Honest, Eye Opening

Ive never had a book change so much of my measure of a man before. entertaining too!

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A candid take on perhaps one of the most consequential and controversial periods in American history

A surprisingly satisfying read for someone who has rarely seen George W. Bush in a positive light. The reader can either take President Bush at face value in this particularly candid look at the most consequential decisions of his presidency, or chalk this up to another one of his deeply malevolent distortions of the truth. Assuming one has the capacity for rational reflection, Decision Points paints the most charitable picture of the Bush presidency in light of the President’s own recollection of his thinking at the time. In my view, historians ought to take this book seriously in their assessment of the Bush presidency, inasmuch as this represents the best possible interpretation of the events discussed. In the end, if Bush’s account is an accurate representation of what actually happened, his being considered one of the worst presidents in American history deserves an immediate and thorough reconsideration.

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Fascinating to listen too in 2020

George "Dubya" Bush sums it all up perfectly in the epilog: time has a funny side effect of repainting the outlook on past leaders. It was weird to grow up watching Bush be constantly lambasted as The Worst President in USA History™, a Stupid Dumbass™, with smashcut clips of "Dubyaisms" consisting of flubs, gaffs, moments of forgetfulness, and of course the rise of government "cover up" and puppeteering conspiracies around 9/11. Fast forward to 2019, and Bush gets applause when he makes the odd appearances. Usually to promote his paintings, but everyone wants to hear what 41 thinks of 43 and 45. Bush is seen as "endearing" now, a leader of a era now surpassed by a former follow-up democratic office. Bush could host SNL today to rounding applause. I bought this book when it first dropped. I had to know what was going on in Bush's mind during 9/11 at the school. That's all I wanted to know. However I'm not so much of a reader of long form novels so it was hard to get through. Thankfully, this audiobook exists and I could indulge this way. The presentation feels more genuine coming from the mouth of Bush himself. It's not the liveliest of reads, but it doesn't matter, you're hearing Bush read his own Book, recounting his moments amid one of the most important moments in US history. It commands respect, each time, he recounts with a sobering tone where he went wrong, acknowledges the ridicule, and gives his side of each decision point, with detailed rationale and the names that emboldened and stonewalled him. The book paints me a picture of a man deeply interested in protecting his countrypeople, and in doing so lead the USA on a "Freedom Crusade" as a consequence of and in service of accomplishing that goal. The book paints the man as a person who has an incredibly thick skin to ridicule and criticism, and understands that it's simply "part of the job" and can still make room to make fun of himself. I may not have respected Bush too much during his time in office, and in several ways I still don't agree with his platforms. But I come away from this book with a much better understanding of where he was at, why he did things, and can respect a person who can self reflect like this. It's such a stark contrast to 45, thinking about it almost makes your neck snap from the whiplash. I wish more past PM's and past Presidents wrote memoirs exactly like this, a retrospective on what went right and what went wrong from the personal perspective of the person in office. It's going to be hard to find a follow up this audiobook. Bravo.

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3 people found this helpful