Book Review: "Decision Points" by George W. Bush

Don't shoot me for saying this, but the reason I wanted to read this book was because of Oprah. That is, I saw an intriguing interview with George W. Bush on the Oprah show a few months ago, which made me interested in this book. She wasn't necessarily promoting his book; rather, she was just asking him about some of the controversial aspects of his presidency, while he was getting some free promotion for his book. When he said that the first chapter in the book was about him defeating his addiction to alcohol thanks to his faith in Jesus, I wanted to read it.

Thus far in my life, I would say that I've enjoyed 50% of the biographies I've read. I must say, this is probably one of the best autobiographical works I've read. Whether or not you like George W. Bush, this book will give you a new appreciation of him and of the presidency in general. "Decision Points" is largely about being a leader and making the decisions one believes are right, regardless of one's "approval ratings." I learned that most people have no clue what all information is available to the President when he makes decisions that he believes will be best for everyone. For instance, while many people criticized George W. Bush for entering Iraq, they were clueless about the hundreds of plausible terrorist threats that appear in a written report to the President every morning. Also, many people may not know that in addition to the U.S. intelligence on Iraq, Great Britain and other countries had gathered their own intelligence that led them to believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Although no military forces have yet discovered WMDs in Iraq to date, the President had to decide whether to act on the information given to him by his own government and other nations, or whether he would sit back and risk other terrorists slipping through his fingers. The point is, the majority of the U.S. was criticizing its leader for his decisions, while most of them had no clue what he knew.

The book is divided into fourteen chapters of his presidential career, including: finding freedom in Jesus from alcohol, running for President, selecting the right leaders for his cabinet, stem cell research, 9/11, establishing post-9/11 anti-terrorist agencies, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, AIDS, the Surge in Iraq, establishing international democracies, and the U.S. financial crisis. Each chapter offers a first-person perspective of what the President saw, knew, and did to navigate these crises.

This book is written very well. It is easy to read and goes by quickly. Each chapter is divided into smaller chunks, which makes the chapters much easier to digest. I learned much about the government, diplomacy, and international politics. It clarified my understanding of what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, and what the crucial issues at hand were. I also enjoyed and was a bit surprised by the frequency with which President Bush credited his faith in Jesus for leading him and carrying him many times. I also learned much about leadership: picking the right leaders to work with you, standing up for what you believe is right, owning and learning from your mistakes, making informed decisions, and not caring about what others think about you.

Obviously, any autobiography is biased toward the person writing about him/herself. That being said, I think this book gave Bush a much-needed and very beneficial apologetic for the decisions he made while President. I recommend this book highly to anyone who cares to learn more about U.S. politics, international relations, leadership lessons, and, of course, George W. Bush.

George W. Bush. Decision Points. Crown Publishers: New York, 2010.