All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings

george h.w. bush

Though reticent in public, George Bush has openly shared his private thoughts in correspondence throughout his life. Fortunately, since the former president does not plan to write his autobiography, this collection of letters, diary entries, and memos, with his accompanying commentary, will fill that void. As he writes in his preface, "So what we have here are letters from the past and present. Letters that are light and hopefully amusing. Letters written when my heart was heavy or full of joy. Serious letters. Nutty letters. Caring and rejoicing letters...It's all about heartbeat." Organized chronologically, the volume begins with eighteen-year-old George's letters to his parents during World War II, when, at the time he was commissioned, he was the youngest pilot in the Navy. Readers will gain insights into Bush's career highlights -- the oil business, his two terms in Congress, his ambassadorship to the U.N., his service as an envoy to China, his tenure with the Central Intelligence Agency, and of course, the vice presidency, the presidency, and the postpresidency. They will also observe a devoted husband, father, and American. Ranging from a love letter to Barbara and a letter to his mother about missing his daughter, Robin, after her death from leukemia to a letter to his children two weeks before Nixon's resignation to one written to them just before the beginning of Desert Storm, the writings are remarkable for their candor, humor, and poignancy.

Genres biographyhistorypoliticsnonfictionpresidentsmemoirbiography memoirleadershipautobiographyaudiobook

640 pages, Paperback

First published July 1,1999

This edition

Format: 640 pages, Paperback
Published: October 3, 2000 by Scribner
ISBN: 9780743200417
ASIN: 0743200411
Language: English

About the author

george h.w. bush

George Herbert Walker Bush, from 1976 formerly directed the central intelligence agency to 1977, served from 1981 as vice under Ronald Wilson Reagan and from 1989 as the 41st president of the United States to 1993; Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and he in response initiated the Gulf War of 1991.

Barbara Bush, First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 as the wife of George Herbert Walker Bush, president, actively promoted literacy.

Bush held a multitude of political positions, including the 43rd in the Administration.

Dorothy Walker Bush bore George to Prescott Bush, senator of Massachusetts.
Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush at the age of 18 years in 1942 postponed going to college as the youngest naval aviator in history. He served until the end and then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his young family to western Texas and entered the oil business to attain a millionaire before the age of 40 years in 1964.

He founded his own oil company, and politics quickly involved him, who served as a member of the House of Representatives among other positions. He ran unsuccessfully in 1980, but party chose him as the nominee, and people subsequently elected them. During tenure, Bush headed task forces of Administration on deregulation and on fighting drug abuse.

In 1988,, Bush launched a successful campaign to succeed and to defeat challenger Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove Bush, who conducted successful operations in Panama and Persia at a time of world change; the Berlin wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Domestically, Bush reneged on a campaign promise of 1988 and raised taxes amidst a struggle with Congress. In the wake of economic concerns, he lost the election of 1992 to Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

Bush fathered George Walker Bush, the 43rd, and Jeb Bush, governor of Florida. Upon the death of Gerald Rudolph Ford in 2006, the oldest Bush lived.