Barbara Bush: A Memoir

Well written in an engaging style and based on Barbara Bush's personal diaries. It's easy to imagine sitting in your living room talking with your grandmother about family, friends, and history but the family of Barbara Bush is a presidential one, a number of friends are internationally known. The historical events are not seen through the eyes of the media stories most people know but are events personally lived by this remarkable woman. Purely personal and not at all political, this book is a must read for Barbara Bush admirers and history buffs alike. Highly recommended!

First off, I must confess that I do not adhere to the politics of George Bush, Sr. or Jr. That said, I do heartily admire Barbara Bush, a woman of remarkable warmth, grit, and common sense. In the lengthy and wide-reaching memoir we meet Barbara and scores of other people who were significant in her eventful life. Despite her privileged background, Barbara Bush is an ordinary woman with extraordinary qualities of wisdom and compassion. Both she and her husband were raised in the old New England tradition to make their lives useful and to do good. Throughout these pages, Barbara's dedication to these Puritan ideals shines through. She is never pompous or ostentatious. You feel that you could sit next to her on a three hour flight and talk companionably with her, and depart from her with your mood lifted. This memoir is the gracefully written account of the life of a gracious lady.

I wanted more stories, more letters, more diary entries, more anecdotes, more pictures and most DEFINITELY more years with George as President and Mrs. Bush as First Lady! I loved every word for its warmth and humor and depth and perception. I envy those Mrs. Bush refers to as "our dearest friend." Although it made me want to cry for what we lost in '92, it also made me want to celebrate Mrs. Bush's life by adopting her motto of "faith, family and friends."

This is a great book. You truly see what it is like to live in the political world. Barbara Bush uses humor and moving stories to show what her life was like in China, New York, Washington, D.C., and Texas. Her positive atitude towards people is truly encouraging. I look up to her.