Synopsis
Not since Abigail Adams has one woman been both the wife and mother to a president. Barbara Bush's prominent place in American history is matched by her extraordinary popularity: Republicans and Democrats alike appreciate her wit, her compassion, and her devotion to her family. Dignified, loyal, and unpretentious, Barbara Bush defied skeptics to become one of the most admired First Ladies in history; she remains a beloved public figure today.
Reflections begins with the inauguration of her son, President George W. Bush, in January 2001, and then flashes back eight years to President Clinton's inauguration, when she and her husband President George H.W. Bush were leaving the White House. Drawing on excerpts from her diary, Mrs. Bush chronologically takes us through this time in her life. She reveals her and her husband's inner lives through sometimes touching and often hilarious stories about their extensive travels, their hobbies, and their charity work. She discusses her...
The New York Times
The sharp-witted Mrs. Bush — who is known to play tart cop to her husband's genial cop — tries to settle a few scores in this volume, and she occasionally lets slip a telling political remark. She exults in the fact that her son George W. would be running against Al Gore instead of Bill Bradley in the 2000 election because "Al would be easier to beat. Ha." She recounts that her husband once said Yasir Arafat "was charming." And in describing an event she attended with four other former first ladies, she pointedly says nothing about Hillary Rodham Clinton, while lauding the good works of Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan. — Michiku Kakutani