School by the Girl Reserve Club when they voted by ballot as a part of the boy and girl relations program."
The dapper lad was known by his peers as a shy but popular student with a penchant for snappy clothes - in many of the photos, the young Dole is sporting a hipster suit and the unassuming grin that made him popular with the ladies.
The story of Dole's political career is told through the progression of photos. His high school and college years were centered around sports - the photos of track meets, football games and his basketball teams illustrate the star athlete's passion for sports. But turn a few pages and you'll find a bedridden Dole, crippled by injuries from World War II. The injury ended his career as an athlete, but began his life in politics.
Even if you're not a staunch Republican or a Dole fan, the collection is an easy read and a great, non-partisan way to find out a little more about the Kansan. -- Colleen Rush, associate editor, U Magazine
