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FREE DESTINY AND POWER: THE AMERICAN ODYSSEY OF GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH PDF Jon Meacham | 1488 pages | 10 Nov 2015 | Random House Large Print Publishing | 9780804194945 | English | United States Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush — Central Intelligence Agency Coming to the Oval Office at a critical time in foreign and domestic affairs, the Presidency of George H. Bush was filled with successes and failures but guided by a steady hand. Destiny and Power An excellent biography of President George H. Bush by Jon Meacham. George H. Bush could gain the title of the Most Interesting Man in the World. Jon Meacham. Drawing on President Bush's personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the forty-first president and his family, Meacham paints an intimate and surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times. From the Oval Office to Camp David, from his study in the private quarters of the White House to Air Force One, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the first Gulf War to the end of Communism, Destiny and Power charts the thoughts, decisions, and emotions of a modern president who may have been the last of his kind. This is the human story of a man who was, like the nation he led, at once noble and flawed. His was one of the great American lives. Born into a loving, privileged, and competitive family, Bush joined the navy on his eighteenth birthday and at age twenty was shot down on a combat mission Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush the Pacific. He married young, started a family, and resisted pressure to go to Wall Street, striking Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush for the adventurous world of Texas oil. Over the course of three decades, Bush would rise from the chairmanship of his county Republican Party to serve as congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, head of the Republican National Committee, envoy to China, director of Central Intelligence, vice president under Ronald Reagan, and, finally, president of the United States. In retirement he became the first president since John Adams to see his son win the ultimate prize in American politics. With access not only to the Bush diaries but, through extensive interviews, to the former president himself, Meacham presents Bush's candid assessments of many of the critical figures of the age, ranging from Richard Nixon to Nancy Reagan; Mao to Mikhail Gorbachev; Dick Cheney to Donald Rumsfeld; Henry Kissinger to Bill Clinton. Here is high politics as it really is but as we rarely see it. From the Pacific to the presidency, Destiny and Power charts the vicissitudes of the life of this quietly compelling American original. Meacham sheds new light on the rise of the right wing in the Republican Party, a shift that signaled the beginning of the end of the center in American politics. Destiny and Power is an affecting portrait of a man who, driven by destiny and by duty, forever sought, ultimately, to put the country first. Praise for Destiny and Power "Should be required reading--if not for every presidential candidate, then for every president-elect. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush that sense, the vindication of George H. Bush is a reflection of what we know we've lost. Jon Meacham's new biography of Bush, Destiny and Power, makes that plain from its very first pages. He lives in Nashville and in Sewanee with his wife and children. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush - Jon Meacham - Google книги Jon Meacham Random House,pp. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush methodology behind Destiny and Power makes for a flawed, if well written and somewhat interesting, account of an underrated and historically important public servant. Many of them appear aimed mostly at bucking himself up during difficult times. Bush was very concerned that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan preferred to reach an accommodation with Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in August I had to wonder if, under pressure, they might be inclined to strike some kind of behind-the-scenes arrangement with Saddam. It is a one-way street. The dictations show a resentful side. When the ground war was shown to be going extremely well, Bush savored the moment. All the talking heads and all the worst case, and all the Congress and their pusillanimous views, look now to be wrong. The last quote highlights one of the traps of these books. Much as the incessant reliance on the after-the-fact, assured comments of Scowcroft give The Strategist a smugness of tone, the relentless quoting from the diaries makes Bush appear at times as grumpy, embattled, and prone to sulking. But it is their actions and publicly-spoken words that should define public figures; by relying so heavily on dictations, Meacham paints—no doubt unintentionally—a somewhat negative and misleading portrait of Bush. Like The Strategistthe author of Destiny and Power comes across as a huge fan of its subject, which hurts the writing. Bush was a uniquely good man in a political universe where good men were hard to come by. The book, at nearly pages, is twice as long as required, in part because Meacham has a habit of tying up every new revelation with a bow of his own or introducing new sections with dedication-like statements. The father-son link between the two administrations and their different styles provides a much stronger rationale for inclusion in this book, but there is something pointless about the chapter. The chapter that should improve our understanding of George H. Bush, but does so only marginally, is the one on his time as the director of Central Intelligence. The Senate, wanting to prevent any politicization of the directorship, refused to confirm Bush as DCI without White House assurance that Bush would not run for vice president in Meacham suggests, quoting then-deputy chief of staff Cheney, that Bush actually got the job as a sop to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who much preferred Bush to the frontrunner for the job, Eliot Richardson, a former attorney general. And, as a former member of the House of Representatives, Bush was seen as a good fit to work with Congress. Overcoming his initial doubts, Bush was soon in his element as DCI—this, despite being refused Cabinet rank as director—a decision Bush himself later condoned by denying the same rank to his DCI when he became president. His amiability improved esprit de corps and put a more benign face on the Central Intelligence Agency. He was no pushover, however. According to former CIA officer Douglas Garthoff, Bush replaced 12 of the top 16 CIA officers; he also dealt with intense criticism from conservatives in the Republican Party that the CIA was downplaying Soviet intentions and capabilities by inviting some of them, dubbed Team B, to look at the classified Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush and come to their own conclusions. What Bush viewed as a case of competitive analysis, others saw as politicization. By letting outsiders in, he had reduced pressures that might have forced a greater politicization of intelligence estimates. Besides, Carter later joked, staying on as DCI would likely have prevented Bush from becoming president since a Republican who served under Carter would have been an unlikely candidate for the national ticket in All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed in this journal are those of the authors. Nothing in any of the articles should be construed as asserting or implying US government endorsement of their factual statements and interpretations. Articles by non-US government employees are copyrighted. We read every letter, fax, or e-mail we receive, and we will convey your comments to CIA officials outside OPA as appropriate. However, with limited staff and resources, we simply cannot respond to all who write to us. Submit questions or comments online. Contact the Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties. Contact the Office of Inspector General. Contact the Employment Verification Office. 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