A World Transformed [Paperback]

George H W Bush (Author), Brent Scowcroft (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 1999

"The most important book yet written about the end of the Cold War."
-The New York Tmes Book Review

"Among the finest expositions of modern American foreign policy. . . . An excellent book."  
-Eugene V. Rostow, The Wall Street Journal

It was a pivotal administration in the history of American foreign policy--for during George Bush's presidency a series of international events took place that had a profound impact on the course of America and on the future of world diplomacy.  
        In A World Transformed, Mr. Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, provide a fascinating account of a president and an administration faced with unprecedented obstacles and unrivaled opportunities as they forged a foreign policy at the end of the Cold War. Solidarity comes to power in Poland. East and West Germans dance on the wall that separated them for half a century. And on Christmas Day, 1991, the hammer-and-sickle flag descends from the Kremlin for the last time.
        It is also a candid analysis of a new chapter in foreign affairs, when the United States led an international alliance to confront the threat presented by Saddam Hussein and presented a dynamic response to the Tiananmen crisis. Balanced and intelligent, A World Transformed offers a landmark treatise on American foreign policy and international diplomacy from two of its principal architects.

"Reveals not only a wealth of detail about the main lines of foreign policy at the highest level during a most portentous period of our history, but also of the truly admirable characters of the men who made it."      
-The Philadelphia Inquirer

"In a strong new book, the ex-president recalls
dangerous days. . . . It should leave little doubt how lucky we were that we had such a seasoned hand on the tiller at a time when foreign policy really counted."  
-Michael R. Beschloss, Newsweek

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

George Bush's term as President occurred during a watershed era for international politics. In fact, so many major events took place on his watch that he limits A World Transformed to the years 1989 to 1991, in which the massacre at Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the Persian Gulf War held center stage. Though some will claim that this narrow focus only confirms Bush's disproportionate interest in foreign rather than domestic affairs, the events in question certainly warrant a book of their own. Perhaps anticipating such a response, Bush hints in the introduction that further memoirs are in the works.

A World Transformed is divided into three voices: Bush, his coauthor and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and the collective "we" of the National Security Council (supplying vital background information and a wider view of the events discussed). Overall, this formula works--Bush's tone is particularly warm and chatty, his narrative peppered with telling anecdotes that reveal the personalities and emotions behind the bold-faced headlines. His remarks are mostly to the point, gratifyingly lucid, and often compelling. Diary excerpts supply many memorable insights, if few truly shocking revelations. For instance, at the end of the Persian Gulf War, he wrote: "Isn't it a marvelous thing that this little country will be liberated.... The big news, of course, is this high performance of our troops--the wonderful job they've done; the conviction that we're right and the others are wrong. We're doing something decent, and we're doing something good; and Vietnam will soon be behind us.... It's surprising how much I dwell on the end of the Vietnam syndrome."

In describing his interaction with other world leaders, Bush emerges as a skillful negotiator and statesman, fostering a personal, first-name-basis style of diplomacy that proved especially effective with Mikhail Gorbachev and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Scowcroft, the consummate support man and workaholic, focuses more on the nuts and bolts, balancing out their presentation of how crises are dealt with at the highest level. --Shawn Carkonen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

All presidential memoirs are efforts to write and influence history so as to put the author in the most favorable light possible. This book is no exception. However, this is a memoir with a difference. Jointly authored by former President Bush and his national security adviser and focusing not on the entirety of his presidency but on a few key foreign policy issues (the end of the Cold War, Desert Storm, the collapse of the Soviet Union), this book presents parallel descriptions by the two principals from different but related vantage points. Also included are excerpts from President Bush's diary and brief commentary providing context for the events. The unusual style of the memoir works very well, and Scowcroft's comments function as a constant reality check on Bush's more optimistic and at times simplistic explanations. While there are some serious gaps (e.g., virtually no mention of the New World Order), this book is required reading for anyone interested in the momentous changes of the Bush years.?Michael A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (September 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679752595
• ISBN-13: 978-0679752592
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting insider insights, August 26, 2005

By 

Jack Lechelt "Jackyred" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A World Transformed (Paperback)

I'm no expert on the end of the Cold War, nor on the many issues Bush and Scowcroft discuss. There are too many people who argue that the end of the Cold War had everything or nothing to do with Ronald Reagan. As Bush and Scowcroft make plain, intentionally or not, change was coming around too quickly for anyone to claim credit. I know the standard story-line: Reagan raised defense spending and this drove the Soviets to spend until they collapsed. It's a simple story, but it leaves out far too much to be accurate. Bush was on the tail end of a decades-long strategy of containment; thankfully all presidents stood their ground in confronting the Soviets. Perhaps we should all recognize how fortunate we were to have Bush and Scowcroft in leadership positions for the four years they served as President and National Security Adviser. Admittedly cautious, they used their time wisely in dealing with the Soviet Union.

Very thorough in dealing with German reunification and in standing up to Saddam. It's amazing to read the Gulf War stuff: Bush and Scowcroft discuss the importance of alliances, the UN Security Council, containment, and the difficulties of urban warfare. Apparently someone's son did not read the book. Are we better off or worse off for that? Time will tell.

In a sense the book is not co-written because the two authors go back and forth in describing their different memories of the four Bush White House years. An original approach.

Unfortunately, no discussion on the U.S. invasion of Panama.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed and Thrilling Account of Historic Change, October 22, 1999

By 

Wayne A. Smith (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A World Transformed (Paperback)

George Bush and Brent Scowcroft have written a great book about a fascinating subject. This is very engaging and at times is very much a page turner. I was left thinking that a more detailed account of history being made by the movers themselves may not exist. The end of the Cold War is a great story in and of itself, but also a story that could have had a very different ending were it not for the team that managed to bring it to a successful close.

This is a very honest book by honest men. Evenly though successful on all of the big issues, they write of miscues, uncertainty and difficulties in reaching the "right" decision. It is not a self-praise tome, but a book that is not afraid to lay out an accurate rendering of the facts and atmosphere. The reader has enough information and background to put himself in the role of President and ask, "What would I have done in that siguation." It's the mark of a thorough book.

One can not help but come away impressed by the Bush foreign policy apparatus and the President's own grasp of events, the players and the vital interests of the United States. He, aided by one of the best foreign policy / national security teams ever assembled, played America's hand superbly.

After reading this book, anyone who still believes that any President's main responsibility is "the economy, stupid" is.....well, stupid.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Detailed, May 21, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A World Transformed (Hardcover)

This book is the step by step discussion of the major foreign affaire issues that took place during first Bush presidency. To say this book is detailed would be to say the Battan Death March was a "tough hike". The book covers the years 1989 to 1991, more specifically (only) the massacre at Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the USSR, and the Gulf War. The book is written in an interesting way - Bush and Scowcroft give their views on each of the issues and then combine for a third voice that gives more of a back ground commentary. We also get some of Bush's "dear diary" entries, which given he wrote the book, I wonder if we saw the original entries. This style does make the book more readable, although Scowcroft's writing could compete in excitement with watching grass grow.

Bush does come across as an excellent statesman in dealing with world leaders. He presents a warm down home type of President that worked with some of the leaders he dealt with. The reader also gets an interesting insight into some of the leaders that Bush dealt with (Hussain, Gorbachev and Kohl) to name a few. In the details of the Gulf War, he also comes off as being a skillful negotiator that kept the war effort together. I think it also shows that to be a good world leader you must develop personal relationships with other world leaders. Bush comes off as such a good foreign policy man that it almost adds to the impression that he had no clue what was going on at home.

Again, the book was full of details - - too much dry detail at times. Some of the talk about how minor issues were resolved could have been left on the cutting room floor and the book would have been the better for it. I did feel that we were short-changed on the Tiananmen Square uprising in China. I also felt that there was just too much time spent on Russia that could have been spent covering the Panama Invasion or the start of the Somalia effort. Overall, the book was very detailed and interesting. As it was almost a memoir, I would look to a few other books on the topics to form of full opion of the issues, as the author's may have been a bit bias.