Product Description

For the first time, the most secretive and powerful dynasty in American history has all of its secrets revealed. This is the book the Bush family do not want you to read. Over the past one hundred years, the Bush family have made millions of dollars, dominated the US government, and created a legacy unlike any other American family. Prescott Bush was a two-time Senator from Connecticut who had the ear of Dwight D. Eisenhower and tangled with Joe McCarthy. His son, George H.W. was a congressman, the head of the CIA, Vice-President under Ronald Reagan and then the 41st President of the United States. One of his sons, Jeb, is governor of Florida and almost certainly a future presidential candidate. The eldest son, George W., is the 43rd president - possibly the most polarizing and controversial head of state in American history. How did these men - backed and often controlled by strong and single-minded women - rise to power? How did they maneuver their way from Yale and the secretive Skull and Bones through back door politics, the CIA, and the White House to have so much control over international politics? The answers are startling. Kitty Kelley has written a compelling portrait of a family addicted to wealth and power. From Prescott Bush's lies about his heroism during the First World War, and George Bush senior's relationship with his wife Barbara, his unsuccessful campaign for Texas senator and his actions as the head of the CIA, the Vice-President and President of the United States, to his sons' current positions of power and influence in US politics. George Bush junior's successes and failures have had closer public scrutiny than any other member of the family, but Kitty Kelley leaves no stone unturned in her examination of his childhood, his relationship with his parents, his party days at Andover and Yale, his business dealings, his rise to political power and his performance as the 43rd President of the United States.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #448325 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-14
• Released on: 2004-09-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 705 pages

Amazon.com
Kitty Kelley, author of exhaustive and highly unflattering biographies of Frank Sinatra, Jackie Onassis, and the royal family, amongst others, has never received much cooperation from her subjects. Likewise, none was given for The Family: The Real History of the Bush Dynasty, and it's not hard to understand why. In the book, the family that has produced two presidents as well as an assortment of other politicians, businesspeople, and a number of lesser-known black sheep is portrayed as a powerful empire that leverages wealth and influence to grow ever stronger while stringently covering up numerous instances of drug abuse, infidelity, poor judgment, and scandal. While charges about George W Bush, including that he snorted cocaine at Camp David while his father was president, garnered the most attention upon the book's release, Kelley's history goes back several generations, detailing the rise to power of Senator Prescott Bush and his son, the first President Bush. Those seeking a salacious peak at the inner sanctum of a wealthy and powerful family will not be disappointed by The Family--Kelley always delivers on that count--and will likely devour allegations of Barbara Bush's sour temperament, George H.W. Bush's long-standing affair with aide Jennifer Fitzgerald, and George W Bush's obnoxious drunken frat boy days that stretched, according to Kelley, well into adulthood. Those seeking a rock-solid and airtight indictment of the Bushes, however, will be disappointed, since Kelley leans on anonymous sources and rumors for some of the juicier bits. Interestingly, although it tells the stories of a family built on politics, The Family mostly avoids the subject, clearing the decks of all political substance in order to put the style on wider display. --John Moe--from Amazon.com

About the Author
Kitty Kelley is the award-winning author of HIS WAY: THE UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY OF FRANK SINATRA, THE ROYALS, NANCY REAGAN: UNAUTHORISED, as well as biographies of Jackie Onassis (JACKIE OH!) and Elizabeth Taylor (THE LAST STAR). A former staffer on the Washington Post, she began a full-time career as a freelance writer in 1972, and her articles have featured in the New York Times, Newsweek and People. She has received numerous awards including, in 1987, the Outstanding Author Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Kitty Kelley lives in the USA.

Customer Reviews

The good...the bad...and the ugly
Kitty Kelly is a serious journalist. To this end, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty," is a stunning portrait of the good, bad and ugly truths about the Bush Family. And anyone who thinks this book is a partisan smear...I suggest they examine the meticulous notes, bibliography and acknowledgments put together by the author. This 705 page book is stacked with highly credible research.

On that note, Kelly presents Prescott Sheldon Bush and his wife Dorothy Walker Bush (George W.'s grandfather & grandmother) admirably. The author reports that the senior Senator from Connecticut "laid down a marker of principle and tolerance," and that he courageously voted to censure Senator Joe McCarthy at great political cost. Moreover, Senator Bush "stood tall on civil rights" and lambasted backward southern leaders. To her credit, Kelly presents Prescoot Sheldon Bush as a "progressive Republican."

To the contrary, Kelly does not treat George Herber Walker Bush and his wife Barbara Bush in a kind and gentle fashion. The author reports the affairs, the "wimp" reputation, the weak relationship with Ronald & Nancy Reagan and H.W.'s unnatural eagerness to please superiors. Still and all, H.W.'s leadership qualities shine on March 30, 1981 when John Hinkley Jr., shoots President Reagan and again with the strong global unification of nations in operation "Desert Storm." However, Kelly consistently reports that George H.W. Bush is a political and intellectual lightweight.

The most troubling and ugly segment of this book is how the Bush "boys," George W., Jeb, Neal and Marvin road the coattails of their famous Dad while he was Vice President and President. Make no mistake about it..the sons used priviliged family contacts and full use of key White House connections to make fortunes. One wonders how Neal managed to stay out of jail with his criminal misuse of funds as director of the Silverado Savings & Loan Bank. The reader will also want to shower after reading all of Jeb Bush's sleazy Florida "vulture" relationships and certainly the reader will conclude that George W. Bush was an utter and hopeless failure as a businessman until his Dad's rich friends came to the rescue and spoon fed him golden opportunities.

On a balanced note...the author goes overboard describing Barbara Bush's meanspirited personality and comes down too hard on George H.W. Bush's World War II combat pilot performance. Nevertheless, Kelly does an enormous service to the American public by peeling back the many layers of lies about the success of the Bush "boys." The facts are impeccable. Consequently, the "Bush Boys" will pass few "integrity" smell tests with the release of this book. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

The Real Story
Kitty Kelley tells us that every charge and every fact in her book was vetted by 4 lawyers. I saw her speaking on C-Span about this book, and even though her voice drives me crazy, she is intelligent and has an author's grasp. We need to be careful labeling people because we don't like their politics. We should read this book carefully. I didn't learn anything new that wasn't reported on in the news or television. Dan Rather's blunder was more salacious than this book.

Kitty Kelley gives us the history of the Bush family; their great grandparents and their family tree. Interesting stuff, yes! George Bush 41 had very interesting parents, and even though he did not see much of his father he was brought up well. When he married Barbara or "Bar" as is his want to call her, she tried to emulate George's mother. Barbara's hair turned white long before she was 40 and at her mother-in-law's urging she dyed her hair to keep in step with her husband's career path... George 41 was gone a great deal, so Barbara really brought up the children. There are references to adulterous affairs by George 41, but the family stayed together. Both George and Barbara enjoyed the social life their wealth and prestige afforded them. They took advantage of their place in life. Barbara knew early on that George would one day be President of the United States, and she did everything a good wife could to encourage this endeavor. Their children were well brought up- absent parents for a bit, but Barbara was there when needed. She brought life and interest into her son's stodgy schools and became the cheerleader for her family.

George Bush 43 has had difficulty in finding his path in life .He went to private school in he East and then on to Yale. He felt like a fish out of water at Yale until his social life picked up. He also went on to Harvard and obtained a graduate degree in Business. Much of the family business or family's friends business did not interest him. It was not until he married Laura and decided to run for political office that he started to realize his life's dream. George and Laura married and had their two girls. George is now our President of the United States, and he is running for re-election.

Kitty Kelley has done an admirable job in writing this book- no big surprises, but a great deal of good information about this family tree and ancestors. A lot of research went into this book. The salacious items have all been discussed ad nauseum in the news. Friends and foes of the Bush family should enjoy this book. Recommended. prisrob.