Potus Geeks Book Review: George W. Bush (The American Presidents Series)
The American Presidents Series biographies are concise (usually around 150 pages) summaries of the lives of US Presidents, written by reputable historians. It is a challenge for any author to fairly and completely encapsulate a president's life and and administration in this space, and yet amazingly, the authors of these volumes are generally able to do so in an interesting, clear and non-superficial way. It was difficult to conceive of how any author could meet these standards for a two-term president like George W. Bush, who was so controversial, and whose administration lacks the passage of a significant amount of time to afford historical perspective. Despite these challenges, James Mann has produced a volume that adequately and reasonably addresses the many issues faced by the Bush administration, as well as painting a portrait of the man that goes beyond mere caricature.
As president George W. Bush entered the office following the most controversial presidential election since the 1876 Hayes-Tilden contest. He was immediately tested with the first foreign attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor. This would lead to the struggle for a meaningful response to the terrorists who had planned the attack and resulted in two foreign wars that went beyond what the president's advisors had predicted. Bush also instituted massive tax cuts, the only time this was done by a president going into war. He was also confronted with a natural disaster at home (Katrina), significant domestic issues in the areas of education, social security and immigration. His tenure ended with the worst financial crisis since the great depression. James Mann covers all of these issues and despite the brevity of the book, he provides the reader with sufficient information to understand their complexity. He describes not only what decisions were taken, but the process in coming to those decisions, paying particular attention to when Bush was "the decider" and when he relied on the expertise of his advisors.
Mann is no bystander in his retelling the life of his subject. He has definite opinions on when he believes that Bush was wrong (Iraq and the tax cuts are first and foremost in this category),and when he was right (in resisting the call for a laissez-faire response to the economic crisis of 2008, in supporting the surge in Iraq, and in his program for combating the spread of AIDS in Africa). There will not be universal agreement with his conclusions, but Mann provides the reader with sufficient information to draw his or her own conclusions.
It is difficult to write a balanced biography of a contemporary figure and it is difficult to read such a biography without being affected by one's own opinions and beliefs. James Mann takes on this daunting challenge. He fairly touches on all of the issues of the Bush presidency and presents all of the relevant facts, including the choices that President Bush faced. He courageously offers his own opinion and assessment, even though in doing so he opens himself up to accusations of bias. He does so without any pressure on the reader to necessarily agree with his conclusions. It should be noted however that unlike his subject, Mann has the benefit of hindsight in coming to his conclusions.
It was probably unfair of the American Presidents Series to publish a biography of so recent a president while passions have not yet cooled on the subject of George W. Bush's presidency, and at a time when political opinion seems to be more polarized than ever. In as much as one can meet that challenge, Mann deserves a great deal of credit for the book he had produced.
As president George W. Bush entered the office following the most controversial presidential election since the 1876 Hayes-Tilden contest. He was immediately tested with the first foreign attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor. This would lead to the struggle for a meaningful response to the terrorists who had planned the attack and resulted in two foreign wars that went beyond what the president's advisors had predicted. Bush also instituted massive tax cuts, the only time this was done by a president going into war. He was also confronted with a natural disaster at home (Katrina), significant domestic issues in the areas of education, social security and immigration. His tenure ended with the worst financial crisis since the great depression. James Mann covers all of these issues and despite the brevity of the book, he provides the reader with sufficient information to understand their complexity. He describes not only what decisions were taken, but the process in coming to those decisions, paying particular attention to when Bush was "the decider" and when he relied on the expertise of his advisors.
Mann is no bystander in his retelling the life of his subject. He has definite opinions on when he believes that Bush was wrong (Iraq and the tax cuts are first and foremost in this category),and when he was right (in resisting the call for a laissez-faire response to the economic crisis of 2008, in supporting the surge in Iraq, and in his program for combating the spread of AIDS in Africa). There will not be universal agreement with his conclusions, but Mann provides the reader with sufficient information to draw his or her own conclusions.
It is difficult to write a balanced biography of a contemporary figure and it is difficult to read such a biography without being affected by one's own opinions and beliefs. James Mann takes on this daunting challenge. He fairly touches on all of the issues of the Bush presidency and presents all of the relevant facts, including the choices that President Bush faced. He courageously offers his own opinion and assessment, even though in doing so he opens himself up to accusations of bias. He does so without any pressure on the reader to necessarily agree with his conclusions. It should be noted however that unlike his subject, Mann has the benefit of hindsight in coming to his conclusions.
It was probably unfair of the American Presidents Series to publish a biography of so recent a president while passions have not yet cooled on the subject of George W. Bush's presidency, and at a time when political opinion seems to be more polarized than ever. In as much as one can meet that challenge, Mann deserves a great deal of credit for the book he had produced.