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Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Draper
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $28.00
Buy New: $8.68
You Save: $19.32 (69%)
New (8) Used (9) from $5.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 281167
Format: Roughcut
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Free Press Hardcover Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931092
ASIN: B0013TMMRQ
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
Great first draft of the history of the GWB presidency May 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Dead Certain is a fantastic first attempt to objectively judge the GW Bush years. That will not be an easy task for a decade or more. People will argue about Iraq, the deficit, Katrina, and so much more for decades to come. Yet Draper did a fine job of walking the tightrope of objectivity, so much as is possible. Well written with just enough new nuggets to make it worthwhile reading even for those who follow politics.
Good book April 27, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Wolffe states in his review that "Here is a president who boasts of reading around 100 books a year, promotes reading standards and No Child Left Behind, graduated from Yale and Harvard, and is married to a librarian. Yet he thinks he can't learn lessons by reading. You can almost hear the critics scoff."
Perhaps Wolffe needs to learn to comprehend what he's read a bit better. Bush is correct: there are just some things one can't learn by reading; instead one has to learn by doing. Wolffe's failure to comprehend this renders anything else he has to say as unreadable, as, how can one trust a reviewer who doesn't understand what they're reading to begin with?
People should read this book with an open mind and no preconceived ideas about who George Bush is. Only in that way will they truly understand him.
Fills in some gaps about Bush's character April 19, 2008
As Mr. Draper stated, "Bush's virtues and his vices were one and the same." This statement pretty much sums it up for every person that has been our president. Mr. Draper has done a fine job of helping to make President Bush a more rounded character. However, I would not recommend the author's book as the definitive analysis of this controversial man. In fact, there is no such book that I am aware that can claim to be so. Mr. Draper's book has plenty of areas that could have been covered in more detail, but will have to be left to other historians. Ultimately, if you appreciate political books, you'll likely enjoy this one. The story moves along very well, is informative and quite entertaining.
Selective insights into Bush but a pleasant book overall April 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Bush presidency still has almost a year to go, and already the stream of "definitive" books on his presidency is starting to trickle down.
In "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush" (480 pages), author Robert Draper paints a very closely researched picture of the Bush presidency. It appears that Draper had unprecedented access to the President and those around him. Draper spends very little time on what it is that brought Bush to the presidency, his previous life as governor of Texas and owner of the Texas Rangers are being dealt with in a couple of pages. Even more questionable is why the 2004 general election and its aftermath, leading to the Supreme Court's decision in Gore vs. Bush, is taken care of in 1 paragraph! In contrast to that, the author brings in great details the brutal 2000 Republican primaries, in which McCain unexpectedly won New Hampshire (when the day before the election the Bush entourage found itself with an extra hour or two on its hands, they decide to go bob-sledding on the spur of the moment!). The author doesn't hide his criticism of the war in Iraq. The 4400 Project (which was to restore up to pre-war levels of electricity with 4,400 megawatts of electricity by Oct. 1, 2003) was one of the many failures, and later $18.4 billion emergency funding was requested to get supply up to 6,000 megawatts. The author notes dryly: "The money came. But the 6,000 megawatts never did. Not by June 2004.Or by 2005. Or 2006. Or 2007."
In all, this is a pleasant read. The author has done his home work even if for some reason he is selective in what episodes to cover or not to cover. But the book finishes in an open-ended way, not surprising since this book came out 16 months before the end of Bush's presidency.
 3 1/2 stars... March 15, 2008
Although this book is less an account of personality and more a historical look at Bush's presidency, Draper does a good job of summarizing his career and provides an accurate and comprehensive narrative of the man's life. I found a lot of insight into his career prior to his candidacy in 2000 and also on the events that unfolded while I was deployed in 2004 and 2005.
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