Sunday, May 8, 2011

From My Bookshelf: Decision Points by President George W. Bush

At least once a week, I'm going to keep you up-to-date on what I am currently reading, have recently read, or will soon be reading. As a part of this endeavor, I will provide a brief review of the work. Rest assured that the books I review are excellent, and you should definitely consider reading them! I hope you find these reviews/suggestions helpful, and I hope you enjoy the books as much as I have!

I could think of no better book to start with than President George W. Bush's Decision Points. I finished reading it about a month or so ago, but it has stuck with me. It was especially interesting to me because I got to see the president discuss his book at Freed-Hardeman University.

President Bush's book tells the story of his life--but in a much different fashion than most of us are accustomed. Instead of going into great detail about every moment of his life as many do in their autobiographies, Bush centers his comments and anecdotes on a number of key points of decision. These "decision points" span his entire career. Even though he doesn't talk about every detail of every part of his life, the reader comes to appreciate his style of leadership and decision making process.

Bush talks about his work as part-owner of the Texas Rangers, how he lost a bid for a US House seat, and how he finally decided to throw his hat in the gubernatorial and presidential rings. Of course, he discusses a number of policy issues and the decisions he had to make as a businessman, a governor, and as president.

Sometimes we forget that our leaders are humans and actually have to overcome problems in their own lives. President Bush's case was no different. He discusses how he met Laura over some grilled hamburgers in a friend's backyard. He immediately fell in love--and I don't mean with the hamburgers either! As one would expect from a father, Bush discusses how proud he is of his two daughters and his one son-in-law. Other extremely uplifting parts of the book are when he talks about the wonderful relationship between he and his father. Another is that Bush details his reasons for completely giving up alcohol and how he came to his Christian faith.

As far as political and/or policy matters are concerned, we find that Bush, like most Americans, felt both his world and the world in general was turned upside down by the events of September 11, 2001. Even if you happen to be someone who hasn't agreed with everything he did in the years following 9-11, you can greatly benefit reading his reasoning behind going into Afghanistan and, later, Iraq. There is no doubt that these decisions were made after gathering facts and consulting advisers. But, as Bush often says, there is a time at which fact gathering, analyzing, and advice must end. He had been hired by the American people to make decisions--and thoughtful and well reasoned decisions he did make. President Bush also details his decision making process on other issues such as stem cell research, the financial crisis, Katrina, AIDS research and prevention, international freedom, and many others.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book and found it hard to put it down. It is written in a very narrative style that makes it both very easy to understand and enjoyable. Don't pass up reading this book by a great American statesman! 

 

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