41: A Portrait of My Father

41: A Portrait of My Father by George W. Bush
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an awesome read. Even though I did not always agree with either of the Bush's policies as Presidents, they are people that I admire. Both Bush families have good hearts and I think they both know Jesus as their Savior. I have a few quotes for you to consider. The first is George W. telling you what made him think to write this book:

A few months after we left (George W. Bush), Laura and I invited Tim Lawson and his wife, Dorie McCullough Lawson, to our ranch in Crawford, Texas. I had commissioned Tim - a real artist, not an amateur like me - to paint some scenes of the landscape we love. As Tim observed the native prairie grasses and live oaks on the property, Dorie and I talked about her father, David McCullough. I told her that a highlight of my presidency had been meeting her dad, the fine historian and Pulitzer Prize - winning biographer of John Adams. After updating me on her father's health and projects, Dorie said, "You should know that one of my father's greatest regrets in studying John Adams is there was no serious account of him by his son John Quincy Adams." She knew, of course, my connection to John Quincy: We are the only sons of Presidents who have served as President ourselves. "For history's sake," she said, "I think you should write a book about your father."

Over the years, I suspect there will be many books analyzing George Herbert Walker Bush, the man and his presidency. Some of those works may be objective. This one is not. This book is a love story - a personal portrait of the extraordinary man who I am blessed to call my dad. I don't purport to cover every aspect of his life or his years of public service. I do hope to show you why George H. W. Bush is a great President and an even better father.

Only two times in American history has a President been sworn in with both his parents on hand to witness the moment. The first came in 1961, when Joseph and Rose Kennedy watched their son take the oath of office from Chief Justice Earl Warren. The second came in 2001, when my parents attended my inauguration.

After their fifty-fourth anniversary, my parents had passed John and Abigail Adams to claim the title of longest-married presidential couple. They are now just a few months away from extending their record to seventy years.

When my second term ended in 2009, I was fortunate to become the first President to leave office with both parents alive.


Don't be misled my the quotes I chose. This book is about George H.W. Bush. I selected the quotes above for two reasons, I thought they were interesting and I had not known the information before reading the book.

If you are interested in history, then I highly recommend this book!


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