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Paperback
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation.The president of the United States is the president of every single American, every race and every background. Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to serve your interests, and I will work to earn your respect. I will be guided by President Jefferson's sense of purpose: to stand for principle, to be reasonable in manner, and, above all, to do great good for the cause of freedom and harmony. The presidency is more than an honor, it is more than an office. It is a charge to keep, and I will give it my all. --George W. Bush, December 13, 2000, Texas House of Representatives In A Charge to Keep, George W, Bush offers readers a warm, insightful, and honest look at the personal and political experiences that have shaped his values and led to his decision to run for president. The George W. Bush who leaps off these pages has his mother's wit and down-to-earth personality, his father's energy and competitive drive, and his own unique style and philosophy. Written with his long term communications director, Karen Hughes, A Charge to Keep is a revealing look into the background, philosophy, family, and heart of our new president.
The political biography, complete with life-altering turning points and a political philosophy for leading the United States into greatness, has become obligatory for those running for president--just one more thing to check off the "to do" list on the way to the Oval Office. A Charge to Keep is George W. Bush's offering: a light and breezy book mixing personal and political remembrances that proves heavy on chatty anecdotes and light on policy prescriptions. If you read the last chapter you'll sort of learn where George W. stands on most things, but still not really discern how he would actually run the country. There are no revelations, either personal or political: Bush's wild side and youthful indiscretions, like stealing a Christmas wreath from a New Haven hotel for his Yale fraternity, are touched on lightly when he discusses them at all. A Charge to Keep is so upbeat and positive, in describing the Houston woman to whom he was engaged in college and from whom he "gradually drifted apart," Bush says simply: "I still think the world of her, and our parting was friendly. We were very young, we lived in different places, and we gradually developed different lives." George W. has been labeled a lightweight by some; A Charge to Keep will do nothing to dispel that notion. It features lots of Bush family memories and numerous mentions of George W.'s famous parents, including letters from his president father. George W. has followed closely in his father's footsteps, attending the same prep school and college. He even belonged to the same secret society at Yale, Skull and Bones. From college it was on to flight school and the Texas Air National Guard, Harvard Business School, and then (again, like his father) the Texas oil business and politics. George W. seems mostly in sync with his father on policy issues as well. "A thousand points of light" is transformed slightly to become "compassionate conservative," which pops up in the final chapter more than 10 times. Readers will come away knowing many of the experiences and events that have helped shaped George W., but his future is still an open book. --Linda Killian
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| The reviews are so partisan, they are meaningless! |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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I've never seen another book that gets mostly just 1-star or 5-star ratings. That's how it manages the 3-star average. Don't bother reading the reviews. They depend only the political views of the writer, and not really on the book at all.
However, it's worth noting that by far most of the bad grammar and spelling in the reviews are from the voters who gave the book 5 stars. I can't imagine that that has ever happened with another book.
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| Glossy Bush |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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This book was written during the pivotal time in Bush's life between serving as Governor of Texas and choosing to run for the U.S. Presidency.
Without checking his facts or follow-through, the book fairly outlines several topics both personal and political where Bush feels passionately. In one sense the book is a fairly candid insight into the man -- I would say that his presidence is fairly consistent with the outline in this book -- and in another it's a fairly cozy memoir covering his daughters, his ownership of the Texas Rangers, his drinking and his courtship and marriage with his wife.
In another sense there is very little balance between Bush the successful leader and Bush the mistaken official. Almost every report here gives off only positive vibes. He speaks of learning here and there and moving on from his mistakes but in retrospect perhaps the whole book was an outline of what to expect of him as president -- results, devotion and faith-enriched judgment.
It's a history without a lot of pith meriting a read only because it is the man himself talking. Here and there he tells his side of things as only he can attest, but usually we're treated only to Bush's unflinching optimism and hand-wringing anecdotes of his rosy results.
If it weren't for the source, this book is not one to remember.
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| great book...side of the president rarely seen. |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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first of all...you stupid libs down here spraying your political rants and insane lies...go critique a michael more rag will you!
Some made the point this book doesn't give any new insights in the political mind of the president, and that's true, but it does a great job painting a picture of the man george W. Bush and his outlook on life...written before his defeating of enviromental cry-baby al gore the book talks about Bush as a father, husband, friend, neighbour...a side we don't see very often anymore after he took back the white house.
The book helps people remember Bush is human like every-one else...we learn a bit about his character and what's important to him. We read about the things that matter to him, the things libs refer too when they call him dumb, like loving the outdoors, being part of a comunity, working for your money (that's the #1 liberal 'no!no!'), raising your kids right,...
if you're a liberal, don't bother...this book won't help you "get it"...you don't have the IQ to "get it". If your interested in what bush is like in normal life, how he became the man (not the politician) he is today...read this book as an introduction to the life of the greatest president the world ever had safe for R.Reagan.
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| Cheater, Cheater, Cheater |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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If I had read this before the 2000 election. I would have learned that Americans want a leader that posseses honesty, compassion, morals, and the courage of his convictions. I should have at least pretended to posses some of these qualities. Bush stole Florida in 2000 and Ohio in '04, if you don't believe me just ask John Kerry. And where did I come up with that stupid imaginary lockbox stuff anyway?
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| brought tears to my eyes |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I recently saw someone reading this book which I had never heard of before so I looked it up on Amazon. This tome was so moving and uplifting it brought tears to my eyes. Okay, I admit it wasn't the book itself but the reviews. And they weren't tears of joy or hope but tears of hysterical laughter. There were three categories - each engrossing in it's own way: the honest critique, which universally panned the book as as hackneyed as the author himself (and his co-writer, apologist, Hughes); the spoof, which embellished on Bush's phony life making him a Nobel Laureate and corporate magnate; and the honest, heartfelt descriptions that prove that no matter how incompetent, corrupt and morally bankrupt a person is, there's still that percentage of the population who believe he's a good, sincere, visionary leader. With the fortune of hindsight, the latter group stands out though. If you haven't read this book but still want to after reading this and other reviews (unless your looking for a laugh) then God... er, invisible man in the sky help us all!
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