12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
You can tell this book got a "nod" from the Bushes, but, August 5, 2004
it is still a worthwhile read. You get some great background info on the Bushes. Love them or hate them, their successes didn't happen in a vaccum. They thoroughly understand that their achievments depend on two things; networking and making enough money to be comfortable while pursuing their political goals. It also demonstrates that while Bush Sr was not a great president he is undervalued as a statesman. Few people walked into the White House with as much experience as George Herbert Walker Bush.
That said I think this book is an especially good read for people trying to understand why Bush Sr's presidency has a different flavor than that of his son Dubya. And for people who aren't familiar with the saga, they will learn that the family pinned their political hopes on Jeb and were astonished when Dubya became Gov of Tex then President.
Even though this book does favor the Bushes there are some things that even they can't paint a pretty picture of. Such as Prescott Srs involvement in Yales Skull and Bones Society's plundering of Geronimos bones and his fumble when he jokingly told his mother during WWI that he won 3 medals of honor from three countries. His mother unwittingly shared that with the press only to have to shamefacedly retract it later.
Another example of where this book paints a less than flattering picture of the Bushes is that it also shows a mean spirited side to Bush Sr in some of his remarks to Barbara about her weight and her cooking. And even Barbara isn't spared. While she is generally portrayed in a positive light you can't help but see that Barbara on occassion employed some "Nancy Reagan-like" tactics when she thought someone wasn't being loyal to the Bush family. And, in immersing herself in the Bush identity she became disengaged from her own family.
In summary this book is a good foundation to understanding the Bushes but you may want to do some "cross reading" from other sources to get a more complete picture of this interesting family.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Heartfelt and Honest Family Portrait of USA's First Family, May 5, 2004
You might actually wonder why it took so long for a family portrait of the Bushes to be published. I certainly have; certainly no comtemporary family has had such a prolonged and strong impact on our country.
The Schweizers do a fine job balancing the many faces of this engaging family. Starting with SP Bush (W's Great, great grandfather), to Senator Prescott Bush, to George HW Bush (known to the family as 41) on through to George W. and Jeb, their account is fluid, easy to read, factual and balanced. While they are clearly admirers of the family, they are also honest. Foibles are as equally displayed as the fortes-- but all are shown in a even-handed and objective manner. Despite others reviews, the authors do not seem to have an agenda-- they simply paint a portrait.
The result? A lengthy biography that reads like a novel. To anyone who is interested in American history, this account of the Bush family is a must read. If you are a Bush basher, no, you will not enjoy this book. If you are a fair-minded person going in, however, there is a lot to be gained from reading this throrough account of one of the most influential families of our time.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spot the trends across the generations, July 29, 2004
Given the state of the current-events books market, any title that's not defiantly anti-Bush is bound to stick out simply by contrast. "The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty" is not the whitewash or "fluff" some may consider it. But it is without question a by-and-large sympathetic look at "the un-Kennedys" through several generations.
For this book, as indeed, it seems, for the Bushes themselves, the focus is on family more than on politics per se (for example, it seemed like we had barely finished the 1988 presidential election before the authors were starting to discuss the 1992 campaign). The Schweizers are pretty thorough in chronicling the family's position at the center of a vast network of extended relatives, friends, business contacts, and government officials around the world, and at showing how members of the family are more than willing to tap those contacts for both political and personal use. Again, the fact that the authors don't see that network as ipso facto conspiratorial sets this title apart from many of the others on the shelf. But it's nice to take a holiday from all the rhetoric sometimes.
As other reviewers have noted, there are a number of errors and repetitions. For example, a story about Robert Mossbacher meeting with Prescott Bush is told in the context of both the 1964 (p. 157) and 1970 (p. 201) elections. While these suggest another pass or two by the editor's comb might have been useful, they don't fundamentally undermine the whole work.
The most useful functions of "The Bushes", I think, are twofold. The first is the light it shines on the importance of the family, as such, to the Bushes, and how essential characteristics wax and wane, though still present, through the years. George W. comes across as an uncharacteristically cause-driven member of the family -- whereas his father "41" is described as a man of no particular ideology (p. 279), who distrusts the power of ideas (p. 374), and who was never really quite able to answer the question of what he wanted to do when he became president (p. 356).
The second interesting point is the access the authors were given to family members and close friends, and the uncharacteristic willingness of those people to discuss things the Bushes usually keep very close to the vest. Even readers who are less willing to look favorably on the Bush clan should find some value or use in these insider accounts.
Though the Bushes profess to hate "the D word," there's no question that they have surpassed the Adams, Taft, or Kennedy families as America's premier political dynasty. Students of American politics have reason to want to get to know them, and this book is, if not flawless, one of the better (and almost certainly the least grudge-bearing) ways to do that yet published.
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