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George H. W. Bush: Character at the Core
George H. W. Bush ranks among America’s most distinguished men of the last century. A war hero, businessman, politician, and the forty-first president of the United States, Bush has spent most of his life dedicated to public service.
Curt Smith worked with Bush for more than twenty years, including during his presidency, when Smith wrote more speeches for Bush than anyone else. Smith’s exploration of Bush’s service includes in-depth narratives on the invasion of Panama, the first Gulf War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain. He also chronicles the contrasting presidential elections of 1988 and 1992, examining the successes and failures of each. Smith profiles the people germane to Bush’s life and his wife, Barbara; mentors such as Ronald Reagan; and political allies such as Margaret Thatcher, and many more.
George H. W. Character at the Core shows how Bush’s courtesy and belief in work, religion, and American exceptionalism helped the patrician connect with Middle America and take his place among the most revered statesmen of his time.
Curt Smith worked with Bush for more than twenty years, including during his presidency, when Smith wrote more speeches for Bush than anyone else. Smith’s exploration of Bush’s service includes in-depth narratives on the invasion of Panama, the first Gulf War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain. He also chronicles the contrasting presidential elections of 1988 and 1992, examining the successes and failures of each. Smith profiles the people germane to Bush’s life and his wife, Barbara; mentors such as Ronald Reagan; and political allies such as Margaret Thatcher, and many more.
George H. W. Character at the Core shows how Bush’s courtesy and belief in work, religion, and American exceptionalism helped the patrician connect with Middle America and take his place among the most revered statesmen of his time.
- GenresBiographyPresidents
368 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2014
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44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 8, 2015
There is a quote in this book from Bush, he didn't write any memoirs because there are too many "I's". Well, this book has way too many I's. I am on a personal mission to read a biography on each president, but this book barely qualifies as a biography. You would think that a book called "George H. W. Bush: Character at the Core" with a picture of the former president on the cover would be about the president. If I had to guess, about a third of the book was about Bush, another third was about the influential people in his life, and a third was about the author himself. I even checked the jacket to see if it was actually my fault, but even the jacket made it seem like a biography.
This book should have been called "My life with the President" or something to that effect, but then it probably would not have sold nearly as well. In fact, if that was the title, and I still bought it, it may have been a decent book. But as I was looking for a book on Bush himself, I can't even count this as a biography in my presidential list.
President Bush served in WWII, was a war hero. This, and the rest of his early life is all covered in the first 12 pages. Chapter two starts with I, not in a quote, but from the author telling his early life. Chapter three starts with the author telling of the neighborhood that he grew up in. Chapter 5 is about someone who also tried to run for president, but not about Bush.
If you are looking for a read about a writer and how his life intertwined with the Presidents, maybe you should get this. If you are looking for a book about the president, move on. Pass. Get something else.
This book should have been called "My life with the President" or something to that effect, but then it probably would not have sold nearly as well. In fact, if that was the title, and I still bought it, it may have been a decent book. But as I was looking for a book on Bush himself, I can't even count this as a biography in my presidential list.
President Bush served in WWII, was a war hero. This, and the rest of his early life is all covered in the first 12 pages. Chapter two starts with I, not in a quote, but from the author telling his early life. Chapter three starts with the author telling of the neighborhood that he grew up in. Chapter 5 is about someone who also tried to run for president, but not about Bush.
If you are looking for a read about a writer and how his life intertwined with the Presidents, maybe you should get this. If you are looking for a book about the president, move on. Pass. Get something else.
September 25, 2021
This book gets a 4/5 from me
LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!
TL;DR First 6 chapters are extremely weak because the Author (Curt Smith) Barely writes anything about George H.W Bush and way more about himself and that's not why I bought the book but I still decided to give this a 4/5 because after the first 6 chapters the book get's really interesting and is incredibly well written in my opinion.
I should have given this book less than 4 given the fact that such a large portion of this book, the first 6 chapters, were absolutely appalling because the Author decided to talk more about himself than Bush 41, realistically I should have given this book a 3.7 or a 3.8 out of 5 but I was being generous upping it to 4. The first 6 chapters which is important to know is around 40% of the whole book as there are 14 chapters have been terrible barely mentioning George H.W Bush but instead other presidents like Reagan and Nixon which I wasn't interested in reading about in this book as I have several books about them on my shelf and the author also liked to mention himself in there a lot, arguably even more was written about himself than Bush 41. This is the biggest complaint that I have about this book.
After you get through the first 6 chapters then the book starts to get way more interesting and looks into H.W Bush's presidency when he was in office and after he was beat by Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election. The book is extremely well written covering a lot of facts about bush and truly showing how much of an amazing man and President George H.W Bush was. I like this book also because it is unbiased as it does point out flaws about the president such as his big talk about not raising taxes and the next thing he does is raise taxes. Later on Curt Smith still liked to mention himself in there but it was definitely less than in the first 6 chapters and I couldn't wait for him to say something about his point of view as he visited the white house many times and received letters and phone calls from Bush 41 which the reader more insight on who George H.W Bush was! One thing that I also like about this book is after you finish all the chapters in this book the author added a section where he wrote down a lot of memorable speeches that Bush 41 performed such as the one when he met up with Margaret thatcher and the one that he made to honour Ronald Reagan after his death which was very touching and I applaud him for that.
Despite the first 6 Chapters being pretty bad I sill would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about George Herbert Walker Bush, his time in office and his post presidency!
LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!
TL;DR First 6 chapters are extremely weak because the Author (Curt Smith) Barely writes anything about George H.W Bush and way more about himself and that's not why I bought the book but I still decided to give this a 4/5 because after the first 6 chapters the book get's really interesting and is incredibly well written in my opinion.
I should have given this book less than 4 given the fact that such a large portion of this book, the first 6 chapters, were absolutely appalling because the Author decided to talk more about himself than Bush 41, realistically I should have given this book a 3.7 or a 3.8 out of 5 but I was being generous upping it to 4. The first 6 chapters which is important to know is around 40% of the whole book as there are 14 chapters have been terrible barely mentioning George H.W Bush but instead other presidents like Reagan and Nixon which I wasn't interested in reading about in this book as I have several books about them on my shelf and the author also liked to mention himself in there a lot, arguably even more was written about himself than Bush 41. This is the biggest complaint that I have about this book.
After you get through the first 6 chapters then the book starts to get way more interesting and looks into H.W Bush's presidency when he was in office and after he was beat by Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election. The book is extremely well written covering a lot of facts about bush and truly showing how much of an amazing man and President George H.W Bush was. I like this book also because it is unbiased as it does point out flaws about the president such as his big talk about not raising taxes and the next thing he does is raise taxes. Later on Curt Smith still liked to mention himself in there but it was definitely less than in the first 6 chapters and I couldn't wait for him to say something about his point of view as he visited the white house many times and received letters and phone calls from Bush 41 which the reader more insight on who George H.W Bush was! One thing that I also like about this book is after you finish all the chapters in this book the author added a section where he wrote down a lot of memorable speeches that Bush 41 performed such as the one when he met up with Margaret thatcher and the one that he made to honour Ronald Reagan after his death which was very touching and I applaud him for that.
Despite the first 6 Chapters being pretty bad I sill would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about George Herbert Walker Bush, his time in office and his post presidency!
March 27, 2019
The author was GHW Bush’s speechwriter who provided an insider’s view of this genuinely decent man. He embodied the values of the Greatest Generation - the last President to do so. Less eloquent than Reagan, Bush cared more about everyday Americans. I especially enjoyed the lack of scandal in his personal life, compared to many of his successors.
March 4, 2017
A pretty good biography of the 41st President. His rise thru the political ranks, his association with the Nixon and Ford administrations as UN and Chinese ambassador and as Director of the CIA. His years as Vice President and President and his post presidency. I agree with some of the other reviewers in that their was a little too much personal information of the author listed. I didn’t disagree with the points where he personally interacted with the President but some of the other references could have been left out.
August 21, 2014
I love the insight and background that shows why George Bush is held in such great esteem by so many. Most politicians and government officials still speak of him with fondness and awe. He led and kept his honor and integrity. We'll written and a good historical record of the time.
March 18, 2015
The next great "American novel."
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews