George W. Bush

Jones' biography, from the new Modern World Leaders series (with an introduction by historian Arthur Schlesinger), begins with an administration high point: when Bush snuck into Iraq on Thanksgiving Day in 2003 to thank the troops personally. The book then returns to Bush's beginnings and proceeds chronologically through his early days, business life, and political career. Jones seems to give Bush the benefit of the doubt on controversial issues. For instance, in describing the president's actions on September 11, she says that when Bush received the news about a plane hitting the World Trade Center, he thought it had been an accident or mechanical failure. There's no mention of a recent briefing that specifically mentioned planes flying into buildings. The criticism the administration received following Hurricane Katrina gets short shrift as well--one paragraph and a photo caption. Photographs are well chosen, and although there's an extensive bibliography, there are no source notes. A chronology and a list of books for further reading are appended.