The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a story of power, sex and betrayal--but mostly of power." –The New York Times Book Review

"A thoroughly researched piece of work. Ms. Kelley clearly devoured and digested the extant literature on the family." –The New York Times

"Kelley's account of the rise and fall of the Bush family is both inspirational and cautionary. She convincingly shows that good looks, energy, athleticism, ambition, felicitous marriages and social networking can compensate for intellectual ordinariness." –The Washington Post Book World

"The Family . . . has left few stones unturned. . . . Kelley has brought new information to bear on a family that, for better or worse, deserves her kind of royal treatment." –The New York Times Book Review

"A sweeping indictment of the mind-set of the [Bush] family, that they grew up feeling that this was their due." –Garry Trudeau, The Charlie Rose Show

"Despite the best efforts of the media, the public is gaining insight into their president as the facts leak out and as Kitty Kelley's The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, tops the sales chart." –Newsday

"Kelley nails the evidence and, although the secretive Bush family will not like it, demonstrates beyond doubt what the American press dared not print." –The Guardian

Product Description

From the First Lady of unauthorized, tell-all biography, this is the first real inside-look at the most powerful–and secretive–family in the world. From Senator Prescott Bush's alcoholism, to his son George Herbert Walker Bush's infidelities, to George Walker Bush's religious conversion, shady financial deals, and military manipulations, Kitty Kelley captures the portrait of a family that has whitewashed its own story almost out of existence.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 784 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (May 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400096413
• ISBN-13: 978-1400096411
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #590,238 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From someone who actually read it..., August 14, 2005

By	Chicago (Chicago) - See all my reviews

I'm not really surprised by the number of people who gave this book one star just because they assumed it attacked their beloved President. Perhaps had they read it they might have learned something new.

There is a lot to be admired about the Bush family. Machiavellian at many times, rarely humble ever, this thorough study of the last four generations of business leaders and politicians presents a 'warts and all' picture of one of America's most powerful families. While any political biography may present a portrait of unethical behavior and personal screw-ups, it doesn't take much digging to find that the Bush family has more than most. Whether it's Prescott Bush's theft of a Native American skull as a part of a fraternity requirement or George W's sabotage of political rivals, the fluid values of this 'whatever it takes' group have never been clearer. Forget duplicity; their drive to get what they want spans the entire spectrum. From changing rivalries (Prescott was a founder of Planned Parenthood until a political rival called him on it and he changed his stripes for political gain) to country-club insularity to attempted destruction of naysayers (think Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, for starters), the lengths to which this true dynasty will go knows no bounds. Their ability to climb the ladder of advancement is a force to be reckoned with, and for that I recommend this book. Ethical persons will use it as a cautionary tale; others will use it as a road map.

A survey of Americans has shown that George W. Bush is someone many people would love to have a beer with; I'm sure he's a fun guy to hang out with, but even his friends from Yale are appalled that this shockingly mediocre class clown and former chief party animal has the most powerful job in the world. He does not take advice from anyone, including his father. Surprisingly little space is devoted to the current President; however, it is hard to go more than five pages without a head-shaking episode involving one family member or another, and page after page it becomes astonishingly clear that the apple has not fallen far from the most twisted branches of the family tree.

The Bush family vehemently refused to cooperate with Ms. Kelley in researching this book, and have a history of blacklisting those who do. It's a shame, because in keeping mum it only serves to give a silent endorsement to the charges (as they might say) presented in a very thorough and comprehensive way. Still, history will show that in the end, the record stands, and regardless of the author's reputation for dirt-digging, its sources cannot be repudiated.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I AM NOT SUPRISED, May 17, 2005

By	FRANK "FRANK" (USA) - See all my reviews

GREAT BOOK, FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE TRUTH.
I AM NOT SUPRISED WITH THE CONTENTS. PEOPLE OF POWER DID NOT GET
THERE BY CHANCE. THE PROBLEM IS, THE MASSIVE SUPPORT THEY GET
FROM UNSUPPECTING FOOLS, WHICH RHIMES WITH TOOLS.
THE CHAPTER ON JR & MRS. IS INTERESTING. BUT I AM STILL NOT SUPRISED.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this on a number of levels, January 21, 2007

By	Stephen Harris "futsal1958" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those of us who detest the Bushes, there is really no need to look for new reasons to hate. Having said that, I'm glad I read this book because it was enjoyable and cathartic while also serving as food for thought.

It's really an anatomy of the mindset behind conservatism, as the Bushes come across not as instigators of the ugly sort of "conservatism" that now holds sway, but rather as a symptom. The current brand of conservatism that has plunged the USA into such a miserable state is based on the idea of life as a zero-sum game: an unending series of battles that necessarily require a winner and a loser. In this world view, there is no such thing as compromise for the greater good, so it is essential that one be on the winning side.

Consistently throughout "The Family" we see the Bushes taking this stance as a means of becoming and remaining the ultimate victors. From the senior Bush's radical stand against the Civil Rights Act as a means of catapulting himself into the redneck center of Texas politics to his son's co-opting of the religious right to win backing among those he would be leaving economically disadvantaged, the naked cynicism of Bush maneuvering is masterful in that it is completely detached from any sort of a moral compass and instead driven by a keen understanding of people's fears of The Other.

One amazing thing about "The Family" is that it comes across not only as an expose of the Bushes' ugliness but also as an convincing analysis of how they utilized the power of myths and images that easily resonate with Americans. We see exactly how truly despicable people are no more than a crystalization of all that is wrong with America.