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First Son : George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty
In one of the most unprecedented developments in the history of national politics, George W. Bush abruptly emerged to lead all presidential aspirants in the national polls for the 2000 election. Yet voters know very little about the man, beyond his famous name and his place in one of the nation's most powerful political dynasties.
First Son is a true, riveting family saga about extraordinary power and politics in America and in the unharnessed state--a state of mind--called Texas. The story begins with the turn-of-the-century emergence of the influential Bush-Walker clan and of Prescott Bush, the Connecticut patrician who ingrained in his family an ethos that continues to exert influence on his son, former President George Bush, and his grandsons, George W. and Jeb. How these scions of the Bush dynasty struggle to live up to their enduring legacy is the central theme of this colorful and perceptive portrait the first authentative book on the governor of Texas.
In the past year, award-winning Texas writer Bill Minutaglio has met with George W. Bush and interviewed dozens of people close to him, from his brother Governor Jeb Bush of Florida to uncles and cousins, from current and former political advisers to high-ranking insiders from his father's years in the White House. Fraternity buddies, political operatives, George W.'s employers, and even ardent critics of the Bush family bring this story to life--from the society circles in his native Connecticut to the family compound in Maine to the backwaters of his adopted Texas. The result is a book that is nuanced, insightful, and surprising in the contradictions and complexities it reveals about this man.
First Son vividly reconstructs George W. Bush's boarding-school days at one of the country's most exclusive institutions; his tenure in one of Yale's secret societies and as president of his unfettered fraternity; his attempts to follow his family's million-dollar path into the wide-open Texas oil patch; his role in major league baseball as the public face and head cheerleader for the Texas Rangers; and, finally, his rise to governor of Texas and national political force, executed with more hard-edged calculation than many people realize.
Written with precision, verve, and fair-minded balanace, First Son will be the political story of 2000--the eye-opening tale of a natural-born politician.
From the Hardcover edition.
First Son is a true, riveting family saga about extraordinary power and politics in America and in the unharnessed state--a state of mind--called Texas. The story begins with the turn-of-the-century emergence of the influential Bush-Walker clan and of Prescott Bush, the Connecticut patrician who ingrained in his family an ethos that continues to exert influence on his son, former President George Bush, and his grandsons, George W. and Jeb. How these scions of the Bush dynasty struggle to live up to their enduring legacy is the central theme of this colorful and perceptive portrait the first authentative book on the governor of Texas.
In the past year, award-winning Texas writer Bill Minutaglio has met with George W. Bush and interviewed dozens of people close to him, from his brother Governor Jeb Bush of Florida to uncles and cousins, from current and former political advisers to high-ranking insiders from his father's years in the White House. Fraternity buddies, political operatives, George W.'s employers, and even ardent critics of the Bush family bring this story to life--from the society circles in his native Connecticut to the family compound in Maine to the backwaters of his adopted Texas. The result is a book that is nuanced, insightful, and surprising in the contradictions and complexities it reveals about this man.
First Son vividly reconstructs George W. Bush's boarding-school days at one of the country's most exclusive institutions; his tenure in one of Yale's secret societies and as president of his unfettered fraternity; his attempts to follow his family's million-dollar path into the wide-open Texas oil patch; his role in major league baseball as the public face and head cheerleader for the Texas Rangers; and, finally, his rise to governor of Texas and national political force, executed with more hard-edged calculation than many people realize.
Written with precision, verve, and fair-minded balanace, First Son will be the political story of 2000--the eye-opening tale of a natural-born politician.
From the Hardcover edition.
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 12, 2008
Kind of outdated now, but was very informative when it came out.
January 31, 2022
Great detail into the history of the Bush-Walker dynasty, and the start of such a political mainstay. I didn't know the history of Prescott Bush and how they transformed the family fortune by getting into the oil business in Midland, TX. They have certainly changed from the northeastern roots, into a strong Texan family power. Not too much political talk, so I actually kind of liked that. I enjoyed learning about the early years of "W" and into Yale, his "finding himself" and then his business ventures that helped push him into the Governor's mansion. Looking forward to continue to learn about the Bush legacy and how it has impacted politics in America for almost 80+ years.
January 25, 2019
A very good book to know better the life (especially) and the politics of George W. Bush up until 2000. Very well researched, sometimes funny to read. A must read for every Bush addicted.
March 14, 2020
Well, this is not Kevin Phillips, but has a few footnotes missing from other sources and is certainly a good addition to the corpus of Bush family histories. As friendly as this biography tends to be though, it is impossible to hide the rather huge size of the Bush network and the whiff of corruption is never far from the backslapping, handshaking political clan. Sadly, to the very end, Dubya never escapes his fate, and one can only wonder how much of that had to do with the notoriously carping, conniving, plotting Bush women? How unlike the Kennedys and their, "dynasty," who seemed to know how to order pizza just fine and generally had much more savoir-faire as a group.
November 28, 2022
It's been very difficult to find a decent bio about G. W. Bush. This one seemed to be the best choice but went on more about the Bush family than George himself.
The writing felt more like a lecture than a story, and didn't always move along well.
The writing felt more like a lecture than a story, and didn't always move along well.
January 6, 2009
Balanced and insightful, not a work for partisans of either camp.
June 12, 2014
Had read when it first came out and then re-read. Interesting to read it after his presidency. Some things I didn't know.
September 6, 2015
Great, unbiased look at Dubya and the Bush family. If you love Texas and America, you should read this book.
September 7, 2015
Very detailed. Good biography. =)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews