Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

(Paperback)

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The #1 New York Times bestselling biography of George H.W. Bush. Based on rigorous research, hours of private interviews with Bush, and unprecedented access to his diaries, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author brings to life the 41st President of the United States. "He was the last of a kind, and his rise, his fall, and his rebirth in the twilight of his life offers a window on a great deal of American history." An intimate and detailed life story of a man known only through his politics, or from a distance. From interviews and unprecedented access to Bush's presidential diaries, Meacham brings Bush and the great American family vividly to life, beginning in the Midwest in the late 1800's and on to George H. W. Bush's childhood, his heroic service in World War II, Texas, his political rise. With Meacham's trademark compelling narration, historical depth, and contemporary insight, this stunning biography reveals the unusual self-reflections and distinctive American life of a man from the Greatest Generation who pursued a life of service as a guardian of America in the way of Eisenhower, and was one of the last gentleman in our political world.

Reviews

[Jon] Meachams book should be required readingif not for every presidential candidate, then for every president-elect.The Washington Post

Destiny and Power reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it. If Meacham is sometimes polite to a fault, Destiny and Power does not suffer for it. His kinder, gentler approach succeeds in making George H. W. Bush a more sympatheticand more complexfigure than if the former president had written his own doorstopper after all.The New York Times Book Review

Jon Meacham, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Andrew Jackson, put an enormous amount of work into this volume: nine years of interviews, full access to the diaries of George H. W. and Barbara Bush, and an open door to family members and friends. Add to this Meachams balanced journalism and smooth writing, and you have a fascinating biography of the forty-first president.The Dallas Morning News

When we rank, reconsider, laud, or denounce past Presidents, living or dead, we are taking stock of our own times. In that sense, the vindication of George H. W. Bush is a reflection of what we know weve lost. Jon Meachams new biography of Bush, Destiny and Power, makes that plain from its very first pages.The New Yorker

Graceful prose, backed by diligent mining of the archives and access to an oral diary that Bush dictated throughout his presidency . . . The story of the forty-first man to hold the office sheds light not only on the country we were, but the one weve become.Los Angeles Times

Meacham is a superb historian and he weaves a compelling historical narrative, drawing heavily on Bushs own contemporaneous diaries. The result is a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into high-stakes decision making in a rapidly evolving world.The Seattle Times

Through one mans long journey through politics, we see Americas changing attitudes toward power and duty.Time

Illuminating . . . written from Bushs perspective but with a journalists rigor . . . George and Barbara Bush have provided extraordinary cooperation [for] an account of his life and presidency that has depth and value.USA Today (4 out of 4 stars)

A gripping new biography of the forty-first president.The Economist

Meticulously researched . . . a revealing biography that should serve as the starting point for future evaluations of the forty-first president.Kirkus Reviews

A vivid, well-written account.Publishers Weekly

The more time passes, the more the dust settles, the clearer it becomes that George H. W. Bush and the strengths of character he brought to his long service to this country deserve more attention and appreciation. And now comes Destiny and Power, Jon Meachams altogether fair, insightful biography of the forty-first presidenta portrait made especially compelling by the authors remarkable access to Bushs private White House diaries. This is a timely, first-rate book!David McCullough

What a spectacular and moving portrait this isnot only of a remarkably classy man but of the era that shaped him! It is hard to imagine a biographer more fitted than Jon Meacham to write what will surely be the definitive work on George Herbert Walker Bush.Doris Kearns Goodwin

This astonishing book is both timely and timeless. Based on candid interviews and intimate letters and diaries, it provides a deep insight into the character of George H. W. Bush, flavored with colorful anecdotes depicting his relationships with people ranging from Gorbachev and Reagan to his sons George and Jeb. The result is a fascinating and insightful portrayal of the life of an exemplary American citizen.Walter Isaacson

Jon Meachams timely and intimate biography of George Bush 41 is a welcome reminder of this modest presidents call to service, from the cockpits of World War II to the Oval Office and the end of the Cold War. Here youll meet a man of patrician manners, wartime heroics, Texas assimilation, party and personal loyalty, with a refined sense of power that carried him into history. Meet the George Bush you didnt know.Tom Brokaw

This riveting biography by the incomparable Jon Meacham gives George H. W. Bush his well-deserved place in history. Destiny and Power is full of surprises, revealing 41s important role in scene after crucial historical scene of the past seven decades. President Bush used to say that he could never quite convey his heartbeat to Americans. Now, using a treasure of heretofore unseen diaries and other documents, as well as his own detailed interviews, Meacham takes us behind closed doors to show us what this sometimes misunderstood leader was really like.Michael Beschloss

Author Bio

JON MEACHAM received the Pulitzer Prize for his 2008 biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion. An executive editor at Random House, he is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Thomas Jefferson- The Art of Power, American Gospel, and Franklin and Winston. Meacham, who teaches at Vanderbilt University and at The University of the South, is a fellow of the Society of American Historians. He lives in Nashville and in Sewanee with his wife and children.