{"product_id":"bush-9781476741208","title":"Bush","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eDistinguished presidential biographer Jean Edward Smith offers a \"comprehensive and compelling\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) account of the life and presidency of George W. Bush, showing how he ignored his advisors to make key decisions himself--most disastrously in invading Iraq--and how these decisions were often driven by the President's deep religious faith.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGeorge W. Bush, the forty-third president of the United States, almost singlehandedly decided to invade Iraq. It was possibly the worst foreign-policy decision ever made by a president. The consequences dominated the Bush Administration and still haunt us today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eBush\u003c\/i\u003e, a \"well-rounded portrait...necessary and valuable in this election year\" (\u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e), Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9\/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties. Smith explains that it wasn't until the financial crisis of 2008 that Bush finally accepted expert advice. As a result, he authorized decisions that saved the economy from possible collapse, even though some of those decisions violated Bush's own political philosophy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"An excellent initial assessment of a presidency that began in controversy...and ended with the international and domestic failures that saddled Bush with the most sustained negative ratings of any modern president\" (\u003ci\u003eDallas Morning News\u003c\/i\u003e), this comprehensive evaluation will surely surprise many readers. \"Written in sober, smooth, snark-free prose, with an air of thoughtful, detached authority, the book is nonetheless exceedingly damning in its judgments about George W. Bush's years in office\" (\u003ci\u003eT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ehe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/18\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781476741208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 832\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.50d","brand":"Jean Edward Smith","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43733018869941,"sku":"9781476741208","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_588051b8-847e-4062-9407-522544d13674.jpg?v=1710257137","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/bush-9781476741208","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}