Overview
As president, he oversaw the end of the Cold War and helped liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's forces. As the U.S. Liaison to China, he held tenure during communist rule under Mao, and as Ambassador to the United Nations, he forged relations around the world. From his days as a young Texas congressman to witnessing his son become the current president, George H. W. Bush has played a major role on the world stage for decades and continues to as elder statesman. Now, using events from his life, the former president's only daughter examines how her father confronted challenges, how he responded to crises, and how he kept his humor and personality through it all.About the Author: DORO BUSH KOCH lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and children.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
According to this hagiography penned by his daughter, the 41st president is brave, loyal, generous, fun-loving (he put "fake dog poop" in the guest room of the vice presidential mansion) and considerate (he cleaned real dog vomit out of his limo himself instead of making the Secret Service do it). He's also graciousness personified, as attested by the many kind notes to acquaintances the author reprints alongside boilerplate testimonials from friends, relatives and dignitaries like Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Clinton. Koch includes campaign war stories and briefly salutes Bush's budget deal and policy initiatives like the Americans with Disabilities Act, but her father's politics seem mainly an extension of his personal character and charm, as he works with world leaders to finesse the fall of communism and unite against Saddam Hussein. Throughout, she sprinkles in family anecdotes with sometimes grating results, as when an account of Bush tearing up at the prospect of sending American soldiers to die in Kuwait segues into a Camp David tobogganing mishap. And the Bush clan ethos Koch celebrates "family and friends always came first" pays scant attention to public priorities. Photos. (Oct. 6) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
Former President Bush himself encouraged his daughter to write this memoir, which blends family frolics with insights from Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, et al. With a seven-city tour. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
George H.W. Bush, America's 41st President, invited his only surviving daughter to write about his life and his work. Any and all claims to objectivity are renounced by Koch, who believes firsthand knowledge, anecdotal evidence, and familial lore offer more insight into her father's character than the efforts of any historian can. Koch writes about her parents' courtship, marriage, and life-both private and public-with affection and appreciation. Having watched her parents' responses-individually and collectively-to her father's lengthy career in the public eye, she provides unusual insider details. It's also worth noting that the author had access to as yet unreleased papers from her father's presidency. Koch conducted interviews with many of her father's closest aides, political allies, companions, and family, including her mother, her siblings, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Gen. Colin Powell. Her father also made himself available for interviews, and his comments help give the book clarity. Koch quite obviously loves her father and only wants to show her family in the best light. The resulting audiobook, which she reads, has much to say about her father's humanitarian efforts-both during his presidency and, more recently, on behalf of the 2004 tsunami survivors and the people of New Orleans who were displaced during Hurricane Katrina. Recommended as interest warrants.
—Pam Kingsbury