Customer Reviews

We Will Prevail: President George W. Bush on War, Terrorism and Freedom: Foreword by Peggy Noonan; Introduction by Jay Nordlinger A National Review Book

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Sorry you had to read the liberal review written before this one. This book has been recommended on talk radio stations, and by other conservatives who truly love this country and support our president. We had years of trash and self-adulation from Clinton. All arrows pointed to him. Maybe the previous reviewer forgot what a truly moral and courageous man is like. President Bush cares what happens to this country and wants to stop terrorism before it creeps to our shores again. Highly recommended. Great reading. Check out the book by Ann Coulter for more info on how liberals think.

There are (generally) two ways of viewing the problems raised by 9-11. One is to maintain that it was an isolated atrocity committed by a renegade, and bury one's head in the sand to the broader issues. The other is to view it in a global perspective and take it as one strike in a long-term battle against global terror that has been raging for decades.

With an inauspicious beginning as president -- in a country divided by his predecessors, who pitted one people against the other and who also handed off a failing economy and miserable failures and displays of U.S. weakness abroad, as well as being hamstrung by his court-challenged election -- George W. Bush, who came to office to unite Americans after one of the most divisive administrations in history, made some progress (passing necessary tax relief, for instance, to help grow the economy) but with the progressive agenda of reform thwarted by a closely elected congress.

September 11 helped galvanize the Bush presidency, not only giving him a way to unite Americans but also showing his own honesty and compassion, and a strength and resolve that amazed even those who voted for him.

Though George W. Bush doesn't write all his own speeches alone, he is an integral part of the process. Not everyone is gifted with a gift of the blarney like his predecessor, who had the ability to adjust his statements (and views) to whatever audience he was addressing, and to say the most blatantly contradictory things without raising eyebrows. George W. Bush is not a skilled orator, but he is a man of conviction, and his views are distilled through the pens of others who work closely with him.

Plainly, through his speeches, George W. Bush emerges as a man of quiet conviction, not easily roused, but determined to defend the people and Constitution of the country that elected him. Just as plainly, he emerges as a man of enormous vision, able to see the War on Terror plainly as a global phenomenon of which 9-11 was an example, and he is a man who does not want to see people live in fear and intimidation.

His words memorialize the dead. They bring inspiration to a shattered nation. He identifies the problem and clearly and logically defines the steps that must be taken, of eradicating not only the terrorists, but the totalitarian oppressors, owning their governments by gunpoint, who give them havens.

In some cases, such as the U.N. speech, President Bush comes across like Churchill; in other cases he's as "bully", or as compassionate, as his great Republican predecessors Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

The book will be important primary source material in years to come so that, for instance, when he lays out his five-point case against Iraq and goes into the Iraqi leg of the war against the terror masters marching on the bedrock of a dozen years of U.N. resolutions, his own words will prove how vapid the Bush-haters are as they carp on one point and then another, trying to find an argument that will stick, even if they have to watch servicemen of their own country die to prove the president wrong.

WE WILL PREVAIL is more than a triumph of the human spirit against adversity; it a documentary rise of a president who started out with everything against him who grew into one of the giant figures of the twenty-first century, and possibly one of the handful of great presidents of all time.

Just a thought--maybe the people who have a specific liberal agenda might want to think about reality. We were attacked by Islamo-Fascists who have a stated goal to destroy western civilization. Unlike WWII and the Nazis, they do not align themselves with a nation, do not wear a uniform, and do not follow the established rules of war. Instead of sitting around staring at our navels and wondering about how the founding fathers might have responded, George W. Bush responded to the attack on our shores with the right measure of response and has demonstrated real leadership when it is most needed. Typical of liberals, most focus on his speaking abilities (which are not any better or worse than Clinton's) and his overall demeanor as opposed to the real issues. This book displays the moral fiber of a man who rose to the challenge and has become a world statesman.

This book is a collection of excerpts from George W. Bush's speeches given from September 11, 2001 until early 2004. Some people will find many of the speeches are quite inspiring. Since they are presidential speeches, they are also available in their entirety on the White House website www.whitehouse.gov

The editors of this book have shortened many of the speeches: whenever you see an ellipsis (i.e three dots like "...") it means some words have been cut out. Many of the speeches have been cut this way, and the cuts are not always beneficial. Sometimes what is cut is where Bush ad-libbed, so the words in this book are closer to what the speech writer wrote than what Bush delivered. Actually, that's kind of ironic: since the speeches are mostly written by people like Karen Hughes and Peggy Noonan, often Bush's biggest contribution to the speech is the ad-libbing he does at the time he delivers the speech. So the decision to cut some of the ad-libs removes a big part of Bush's contribution. It can be argued that the ad-libs distract from the flow of thoughts in the speech since the ad-libs are usually put in to connect with the audience and boost the city or state, or comment on the weather or sports something. The counter argument would be that the speeches mostly appeal to emotion, so there's not much flow of thought to distract from, and as the ad-libs are Bush's major contribution, they should be left in. I think the reader should decide. One question I have about this book is: who actually receives the royalties on sales of the book? It appears that the book was published by the staff of the National Review magazine, and it's advertised on the nationalreview.com website that way. But the cover of the book makes it appear as if George W. Bush were the author and as if it were his decision to publish the speeches and edit them that way. I don't think that's the case. Anyone or his grandmother could publish a book of Presidential speeches because the speeches are written by White House employees whose salaries are paid by our taxes, so they are all in the public domain. This isn't necessarily so for election campaign speeches, because those writers may not be government employees, so your favorite election speeches may not appear in this book. Getting back to the question of who chose to publish this book, and who gets the money from its sales, I think it's National Review Magazine, not George W. Bush, despite the appearance of the cover. I'm not claiming Bush would not have wanted this book published; I'm just saying that I don't think he had anything to do with the editing decisions that shorten the speeches, and the money from the book sales goes to other people, not the Bushes. In summary, if you're looking for a book of pResident George W. Bush's official speeches, and you don't mind having them shortened, and having some of Bush's original contributions edited out, then by all means buy this book.

President Bush's book is a compilation of his speeches, not a sit-down tell-all. These are his great speeches to this nation, ones that have shown just how articulate and honorable this man is.

2003's "We Will Prevail" is a compendium of President George Bush's public speeches in the first two years of the Global War On Terrorism. Put together by National Review, it features minimal commentary in the form of a short foreword by Peggy Noonan and an equally short introduction by Jay Nordlinger, both veteran Republican speech-writers.

Bush's controversial presidency won't get a serious non-partisan review for years, if not decades. A quick scan of the reviews associated with this book indicates the huge span of current opinion. Only time will tell whether Bush's policies will ultimately work for the best. Nevertheless, the speeches captured here will be a resource for future biographers, some of whom may decide that Bush was a more effective public speaker than he is usually given credit for being.

This collection of inspiring speeches from President George W. Bush clearly demonstrates the understanding that he has for our history and the challenges posed by September 11, 2001.

This country faces an enemy that President Bush descibed, like Churchill described the Nazis, as one that seeks to throw the world "into the abyss of a new Dark Age." These speeches are an expression of the country's determination and resolve to prevail over the forces of unspeakable horror and evil. It is a fight that we will win with President Bush's leadership. The speeches are classics of American thought that will be read by generations to come.

The editors of National Review have done a service to the public with this compilation. Every family should own a copy.

This book rocks. I was kicking back at a metallica show when a bunch of people started raving about how terrific this book is. Fortunatly with the low price (once again thinking about the people), I bought a copy and read it in one week. I coudn't put it down. What people don't realize is that the t.v media is a joke and what is said on t.v is 90 % false. Bush will always be the people's president.

At the risk of stating the obvious, it is a collection of George Bush's speeches, radio addresses, and appearances as president from post 9/11 until publication. It focuses on terrorism, American achievement and mystique, and above all, fear.

These speeches represent a departure from presidents in the past. A classic opposite was FDR who said that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Bush takes the unhealthy approach of reminding us that we should be fearful of terrorists, terrorism, and the ultimate need to be vigilant, and that under his leadership, we will be victorious.

In trying to present the best side of Mr. Bush, the editors have gone out of their way to remove the gaffes, gaffows and winces that have made his fans characterize him as a good ol' boy, and made his detractors cringe with embarassment that he is the president.

And then there's the speeches. Just when you expect Bush to tell us that the best way to fight terrorism is to go to an old age home, to put your arms around someone and tell them you love them, there are these dots, these little ellipses. Just when you are hoping to read that he wants OB/GYN doctors to be able to spread their love to women around the country, there are even more dots. There are too many little dots. There are usually four of them which means the edit goes to the end of the sentence. This is the equivalent of seeing a movie of salty language with its word substitutes on regular television. "Forget you too!" just doesn't seem to have the power as the original, unedited phrase.

I recommend this for Bush admirers only. Do not expect to find anything profound as you would in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, FDR's or JFK's speeches. There is nothing memorable here, just a mediocre speaker trying his damndest to make Americans afraid.

The only thing you have to fear from this book is....

You wouldn't think a book of speeches many before small groups would elicit the gushing or the venom that this book seems to make.

Forgetting the into by Nordlinger which is great, this is a book of speeches some historic (Jan 20th 1991, 2 STOR address etc..) Some in fact most not. As such a reference alone this book is worth your money no matter what side you are on in the debate since it gives the argument that was made for both Iraq and Afghanistan not to mention the patriot act et al.

In terms of the content both side have some meat here, The left can rightly say that WMD was a big argument for Iraq and the president stress it in every speech, his supports can rightly say that he also stress the previous UN resolutions and that the stockpiles listed by the UN are not accounted for.

There are however two spots where the president's detractors fare poorly. Since most of these speeches were not given on the air the argument that they were given poorly rings false. (The argument that the speeches are poorly written is a legit one although I would disagree with it myself) More importantly it give rest to the oft-repeated canard that we "rushed" to war. Many speeches made over many months show otherwise.

For myself the key line is from the Sept 20th 2001 speech where it is stated that the country may forget but he will not. Rightly or wrongly the war is the #1 priority for this president and this book and his actions show that he will not be distracted from it. That alone to me make it worthwhile for supporters of the president.

Taking the speeches in the book and arguing that they are incorrect is very valid and frankly would be a healthy national discussion; on that basis I would recommend it those opposed.