Customer Reviews

God and George W. Bush: A Spiritual Life

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

In book stores I see book after book dripping with venom about the President. The 'documetary' Fahrenheit 9/11 has picked up on every rumor and allegation that it seems any conspiracy buff can create and states them as fact. It was refreshing to see a book praising George w. Bush.

Although the title would make you believe that this book is purely about the religious or spiritual aspects of Bush's life, in reading it I was surprised to find the amount of insider information that Paul Kengor had about the thinking process of the President as he decided to run for various offices and on issues such as the war in Iraq. This book, very slightly re-written and re-titled could be a, Inside the Bush Administrations Decision to go to War. It's only a year or two after these decisions are made that books like this one describe what really went on as opposed to the 30 second news spots and the never ending political commercials. Well worth reading as you make a decision about for whom to vote or in understanding the background of the war.

Not the typical, boring political book. I was slam dunked by the touching elements contained within this book. It is written with a keen insight for detail, translated into tears, laughter and surprise. Not simply a book of details. One with the ability to draw the reader into a life the book takes on by itself, something a well written piece does. This writter is fair & nonjudgemental, allowing the reader to find the truths & faults within.

Would read anything written by Paul Kengor, he's got style all his own!:) Pleasantly surprised:)

Judge after you read, enlightening, interesting, holds ones attention.

I could not put this book down. I started it after General Frank's book and I cannot remember two books back to back like these two that were as moving and motivational. We live in a very cynical time where a any politician's expression of God is eyed skeptically. In President Bush's case, this book demonstrates clearly, it is not an exaggeration to say that his faith became his moral compass and has lead to his moral clarity on the fight against terrorism.

This book shows how President Bush has brought a sense of obligation to the Oval Office. From day one, according to aides, he has begun each day praying on his knees. Each morning he reads the Bible and studies from a guide that features a daily Bible lesson.

Mr. Kengor demonstrates clearly how faith and prayer achieved a heightened importance with the president after September 11, 2001. It was the pivotal point in his presidency and his guiding light today.

This was a very good read!

This book told me exactly what I was hoping to find out about G.W. We have heard about his faith, but until I read the book I wasn't sure if it was a "real" faith. Dr. Kengor brought out why George Bush is the man we need in the Whitehouse for the times we are in. I was very curious to know if he actually humbles himself enough to ask for God's guidance in his decision making, and Dr. Kengor gave me my amswers.
Great Read!

This book is hard to put down. This book doesn't shy away from faults and truths, the reader draws their own conclusions. The book well describes the man, his motives, his faith in God, his love of family, his extreme love of the United States of America and ALL citizens!!! If you don't understand George W. Bush, this book will enlighten you to the heavenly Spiritual forces that guide him in all that he does. WE, as citizens should be proud we have a man that is in counsel with the Almighty before he makes a move. One of the best reads ever. Paul Kengor does an excellent job in expressing the character of our President. It IS NOT a boring book crammed with statistics. It is a thoughtful approach of dealing with todays issues and the man that will continue to govern our great country!

Read the book, think for yourself, above all VOTE!

One of the most salient features of George W. Bush's private and public life is his religiosity. He is the most religiously inspired president since Jimmy Carter, and the one whose religiosity has probably been more of an issue in political considerations than perhaps any president in all of US history. In light of that it would be immensely useful to get a better idea of the development and extent of Bush's faith, and this book by renowned author Paul Kengor is up to the task. Kengor is known for the detailed and meticulous research on all of his subjects, and this book is no exception. We follow Bush from his earlier experiences in Midland, Texas, with particular accent on those themes and events that pertain to his spiritual formation. The image of Bush that is often portrayed in the media is of a reckless and fairly wild youth who finds religion right after his fortieth birthday as a part of his effort to rid himself of the blight of alcoholism. However, as this book shows, religion was never too far away from his considerations, but he probably never made much of it in public until a moment of profound personal crisis forced him to reflect deeply on things that really matter in life.

Another thing that is often made into a big issue is the supposed overly religious tenor of Bush's political speeches and pronouncements. However, a closer scrutiny of the frequency of the use of religion in those situations reveals that Bush, contrary to the public opining, is no more likely to use the "God card" than other US presidents before him, and is in fact much more subdued and careful not to overplay the importance of religion in public statements. The same holds when it comes to other politicians of both parties - on an average, they are probably more likely to politicize religion than Bush is. One gets impression that it is not really religion per se that offends Bush's detractors, but rather the simplicity and sincerity of his faith. Why this should be an issue is probably better left for other discussions, and Kengor wisely eschews plunging too deeply into that subject.

The book ends with the events and issues that were relevant during the 2004 presidential campaign. This is understandable from the point of view of wanting to maximize the impact of the book, but it would have been more appropriate to write and release the book at least until after Bush's public life had ended. This would have provided us with a much more complete picture of the ways that his faith has shaped his presidency.

I wanted to offer my own personal praise for "God and George W. Bush". I just finished reading it and am impressed beyond words.

There are so many parallels to "God and Ronald Reagan", to praise one book is to praise the other. Both works are not only a spiritual biography of both presidents, but uniquely demonstrate how their faith impacted the world--especially in foreign policy. I appreciated how both books discussed the historical events surrounding Reagan and Bush with the Soviet Union and the Middle East, respectively. Dr. Kengor came up with a unique approach no other author dealing with these issues even considered.

While the Reagan book had the luxury of analyzing history some time after Reagan finished his second term, Kengor certainly did not have that luxury with this one. But I believe his analysis of George W. Bush and his place in history will be vindicated in the future. With this book, Dr. Kengor did a great job in also making it a current events book in his analysis of the Democrats and John Kerry's own faith just in time for the election.

Both books combined history, presidential biography, foreign policy, and spiritual matters to rise above any one particular category. There were just so many different elements in these books, which will make them great works of history future scholars will refer to in seeking understanding of both presidents. I don't think I've ever read two books that appealed to so many different genres. The research was impeccable, and Kengor's writing style is interesting and engaging. I didn't want to put either book down! And here's a compliment that I know will appeal to a professor... I consider myself pretty well-read on both presidents, but both books were filled with unique facts, insights, and analysis that I had not read anywhere else. I learned from every page.

And I was challenged spiritually by both works. A person of faith cannot read either book without being encouraged and challenged in their own walk with Christ and how it can change the world. I really appreciated the spiritual sustenance that I personally walked away with.

To Paul Kengor, thank you for writing both of these great books. I learned so much from them and enjoyed reading every word. They are books that will stand the test of history, and you should be very proud of both of them. I can't wait to read your next book on Reagan and the Soviet Union!

By the way, notice the negative reviews on this page are just left-wing Democrats bashing our president and people of faith--they haven't even read the book! Read it first, then comment.

For those who have mentioned the separation of church and state, I suggest they read the book, "The Myth of Separation of Church and State" by David Barton. I find it fascinating that President Bush has been denegrated for sharing his spiritual beliefs. Those who question or are against "Faith-Based inititives" are leaving out a segmnet of society and of this country who can have a much greater influence on lives and helping those less fortunate. Churches, synagogues, etc. are already in the communities, they understand what is going on, and are prepared to assist in ways that frankly the federal goverment can't and shouldn't do. Plus, in the end, it saves taxpayers money by allowing citizens to take the lead in serving their fellow man.

It's only fair to read both sides of the story. Therefore after a couple of books critical of George W. Bush and the Religious/Christian Right/Conservatives I figured it's only fair to read one in support of the former, most likely it being in support of the latter too.

So after "With God On Their Side", after "Roads To Dominion", after "Close Encounters With The Religious Right", after "What's Wrong With Kansas?" and after "The Faith Of George W. Bush" by Stephen Mansfield I read this one. And going for full disclosure, I also read "Fortunate Son" by James Hatfield.

And the last one 'enjoys' an infamous reputation of being a full fledged dismantling of GWB. However, Hatfield's book still stroke me as being more fair, more balanced and all in all more neutral in tone, than this cheerleading effort by Paul Kengor.

My tolerance ended on page 210 when there was a paragraph implying that Saddam Hussein was involved in the events of September 11. Before you jump at me and talk about the 'atmosphere' of support that was in Iraq for the terrorists and for Al Qaida, that's not even what Kengor is writing about. He's basically saying that Saddam was about as much involved as you can get, shy from flying one of the planes himself. And that is just false.

This shows Kengor's agenda. And that's why it does not come as a surprise that he leaves out the US support for Saddam during the Iran vs Iraq war (a war he also writes about, plus he mentions "He tried to kill my dad.") Just like "Faith & George W. Bush" he also leaves out 'those missing years', the controversy about his guard service, how he failed as a business man, etc. etc. etc. instead doing his best effort to characterize and portray Bush as messianic and infallible as possible, without being blasphemous about it.

Therefore the conclution is: it's a biased effort by a supporter, who sugarcoats everything the man does, putting him on a pedestal, glorifying him unquestionably.

And I don't like that. I believe that there's always two sides to a story. That's why I read this book after all. A good book to me shows both sides, albeit it may put the emphasis on one. However, this one doesn't. Oh, not even remotely.

I have an autographed copy of this book. I have never met George W. Bush, but I handed my copy of this book to Congressman Denny Hastert (Speaker of the House) and asked him if he'd sign it for me. He did so without hesitation.

Now, you might expect this book to be biased toward the President. It is not. But, it is also--unlike our mass media--not biased against him. This book does not seek to promote President Bush or any particular agenda. It merely seeks to explain the role of George W. Bush's personal religious convictions--his faith--in how he conducts himself as a man and as the President of the United States. It's an interesting and informative read.

This book is loaded with information. It's a compilation of research. Most books on political leaders are laden with opinion and conjecture--they essentially preach to the choir without providing any substance. This book is a welcome departure from such tripe.

Remember footnotes from those research papers you did in school? This book has 40 pages of such notes. And they're all in small type--otherwise, the page count would be 100 pages--maybe more. That alone says a great deal about the credibility of this book. It is authoritative. It uses facts and figures, rather than rhetoric and accusation.

If you are a Bush supporter, you should read this book so your opinions are informed opinions rather than merely the product of rightist brainwashing and rhetoric.

If you are a Bush-basher, you should read this book so your opinions are informed opinions rather than merely the product of leftist brainwashing and rhetoric.

If you are neither a supporter nor a basher, you should read this book so you can make up your mind.

Let me interrupt my review of this book by exposing a particular myth about President Bush. This myth says his IQ is 91. Related myths hold that he's dumb, because he mangled syntax during his 2000 election campaign. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II. This was definitely not a position that a low IQ person would rise to. Keep in mind that Eisenhower outsmarted Hitler's staff--most of whom had genius IQs.

Yet, Eisenhower was--like Bush--famous for mangling syntax in political speeches. Bush's SAT score was 1206, which equates to an IQ close to 130. This nearly qualifies him for membership in Mensa, the International High IQ Society (meaning he's just a tad below genius level). Further, he was a jet fighter pilot--a job that takes a huge degree of intelligence to qualify for.

So, whatever else you may think of George W. Bush, he is not stupid. If you have had that notion about him, you now know better. And if you've had that notion, then your other notions about Bush are probably also based on misinformation. To ensure your views are accurate, order this book today and read it promptly. If you read this book and still don't like him, that's fine--you will have an informed opinion.

Bush, as we all know, sowed his wild oats. And, he paid a price for that. Which led him to change his ways. He had an epitome, and decided to become a different person. He has worked on that for many years. A key part of his faith is tolerance. He reaches out to people of all religions. From his support of Muslims before and after September 11 to his presentation of a very high award to the Catholic Pope, Bush exemplifies the religious tolerance this nation was founded upon.

Some folks will say a President should keep his religion private because it's his duty to keep church and state separate. The Constitution promises freedom of religion, not silence of religion. And that is a guiding principle of how Bush conducts himself as President. Kengor provides exhaustive research to show exactly where Bush stands on the questions of church and state. You may not agree with Bush's position in that regard, and that's fine. But, you owe it to yourself to at least know what that position is. It's been inexcusably mis-portrayed by our major media--which follow their own agenda rather than reporting their findings.

Kengor exposes dozens of claims made by the New York Times, Washington Post, and other sources of disinformation for the lies they are.

For example, consider the common lie that Bush is an intolerant, Bible-thumping Jesus freak who wears his religion on his sleeve.
A look at the facts shows the media are using a double standard.

Here are the facts. From 2000 through 2003, Bush mentioned Christ in fourteen separate statements. And, the media excoriated him for this. From 2000 through, Bill Clinton mentioned Christ in forty-one separate statements. Yet, the media did not even bat an eye toward Clinton about this. Can you say the word "bias?" If not, you'd better practice--you will see example of example of this kind of thing--all exhaustively substantiated--in Kengor's book.

Bush's biggest year for mentioning Christ was in 2001. Then, he mentioned Christ seven times. Two of those times were during his Easter and Christmas messages. During the same year, he honored the holidays of other major religions--all of the holidays most Americans don't ever even think about.

Now, here's another interesting find. For any organization--even a church--to keep its non-profit status, it cannot do political lobbying. The IRS has a duty to revoke that organization's non-profit status if that organization engages in political activities. Which is why many organization have a separate group for that purpose. But in 2000, Clinton visited many, many black churches specifically to campaign for Al Gore. Clinton gave long speeches predicting that Bush would set black civil rights back by fifty years. As we know, that didn't happen--indeed, Bush has done more for black people in his first term than Clinton did in both terms combined. (Actually, Clinton's tax increases took money from black families and his increased regulations on businesses cost the nation millions of jobs. His failure to follow up on terrorist attacks cost the lives of many soldiers and civilians of all races).

While illegally campaigning in black churches, Clinton used histrionics and unfounded accusations to put real fear into blacks regarding their choice of President. The things he said were unbecoming for a President, and it was illegal for him to abuse the venue he abused to say them. But, he did this anyhow, knowing what the law was and not considering that maybe laws apply to him also and not just to others. Consequently, 85% of blacks voted for Gore. Yet, the Justice Department and the IRS failed to enforce the law. Clinton is still a free man, and none of those non-profits were penalized. In other words, a sitting President conspired with dozens of church leaders to lie about their activities--activities that had nothing to do with religion--and they all got away with it.

The media made zero noise about this whole sordid affair. Can you imagine how they'd react if Bush were to do this?

The existence of this brainwashing and bias is why you need to read this particular book. You owe it to yourself to form your own opinions, based on the documented evidence and not on lies or brainwashing. This book does not try to persuade. It merely seeks to inform. Unless you are informed, you are simply serving someone else's agenda--quite possibly to your own detriment. You now have the opportunity to learn the truth. You may decide to change your mind, whether you are for Bush or against him. But in either case, you will make a choice that is based on the evidence.