Deserter: Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past (Paperback)

~ (Author) "WHEN INVITED TO WRITE a book about George W. Bush's military career, I thought that at least this would be mercifully short book: indeed a..." (more)
Key Phrases: National Guard, White House, Bush the Younger (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Deserter looks objectively at the military record of George W. Bush, his role in the armed forces, and his treatment of them. Over the past year, Bush’s military poses have been contrived to convince the American public that he is a National Security President. Others have found his playacting less convincing. While George W. Bush supported the Vietnam War, his contribution was to enlist in a nepotistic unit of the Texas National Air Guard, which, short of World War III, was guaranteed never to see military action. Even in this safe position, Lieutenant Bush broke under the strain and went AWOL for the best part of a year. In contrast, American National Guardsmen have not only been called up for frontline action in Iraq, but they have had their terms of service extended. While the military budget soars, the war is being fought with a dangerously inadequate number of troops. The dead and disabled are shipped home under cover of darkness; those who eventually return in one piece find that their veterans’ medical benefits and facilities are being axed. Deserter strips away the illusion of Bush as "commander-in-chief" to reveal a hypocrite who has betrayed his troops and his country.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560256273
• ISBN-13: 978-1560256274
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,342,822 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars His Records DID Prove He Was AWOL, August 20, 2004

By	S. Walliker "PTW" (Galva, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Actually, on the bottom of page 4 of his UMPR (Uniform Military Personnel Record) from 5/10/73 it says "NO RPT 1 YR" which translated for all of you non-military types means that he did NOT report to any guard unit for an entire year. (In theory you have to attend a drill one weekend a month and spend several weeks each year in training.) The document can be seen on http://www.glcq.com/docs/umpr_5-10-73.htm if you want to look for yourself.

I don't really care that he didn't report for that year as the "system" at the time was designed to make sure that the sons of congressmen were never put in harm's way. What offends me is the way the President lies about it. That being said, when you duck the draft, someone does have to go in your place and I would wonder what happened to that poor sob.

There is a great line in the movie Platoon Leader where a young lieutenant tells his men that he doesn't even care if they, "pull on the little people" (shoot at the VC), they just have to, "be here with the rest of us" getting shot at and enduring the danger. No matter what you think of either Bush or Kerry, their policies or their friends, Bush was AWOL and continues to lie about it.

72 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I started this book with a great deal of skepticism, August 20, 2004

By	Alexander E. Paulsen "AlexP" (Jacksonville, Fl United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I started this book with a great deal of skepticism. The author has crossed all his T's and dotted all his I's.

The research seems indisputable. Even if Bush was never charged with being AWOL it certainly appears tthat he was indeed AWOL> I suppose it not a big shock that he would be charged. After all his political connections got him the National Guard posting to begin with when he was clearly unqualified. ( come on a 25% on the test gets him bounced ahead of 500 applicants?!?) Then gets promoted to 2nd Lt without having graduated from flight school yet?

The Bush refuses to take a physical because there was a new requirement for a drug test? That gets his flight status dropped thus wasting the milloin or so dollars of taxpayer money spent to train him. This book is amazing.

Then the coward has the gall to wear a flight suit and challenge the Iraqi's to "bring it on" when he hid under the bed drunk and stoned on coke in Texas when the Viet Cong were bringing it on!

I am veteran and I'm disgusted.

Good book, worth reading. I am anxious to see all those single star reviews from those who have never read it. Maybe Neil Boortz can write one - there's another Chickenhawk warmonger who hid under mommy's bed during the war.

112 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Veterans and GI's should read this book, July 25, 2004

By	D. A. Johnson (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

George Bush is a military phony. This book has the facts. It is well-written, substantiated and devastating. Anybody wearing a uniform who thinks Bush is in their corner is mistaken. Ian Williams has done the country a favor by assembling the evidence. Buy it, borrow it, but do read it.