Review : Decision Points

Author: George W Bush
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2010
ISBN: 9780753539668
Rating:

George W Bush’s first literary attempt is an account of how the man behind the presidential mask saw – and reacted to – the events chronicling his time as President of America, even as the world sat around and judged him.

The main focus of the book and its author is on the most pivotal decisions, or decision points of the political career of the 43rd President of the U.S.A. The chapters of the book deal with those contentious issues that defined his presidency not least among which are the chapters titled Day of Fire, War Footing, Afghanistan and Iraq. Although George Bush refers to himself as a war President and dedicates most of the book to his take on America’s war against terrorism especially in Afghanistan and the Middle East, he comes across as a man determined to provide the domestic leadership his country required. Education, controversial scientific advancements and disaster management have all figured heavily in his domestic policy-making and leadership during his presidency. His foreign policies, discussed in the chapters Lazarus Effect and Freedom Agenda towards developing and under-developed countries are testament to his humanitarianism just as much as his patriotism. His efforts to keep the financial crisis of 2008 off his successor’s plate form a fitting last chapter.

This book is, admittedly, his party and he gets to say what he wants, but far from being one-sided Mr. Bush steps up and takes blame for all that wrong during his time in office while giving no quarter in his criticism of those who failed to rise to the occasion when it was demanded of them. His deliberations on his faith and religious principles and frankness about his life before and after he entered politics are defining features of the book.

With a narrative that swings back and forth between the years spanning two presidential terms this book leaves us with a never-before-seen perspective of one of the most transitional periods in recent times and of the man who pioneered that transition.