The last Republicans : inside the extraordinary relationship between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush

Title:

Author:

Updegrove, Mark K. author.

ISBN:

9780062654120

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

ix, 479 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm

Contents:

Part I. I never looked back -- A flash of light -- Bar -- Go west -- The sky's the limit -- More than tongue can tell -- Aggravation and pride -- A certain sort of expectation -- Part II. A debt to pay -- To do something of service -- Young and foolish -- A whole different life -- Up in the air -- Listen to your conscience -- Horizons -- Go east -- Coming home -- Defeat isn't defeat -- Part III. Turning points -- The big mo -- The call from Reagan -- A heartbeat away -- Arbusto or bust -- Why don't you come to Washington -- Awakening -- Junior -- Be tough -- Not so kind, not so gentle -- Part IV. 41 -- A new breeze -- Comfortable in the job -- A whole new ballgame -- Commander-in-chief -- You can't give in -- Coming of age -- Defeat with dignity -- Finish strong -- Part V. His turn now in the family" -- The l-word -- Joy and heartache -- Chart your own course -- No turning back -- Great expectations -- Part VI. 43 -- Mr. President -- Shock and awe -- Mourning in America -- Prelude to war -- A broader battle -- 41 and 43 -- Part VII. The decider -- To whom much is given -- Regards from President Bush -- The last campaign -- Brother from another mother -- The first Jewish president -- The toughest decision -- Last days -- Part VIII. The last Republicans -- It wasn't me -- Trumped -- What about George? -- Epilogue.

Personal Subject:

Bush, George, 1924-2018

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-

Bush family.

Subject Term:

Fathers and sons -- United States -- Biography.

Presidents -- United States -- Biography.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Politics and government -- 1989-

Genre:

Biographies

Summary:

"Drawing extensively on exclusive access and interviews with both Bush presidents, Updegrove reveals for the first time their influences and perspectives on each other's presidencies; their views on family, public service, and America's role in the world; and their unvarnished thoughts on Donald Trump, and the radical transformation of the Republican Party he now leads."--

Updegrove tracks the two Bush presidents from their formative years through their post-presidencies. He examines the failed presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush, which derailed the Bush presidential dynasty. Updegrove reveals for the first time their influences and perspectives on each other's presidencies; their views on family, public service, and America's role in the world; and their unvarnished thoughts on Donald Trump, and the radical transformation of the Republican Party he now leads.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	920 UPD	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	920 UPD	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In 2016 the Republican base revolted against the GOP establishment that has become synonymous with the Bush name, choosing instead a political neophyte and anti-establishment outsider as the standard bearer of their party. Donald Trump's election marked the end not only of a presidential dynasty, but a rejection of the Republican principles and traditions the Bushes have long championed. Despite the Republicans' surprise victory in 2016, behind closed doors the party remains divided between traditional conservatives, populists, and radical ideologues, and faces an uncertain future. As presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove argues, Bush 41 and 43 are in effect, the "last Republicans."

In this balanced, illuminating book, Updegrove tells the story of the Bushes' relationship from the birth of George W. through their post-presidential years and Jeb Bush's failed candidacy. Drawing on exclusive access and interviews with both presidents and the key people in their lives, Updegrove reveals the Bushes' views on the current state of the nation and the GOP, and how the party they both led and helped build is undergoing a radical transformation. At last, the famously circumspect Bushes offer unvarnished observations and revelations on everything from George W. Bush's youthful indiscretions to the influence and perspectives they had on each other's administration to their views on Donald Trump--and how they each voted in the 2016 election.

A candid and often surprising portrait of two men, The Last Republicans is also an elegy for the party of Reagan and Bush--and for the many thoughtful and prudent individuals who made up the "establishment," and are conspicuously lacking in today's GOP.

The Last Republicans contains 16 pages of black-and-white photographs.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A thoughtful political biography of two dynasts of a now-receding generation of politicians. The title of historian/journalist Updegrove's (Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency, 2012, etc.) latest comes from George W. Bush's well-documented lament that the rise of Donald Trump meant that he and his father would be the last "real" Republicans to hold the White House. That worry, suggests the author, is well-founded; by his account, the Bushes are definitively establishment figures who, while of much different styles, represented the virtues of prudence, civility, and bipartisanship as leaders of a party that has lately "placed ideological purity over pragmatism and compromise in governance." George W. claims that his brother Jeb's primary defeat at Trump's hands was the result of anger stemming from "a moribund economy." If the anger seems more free-floating and less directed than all that, it certainly would seem that disdain marked Jeb's trouncing in an arena that by all rights he should have dominated. Updegrove discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being a member of a political dynasty in a time when voters seem mistrustful of themand Trump, he observes, upended two of them, the Bushes and the Clintonsnoting that still other Bushes are waiting in the wings for their turns. In the main, this is a solid examination of how the Bushes behaved while in office, the one patrician and the other homespun, the latter much more certain of the righteousness of his cause even after being told by his own mother that he would not prevail in his first run for public office. ("True story," he shrugged, though Barb proved to be wrong.) In the end, George H.W. emerges as a bit warmer and less wooden than he might have seemed during his term as president, while George W. emerges as somewhat more substantial than he is often depicted as being.Capably written and argued, though only the future will tell whether the elegy for the Republican establishment is premature. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Introduction	p. 1
Part I "I Never Looked Back"
Chapter 1 "A Flash of Light"	p. 13
Chapter 2 "Bar"	p. 21
Chapter 3 Go West	p. 25
Chapter 4 "The Sky's the Limit"	p. 32
Chapter 5 "More Than Tongue Can Tell"	p. 37
Chapter 6 Aggravation and Pride	p. 44
Chapter 7 "A certain Sort of Expectation"	p. 48
Part II "A Debt to Pay"
Chapter 8 "To Do Something of Service"	p. 57
Chapter 9 Young and Foolish	p. 62
Chapter 10 "A Whole Different Life"	p. 70
Chapter 11 Up in the Air	p. 75
Chapter 12 "Listen to Your Conscience"	p. 83
Chapter 13 Family Values	p. 91
Chapter 14 Horizons	p. 98
Chapter 15 Go East	p. 108
Chapter 16 Coming Home	p. 115
Chapter 17\|"Defeat Isn't Defeat" p. 123
Part III Turning Points
Chapter 18 "The Big Mo"	p. 135
Chapter 19 The Call from Reagan	p. 143
Chapter 20 A Heartbeat Away	p. 148
Chapter 21 Arbusto or Bust	p. 155
Chapter 22 "Why Don't You Come to Washington?"	p. 160
Chapter 23 Awakening	p. 167
Chapter 24 Junior	p. 175
Chapter 25 "Be Tough"	p. 181
Chapter 26 Not So Kind, Not So Gentle	p. 187
Part IV 41
Chapter 27 "A New Breeze"	p. 201
Chapter 28 "Comfortable in the Job"	p. 206
Chapter 29 A Whole New Ball Game	p. 213
Chapter 30 Commander in CHief	p. 217
Chapter 31 "You Can't Give In"	p. 223
Chapter 32 Coming of Age	p. 229
Chapter 33 "Defeat with Dignity"	p. 236
Chapter 34 "Finish Strong"	p. 245
Part V "His Turn Now in the Family"
Chapter 35 "The L-Word"	p. 251
Chapter 36 Joy and Heartache	p. 256
Chapter 37 "Chart Your Own Course"	p. 266
Chapter 38 "No Turning Back"	p. 275
Chapter 39 Great Expectation	p. 284
Part VI 43
Chapter 40 "Mr. President"	p. 293
Chapter 41 "Shock and Awe"	p. 298
Chapter 42 Mourning in America	p. 305
Chapter 43 Prelude to War	p. 310
Chapter 44 A Broader Battle	p. 315
Chapter 45 41 and 43	p. 320
Part VII "The Decider"
Chapter 46 To Whom Much Is Given...	p. 331
Chapter 47 "Regards from President Bush"	p. 337
Chapter 48 The Last Campaign	p. 346
Chapter 49 "Brother from Another Mother"	p. 354
Chapter 50 "The First Jewish President"	p. 362
Chapter 51 The Toughest Decision	p. 368
Chapter 52 Last Days	p. 372
Part VIII The Last Republicans
Chapter 53 "It Wasn't Me"	p. 381
Chapter 54 Trumped	p. 388
Chapter 55 "What About George?"	p. 399
Epilogue	p. 405
Acknowledgments	p. 407
Notes	p. 411
Index	p. 455

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