About book 41 (Deluxe Signed Edition): A Portrait Of My Father (2014)
Better than I expected. I was reminded of things I knew but had forgotten and also learned things about 41 that surprised me. For example, I knew about his service as a pilot in WW2, but not the story of his being shot down and rescued. I knew that one of his daughters, Robin, had died as a child, but not how. (This particular story is delivered well, without sentimentality; the reader learns that one of the rules of the house was that n one was to cry in front of Robin.) W. also leaves himself out of the picture--save when he occasionally says, "This would be something I learned years later" or when he offers a defense of the surge. Anyone who hates the Bushes--and I chose the word "hate" deliberately--will never read this. Anyone else might enjoy it, especially the part about 41's friendship with Clinton. A very unique perspective on a critical president of the 20th century. George W. Bush (43) makes it clear that this is not an unbiased account of his father's (George H.W. Bush (41)) life. I enjoyed getting more back story to political and global events that I witnessed at a very young age such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, Iran Contra, the first Gulf War, and the initial Clinton campaign. Also very illuminating when considering the presidency of 43. Overall, a very good and quick read. I would have liked certain parts to be longer (including 41's selection of supreme court justices and conflicts with the media) to better understand events of the early 1990s and how they affected the early 21st century. Overall, a very touching memoir written by a son who clearly loves and looks up to his father.
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This book made me cry, in all the good ways. I loved it from start to finish.
—troodon54
