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First Son : George W. Bush and the Bush Family
Dynasty
by Bill Minutaglio
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Hardcover - 320 pages 1 Ed edition (October 1999)
Times Books; ISBN: 0812931394
Other Editions: Audio Cassette (Abridged), Audio
CD (Abridged)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 207
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Reviews
Amazon.com
The first of several Y2K biographies on Texas gover
nor George W. Bush offers an in-depth look at both the Republican
presidential candidate and his political family:
Bill Minutaglio interviewed more than 300 people for First Son, including
Bush and
many members of his inner circle. The book focuses
on the life of "Dubya" (the nickname used by the press and others to
distinguish him from his father) and includes a
combination of original material and information that has been reported
elsewhere. It
is neither pro- nor anti-Bush, simply reportorial
and largely nonjudgmental. Readers won't find an answer to one of the season's
most burning questions: Has Bush ever used illegal
drugs? In a preface, Minutaglio piously says he won't stoop to such low
levels.
Yet one gets the sense that he won't go there
because he doesn't have any hard evidence, as stories of Bush's heavy
drinking are
related without apparent reservation. Minutaglio,
a writer for The Dallas Morning News, spends most of his time describing
Bush's amazing and unexpected rise to fame.
Dubya's own family, for instance, thought that younger brother Jeb would be
the first
to win an important public office. Yet Dubya
exploited his family ties and personal charisma to have a successful business
career in
the 1980s and then beat a popular incumbent in
1994 to become Texas governor. (Jeb became governor of Florida in 1998, while
his brother won a second term in Austin.)
Minutaglio's narrative goes light on Bush's gubernatorial record and ends
before his
formal entry into the presidential race in 1999.
Readers hungry for an overview of the man who would be president, however,
could
do much worse than start by looking here. --John
J. Miller
From Booklist , September 15, 1999
"Dubya," as commentators have dubbed him, here
gets the first biographical exam of his 53-year-long life. From hundreds of
interviews, though not with George W. himself,
Minutaglio narrates a coherent story of what makes the Republican presidential
contender tick. His mainspring is his dad, the
ex-prez. And Bush fils discovered that the Bush name could be a dubious
blessing.
Although George W. grew up in Texas, his political
opponents pounded him, like they did his father, as an effete Yankee outsider.
Not without reason, as he spent years in elite New
England schools. The way Minutaglio puts together the schooling years in the
1960s and 1970s well illustrates the hell-raising
habits the mature Bush says he has left behind. The book reveals nothing
unusual,
however, such as alleged drug use--just your
standard frat-house beer blasts and concomitant initiation ceremonies. The
important
aspect of these events in shaping Bush's outlook
is that his enthusiasm for them ran counter to the trend of the times: the
practices
of the frat house he led were criticized in the
New York Times. As Minutaglio then chronicles, the political career his
parents
expected took time to materialize. After
graduation came the "nomadic" years, as George W. calls them--weekend
warrioring in the
Texas Air National Guard; working in low-level
jobs; some oil entrepreneuring. After losing a congressional contest in 1978,
George W. got serious, got married, got rich, and
got elected as governor of Texas. More a timely than a torrid read,
Minutaglio's
extensive reportage displays diligence and a
certain bounce in its narrative that will pull politicos through it. Gilbert
Taylor
Copyright© 1999, American Library Association. All
rights reserved
From Kirkus Reviews
A humorous, colloquial, but steely-eyed biography
of the Texas governor by a Lone Star journalist (Dallas Morning News). First
Son begins with a flurry of informal and
unconventional English which Minutaglio employs to capture the wacky world of
Texas
politics. And somehow, it all works. After the
breathless early chapters, the author settles down a bit and in much more
subdued
language takes readers through Bush's unremarkable
life (scion of a wealthy family, Phillips Andover, Yale, Harvard Business
School), primarily citing newspaper and magazine ar
ticles and numerous interviews with Bush's friends and acquaintances.
Emerging from all of this is a view of the first
son that will not please the Bush family or supporters of the governor's
presidential
candidacy. It's not that Minutaglio has unearthed
anything too sordid; he hasn'tnothing more than accounts of temper tantrums,
collegiate drinking, womanizing, and general
adolescent stupidity. (A bit more troubling are veiled and largely
unsubstantiated
allegations of string-pulling to secure a safe
spot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, of possible hard
drug
use, of some ethical hanky-panky when he unloaded
some shares of oil stock just before the value plummeted.) No, the George W.
Bush whom Minutaglio describes is a man with no
intellectual interests (and few academic attainments), a man with limited work
experience (most of which was arranged for him by
his father or rich family friends), a man who spent his early adulthood
cultivating wealthy donors and trying to find a
palatable political message. Bush appears to be attractive, affable . . . and
very
limiteda Stepford candidate. This first
book-length profile of Bush, though largely unflattering, is entertaininga
first-rate piece of
writing. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Author
tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The publisher, Will Weisser
([EMAIL PROTECTED]) , September 10, 1999
The definitive, unbiased biography of George W.
Bush
Veteran Texas reporter Bill Minutaglio, of the
Dallas Morning News, interviewed more than 300 sources, including the
Governor’s
younger brother Jeb, his uncles, and several of
his cousins. Minutaglio also spoke with friends and acquaintances from each
phase
of Bush’s life, including his childhood maid, his
3rd grade teacher, his roommates at Yale, his associates from the oil
business and
the Texas Rangers, high-ranking insiders from his
father’s years at the White House, and politicians and staffers who have
worked
closely with the Governor since 1994.
FIRST SON places Governor Bush firmly in the
context of one of America’s most formidable political dynasties, which began
with
the election of his grandfather, Prescott Bush, to
the U.S. Senate in 1952; continued with the long career of his father, former
President George Bush; and reached a hight point
in November 1998, when George W. won a landslide re-election in Texas and his
brother Jeb was elected Governor of Florida. It’s
a fascinating story, filled with colorful personalities and vivid settings,
from
Connecticut to Washington to the most remote
corners of West Texas.
The resulting portrait of Governor Bush is
exceptionally fair-minded, nuanced, and colorful, revealing many previously
hidden
complexities and contradictions. It proves that
being a son of this impressive family has brought George W. Bush both enormous
advantages and considerable disadvantages
throughout his life. And as a biography written without personal or political
bias, FIRST
SON will be a crucial resource for both Bush’s
supporters and his detractors – and especially for those who are still
undecided.
Here's what people are saying about it:
“FIRST SON, the first biography of George W. Bush,
is thorough, colorful, revealing, and compelling – certain to serve as an
essential political bible for the 2000
presidential campaign.”
-- David Maraniss, author of FIRST IN HIS CLASS
“FIRST SON is fair, balanced, interesting and
well-written. It's chock full of insights backed by extensive research and
solid
reporting. There is much to think about in this
impressive work.”
-- Dan Rather, CBS News
“FIRST SON is wonderfully readable, impeccably
reported, and revealing. Bill Minutaglio has captured the ups and downs of
what
it’s like to grow up in the shadow of a very, very
famous father. Surely an important political book on the man who may well be
our
next president, but also a personal and poignant
one.”
-- Buzz Bissinger, author of A PRAYER FOR THE CITY
“FIRST SON is an intriguing and illuminating
portrait of the way an American family has wielded power and influence in
business
and politics for three generations. Any family –
nuclear or otherwise – that wants to learn how the game is really played
should
study the Bush dynasty.”
-- Mario Puzo, author of THE GODFATHER
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