Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady

I loved this book. I bought this book after reading a library copy. This book is based on interviews with Laura Bush's friends. It reveals friendships that are full of caring, insight, jokes, loyalty and sincerity. I would like to be as good a friend to the people I love as I think Laura Bush is to the people she loves. Laura Bush is still friends with schoolmates from high school and college! And they are very smart and also funny! In reading this book, I found out that Laura loves to clean. One of her friends said cleaning supplies are Laura's favorite substances. No one in my family feels that way! But I find Laura's attitude inspiring, funny and helpful. Now, when something around here needs cleaning, I think of Laura's enthusiasm. I find that it is much easier and more fun to tackle cleaning with enthusiasm than to go through it with a dismal attitude. I liked Laura Bush before I read this book. Based on the impressions shared by her friends, it seems to me that she always tries to do her best but without taking herself too seriously. She is smart, sensible, witty and also kind. And she loves to read!! And I love to read!! And I love people who love to read!! I liked her very much to begin with, and having read the book, I like her better. In fact, I have added Laura Bush to my virtual team and I consider her an awesome virtual friend and consultant. I wish her well and thank her for her contributions as First Lady. Thank you, Laura! I think this is an excellent book, with revealing insights into Laura Bush's friendships and life. It is not a snarky critical book and I was grateful for that. I'm not interested in snark and criticism (well, hardly at all). I'm interested in encouraging people to be their best and to enjoy life. I think this book does that, and I highly recommend it.

He lets us feel as though we are "right there" - a moving story of this woman's life. You don't want to put the book down til you're done...very interesting presentation.

Ronald Kessler has given us a book that is quite pleasant on several levels. First, it is nice to get to know more about the First Lady. While all of the wives of the Presidents are admired by Americans, Laura Bush is particularly admired and loved. She projects a warmth and intelligence that draws admiration and affection. Kessler gives us just enough about her origins to let us know that the calm and strength we see has been there from her beginnings and what her early life was like. Her friends recall instances of her calming influence and strength that resonate with what we see in her public appearances. Second, we get to see the truly loving and mutually supportive marriage of George and Laura. The stories of how they came together, the struggle to have kids and the birth of the twins, their finding their way in life as part of the Bush clan, and much more is quite engaging. The picture we get of them as people is quite different than the phony images the media paints of them (i.e. George likes to read). We also learn a couple things about Laura that we might find a bit surprising (i.e. she is still a "stress smoker"). Third, just as we gain a more real image of their marriage, we also get corrective information about false stories about each of them that were touted so loudly during the election. The fatal accident that Laura was involved in as a youth, her supposed drug dealing, George's supposed drug use at Camp David, and many more are all cleared up quite specifically. It is great to get the real story from the people who actually know and go on record rather than the gossip and innuendo put forward by Kitty Kelly and her ilk. Kessler has given us a book that reads easily, is not overly fussy in detail, and gives us a portrait that we feel good about and comfortable with. There are several pages of interesting pictures for Laura's life. We come away feeling comfortable with our admiration for her and realize that she is an even better person than we had suspected. Good book and one that you should read in order to get a more accurate picture of our First Lady and the President.

For all those women who thought/think Laura Bush is just doing what she is told and has no opinions of her own or who believe what Teresa Heinz Kerry so slanderously said, please, please read this book. Mr. Kessler has done a very thorough job researching every incident he reports in the book by interviewing multiple sources of Mrs. Bush's friends, acquaintances and others to bring a more complete picture of her background, childhood, teenage years -- including a tragic automobile accident -- and college days along with her careers as a teacher and a librarian. Mr. Kessler also goes through how she handled campaigning and the limelight haviang to overcome her shyness to her most recent "comedic" performance in 2005 at the White House Correspondents dinner. Throughout this book we can see that Mrs. Bush remains faithful to her own principles and moral values and faith as well as loyal to her friends and family. I have always thought when I have heard her on talk shows and elsewhere that she seemed like a very classy lady and she is. She would be a joy to have as a friend and is certainly improving the "First Lady" image and bringing back the elegance that was sorely needed in that office and the White House. Read it!

Kessler is a veteran journalist who brought down the head of the FBI, he penetrates even the most secret agencies in our country. Now he turns his attention to the first lady and we can finally get to know her in the most personal way.