Some good history here, and I agree with Weisberg's thesis that George W. Bush is driven by the contradictory desires to emulate, compete with, and distance himself from his father. I'm familiar with these feelings, and I suspect many other sons of successful fathers are too.

But there is a nasty, scornful edge to this book that doesn't sit well with me. Weisberg claims objectivity early on, but somehow even W's better traits are portrayed in the worst possible light. The man has plenty of flaws, but I feel like there's some fundamental decency and good intentions that the book overlooks.

Robert Caro is able to write about Lyndon Johnson with sympathy, even though all the evidence indicates that Johnson was a horrible, awful person (who did some evil, and a lot of good). Hopefully a similar biographer will find George W. in a few decades, when tempers have cooled. This book is on to some important ideas, but it is too much of its times.