A revised edition of President George Bush’s collected letters, ALL THE BEST, GEORGE BUSH: My Life in Letters and Other Writings has been published by Scribner. The new version includes letters, emails, diary entries and photographs from the past 15 years, covering his son George W. Bush’s Presidency, 9/11, his unlikely friendship with Bill Clinton and ruminations on life, friendship and family.
Known as a skilled and passionate letter writer, this new edition show both President Bush’s intimate correspondence with friends and family and his perfectly mannered communication in affairs of state. Organized chronologically, the volume begins with eighteen-year-old George’s letters to his parents during World War II, when, at the time he was commissioned, he was the youngest pilot in the US Navy. Readers will gain insights into Bush’s career highlights—the oil business, his two terms in Congress, his ambassadorship to the U.N., his service as an envoy to China, his tenure with the Central Intelligence Agency, and of course, the vice presidency, the presidency and the post-presidency.
Bush’s letters also reveal a devoted husband, father and American. Ranging from a love letter to Barbara and a letter to his mother about his missing his daughter, Robin, after her death from leukemia, to a letter to his children two weeks before Nixon’s resignation, to one written to them just before the beginning of Desert Storm, the writings are remarkable for their candor, humor and poignancy.
As President Bush writes in his preface, “So what we have here are letters from the past and present. Letters that are light and hopefully amusing. Letters written when my heart was heavy or full of joy. Serious letters. Nutty letters. Caring and rejoicing letters…It’s all about heartbeat.”
All proceeds from the book will go to The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. It can be purchased from the George Bush Museum Store at http://www.museumstore.com. The book was also featured in a segment on the TODAY Show, which can be viewed at: http://todaynews.today.com/_news/2013/03/12/17282270-family-friends-share-poetic-letters-from-george-hw-bush?lite
