Customer Reviews

George H. W. Bush: The American Presidents Series: The 41st President, 1989-1993 (American Presidents (Times))

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This book, authored by Timothy Naftali, ends with the following comment (Page 176): "George W. Bush's controversial presidency led to a positive reassessment of his father's time in the White House. . . .[M]any missed the elder Bush's realism, his diplomacy, his political modesty, and, yes, even his prudence."

George H. W. Bush was a one term president who presided over the end of the Cold War. This slender biography, another entry in The American Presidents series, provides a useful biography of the 41st president of the United States. The book begins with his childhood and youth, culminating in his estimable service in the Navy's air wing, including being shot down in the Pacific. Upon his return to the United States, Bush entered Yale and, upon graduation, became a businessman who did well, after moving from New England to Texas.

In Texas, Bush became interested in politics, and public service consumed him until the end of his presidency. He was ambitious from the start of his career. He had successes (election to the House of Representatives) and failures (defeat in a Senate race). He became a person respected by his Republican Party leaders, and served in a number of important roles, from Director of the CIA, Ambassador to the U. N., Chair of the Republican National Committee, and head of the U. S. diplomatic post in the People's Republic of China.

After his China tour, he began thinking about the presidency. It didn't work out in 1980 (Ronald Reagan simply did a better job as candidate); however, he got quite a consolation prize--Vice President. Then, the tale of his campaign to become President in 1988.

Once elected, he displayed prudence. He ran into trouble when he backed off his "Read my lips; no new taxes" promise from the 1988 campaign. Many Republicans were angered. His presidency did feature both domestic successes and foreign policy successes (end of the Cold War and the stunning cobbling together of a coalition to boot Iraq out of Kuwait--and his refusal to advance on Baghdad). There were also problems, such as seeming sometimes to be out of touch. Then , his dismaying defeat by Bill Clinton in 1992.

All in all, a good depiction of the man and his presidency. Another worthy addition to the series.

This was not a strict biography of the entire life of George H. W. Bush. The author. Timothy Naftali, gave brief information about President Bush's family background, military service and early career and of course how he came into public life. Most of the book centered on the challenges that President Bush faced during his years of presidential service and how his early experiences influenced the decisions that he made at a very difficult time in the history of the world.

President Bush was at the helm during the period when the Cold War ended and the people of the Eastern European countries were throwing off the shackles of years of enforced communist rule. The author states that "Poland was the scene of the first dramatic change. In February 1989 Solidarity was legalized and Lech Walesa entered into talks with the Communist government to prepare for a new electoral system."

President Bush's diplomatic relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev was good which was helpful in negotiating peaceful resolutions to some of the many problems which surfaced as the Cold War was ending. The nonviolent reunification of East and West Germany was also accredited to the President's intervention. A few years later in 1991, his diplomacy helped to garner a coalition of united forces that joined together to defeat Saddam Hussein's take over of Kuwait.

On the home front, the President was not particularly popular. The American people found him difficult to understand. In some ways his aristocratic coolness turned many people off and within the Republican Party, he did not have the strong backing that President Reagan had experienced. The election promise that President Bush made when he ran for office was, "Read my lips--no new taxes." When he was forced to break that promise he lost a great deal of support and his bid for reelection.

Timothy Naftali's assessment of President Bush was that he was probably the right man for the job at that time and that "George Bush answered the call for greatness when his country required it." I thought this book was well done and it helped me to understand more about world politics and President Bush. Time and history seems to be the best judge of how well a president performed while in office.

I have to say that I found Timothy Naftali's work to be interesting. He did provide a broad brush overview of Bush 41 but did not really give us any insights that couldn't be gleaned from other people's memoir's. It would seem to me that he read what Bob Woodward, Colin Powell, Norman Schwartzcroft and company had to say and simply gleaned off his own interpretation. Granted I don't think the books in this series are supposed to be of tremendous relevance for the more recent presidents, but I certainly hope that for future generations they can provide details on the lesser known ones.

I think this is an interesting and very light read but it does tend in my opinion to reinforce the notion that George H.W. Bush was as much an observer of history than a participant. He was the guy who just happened to be sitting in the Oval Office when this stuff happened and his presence really didn't have that much to do with the rapid changes in the world at the time and quite the opposite, he nearly prevented them from happening. Anyway it's an interesting afternoon read, but don't expect to come away very impressed with Bush 41.

I have read several of the books from this series, The American Presidents. I get a lot of information, which is useful, especially when it's a president I don't know much about. With Timothy Naftali's book on George H. W. Bush, however, that is not the case. I am very much aware of Bush's term in office, and, while the author seems to want to make him out to be "great", he fails to make his case. The elder Bush was not responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union; he merely was our president during that time. Yet the most glaring errors occur when Naftali talks about Operation Desert Storm. Perhaps he is swept away by the view of Saddam Hussein as a thug (as indeed he was). Yet he neglects to mention the reason the U.S. invaded Iraq. I heard a tape of James Baker giving the rationale, at the time. We went into Iraq to keep the oil flowing--pure and simple. In all the years since the energy crisis in the early 1970's, this country was still not weaned off foreign oil. Also, if Bush was so hateful of Saddam, and determined that he be overthrown, why did he end the war without his capture? Even without the benefit of hindsight, he must have known that the dictator would cause more misery to his people if kept in power. The author only hints at Bush's thinking--in actuality he refused a request by his general to complete the job, because (as he said years later), there was no "end game". Well, why do you invade a country without having any "end game"? In conclusion, while this book offers some insight, it is seriously flawed.

In reading Naftali's bio on President George H.W. Bush, I am reminded of the value of the man's experience in service to the country leading up to the presidency and how that impacted his term in office.

Naftali does an excellent job in getting to the motivations of Bush and the issue of responsibility and legacy.

Despite the failed "no new taxes" on the economic downturn in hindsight President Bush looks much better in comparision to his son and the current occupant of the Whitehouse. Obama has a definite agenda but absolutely none of the experience of Bush 41 to pull off the execution and appears weak in comparision.

I grew up in the same town that George H.W. Bush did...Greenwich, Connecticut...and although my political leanings are very different from our former president's, I respect him and thought he did a few good things while in office.

The American Presidents series offers short biographies of the men who have served in that capacity and Timothy Naftali's book is among the best. Bush "41" was and is a complicated man who had not only the burdens of the country to deal with but also the legacy of Ronald Reagan. To a large degree, President Bush succeeded in both aspects.

The best parts of this biography deal with the first two years of Bush's presidency. He was perhaps the most prepared person to be president at the time of his inauguration and his handling of foreign affairs was top-notch, with a few glitches. When Eastern Europe dissolved into chaos, Iraq invaded Kuwait, Panama sank into chaos, George Bush took the reins of leadership and was a master. Author Naftali describes these scenarios with terrific detail. He's not necessarily a Bush admirer, but he's fair to the former president, especially when it comes to the Bush downside....the economy and domestic affairs.

It's too early to tell where George H. W. Bush will rank among our past presidents, but Timothy Naftali has given us reason to believe that Bush will be given a fair shake. He had some notable achievements in his four years and that should be remembered.

George H. W. Bush has the honor of the person who was president when I was born. As such, I took it upon myself to learn a little more about the world when I came into it.

This book is a brief overview of Bush the Elder's life. Even before he became president, Bush had served in numerous political positions. First a Congressman, Ambassador to the UN, Chairman of the RNC, Liaison to China, Director of Central Intelligence, and Vice President under Ronald Reagan, after a failed presidential run. Although the description of this period in Bush's life is rather summarized, one does get a view of how Bush's views changed, or changed by whatever circumstance required it to, over this period. Strangely enough throughout all of this, Bush still strives to be vice president. As noted in the book, no American politician had strived for the vice presidency so many times and lost. Bush's toughest task during his vice presidency came when the Iran-Contra scandal broke. He tactfully said he was out of the loop when he knew more than he admitted.

As 1988 loomed, Bush prepared for another run for the presidency. The book recalls key moments during the campaign such as Willie Horton, "read my lips," and Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis's blunder of being photographed in a tank. When the election finally came, Bush was probably still riding on Reagan's popularity and won with a comfortable margin.

Despite serving only one term (1989-1993), Bush was president during a world of change. Granted, Bush does not deserve very much credit for it. Had he not been in office the revolutions in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union probably still would have occurred. Still, Bush kept a watchful eye and met Gorbachev a few times.

As the author said, part of Bush's presidency was to clean up the mess Reagan had left him. There was the Savings and Loan crisis which required some big spending by the federal government to fix. This only worsened the deficit Bush had to deal with. Bush ended up doing something he knew was political suicide and ultimately decided to raise taxes thus breaking his major campaign promise.

Bush had more success in foreign policy. He ordered an invasion of Panama to depose Manuel Noriega, a former US ally gone bad. His greatest challenge came when Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, ordered an invasion and brutal occupation of neighboring Kuwait. During that period, stories went around of Iraqi soldiers killing babies and other atrocities. Some stories were outright falsehoods, but Bush took them to heart and no doubt played in part of his decision to use force against Iraq. After the air campaign and 100-hour ground war in early 1991, Iraqi forces had been expelled from Kuwait. Bush's approval rating shot up to 89% due to the swift victory and minimum American and coalition casualties. Although there was criticism at the time of the ultimate decision not to follow Saddam into Iraq and depose him.

Unfortunately for Bush, the high approval Americans gave him after the Gulf War did not last. The economy started to sag later in his term. His approval rating started to plummet. In 1992, he would lose reelection to Bill Clinton.

The final part of the book covers his post-presidency until the mid-2000s. He was not a very active ex-president. He wrote some books, gave some speeches, and parachuted out of a plane.

It may still be too early to fully judge the Bush, Sr. presidency. After all, the man is still alive. One's views on certain actions can change depending on later events. For example, although many people criticized his decision not to remove Saddam from power, during his son's presidency years later when another war in Iraq deposed him and led to a years long occupation, Bush, Sr. may have been right at the time.

Today Bush, Sr. is probably best remembered for his famous quote "Read my lips; no new taxes." But his presidency, and life, was much more than that.

This book did a decent job of summarizing major points in his life. It is not very detailed, though. This is the first book of The American Presidents series I have read, so I am assuming all the other books follow a similar formula. It may be years, or decades, before the definitive George H. W. Bush biography is written, if ever. Until then, this book is an enjoyable weekend read.

I've read a few of the books in this series so far and I think this is one of the better ones. It covers the life and career of George Bush, and like every other book in this series, intentionally glosses over many things in the name of brevity. However, the book still manages to cover many of the salient points of this president who often suffers by having come between two of the most popular and charismatic presidents of recent times. Additionally, it gives a good overview of some of the aspects of the man himself and some of the issues he grappled with that many people may not remember or know about. This is a president who served one term and quickly faded from memory, but was actually involved in a number of high profile events, not the least of which was the effective end of the cold war and the sea change in Eastern European politics.

I would say that this book begins with a fair and favorable assessment of Bush and ends that way. In between, there are some sections that are not so positive and make him out to have been somewhat out of his league or not up to the tasks at hand. The coverage of the Iran-Contra scandal is especially ambiguous in that it clearly suggests Bush was not completely innocent but stops short of accusing him of wrongdoing. However, the author clearly comes down on the side of believing that Bush was the right man for the job and that he displayed a great deal of integrity and wisdom in much of what he did. His approach to international relations and his attempts at making domestic progress are seen here as being well-intentioned, and in many cases, successful.

As is the case with all of the presidential biographies in this series, this book is more of a beginning point than anything. The casual reader will enjoy remembering the career of Bush but the serious reader or researcher will want to go beyond what is found here.

"George H.W. Bush" provides the reader with an interesting insight into the life, career and even the soul of one of our recent presidents. Born into a patrician, political family, this son of a United States Senator was taught from an early age to value loyalty, service and character. Through the pages of this book we learn how George H.W. Bush lived out these values as he strode across the world stage.

In this volume of the American Presidents Series, author Timothy Naftali was limited in the length of his, but yet he has brought us a work which digs below the surface as it analyzes the president who was hard, for many, to know.

This book covers a whole life, not just his presidency. Beginning with his youth, it leads us through his service as the youngest Navy pilot in World War II, during which he lost his crew when their plane was shot down, his business career and early entry into politics. Starting as County Chairman, Bush ran an unsuccessful race for the U.S. Senate before settling in for two terms in the House of Representatives. After another defeat for the Senate, he entered a period of appointive positions, including Ambassador to the United Nations, Representative to China, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Throughout this period, Bush repeatedly angled for the Vice-Presidential nods from Nixon and Ford before getting it from Reagan.

Ready to run for office again, Bush set his sights on the top in 1980, waging a valiant but unsuccessful challenge to the front runner, Ronald Reagan. Serving as a loyal vice-president, Bush gained the experience, and some taint of scandal, which would figure in his eventual succession to the Presidency.
As President, Bush faced a series of challenges, including the management of victory in the Cold War, the savings and loan crisis, the lingering effects of Iran Contra, which could have tarnished Bush's reputation more than it did, Operation Just Cause in Panama and the infamous betray of the "Read My Lips" promise of no more taxes.

The George H.W. Bush Administration will be mostly remembered for Operation Desert Storm in which forces of the coalition which he molded drove Sadam Hussein out of Iraq, but left him in power, only to be dealt with by another George Bush. In telling the story of the Washington end of Desert Storm, Naftali brings the reader into the rationale and the surprises which led to the victory which was obtained. He confirmed my suspicion that the administration was counting on a coup which would topple Sadam from power without the need of a military conquest.

After Victory in the Desert, Bush entered a political downward spiral which led to the bitterness and disappointment that followed his defeat by Bill Clinton. The book explains why Bush was unable to connect with the people for whom he had achieved victory.

Naftali does a good job at demonstrating why Bush was so unsuccessful in developing a loyal political following. He follows the development of this moderate Republican into a Reagan Conservative who then tried to become his own man without alienating the Reaganites who formed his political base. The people who elected him did not really know him and when Ross Perot offered a new and different candidate, many deserted Bush to follow a new leader. In the end, Bush suffered a rejection unprecedented since William Howard Taft.

Despite his political failings, Naftali makes the point that, for a time in his administration, Bush achieved the status of greatness. When confronted with the international challenges of the end of the Cold War and the start of the struggle with Iraq, Bush skillfully brought the forces of the world together in a way that few other leaders have. In this, Bush makes his mark on history.

Although short, this book enables the reader to see President Bush from a different perspective and gain a deeper understanding of him. Although not an apology for its subject, it does evidence a deep respect. It has changed my view of this period of history. A book that can do that is a valuable read.

Well I too thought that George H. W. Bush was a better president than either the previous occupant or Clinton. He was a wise man who counciled patience and caution. He also wasn't afraid to break a campaign pledge that hurt the country. Unfortunately crazy conservatives killed him in the primaries and Clinton smiled his way to the Presidency. After his son's disasterous presidency, George H. W. Bush is looking much better.
The author makes these points in his book. This is an interesting read about a controversial president. I thought Tim's biography was unbiased. His appraisal of Bush shows both his strengths and weaknesses. However, the author does show the innate goodness of this man.

A worthy addition to the American Presidents series. This is a nice read about a modern U.S. President.