The Bush Family

From Publishers Weekly
Right on time for the Republican National Convention, Spada (Ronald Reagan: His Life in Pictures) presents this pictorial biography in five parts, which illustrates the private and political life of our current president and his family—including, as the St. Martin’s press chat puts it, his "attractive coed twins." Spada, who has produced similar tomes on Jackie Onassis and JFK, Jr., and Caroline Bessette Kennedy, takes an almost happy-go-lucky approach in showing Bushes 41 and 43 with Barbara, Laura, Jeb and other various family members and companions, displaying the family on tennis courts, catwalks and vacations that vary from the ranch to Russia. Of the over 300 photographs, many are candids (and a few seem to have sources in the family itself). Though Spada doesn’t quite veer into celebrity tabloid territory, he produces a consumptive propulsion similar to Access Hollywood, as the Bush family’s personal life unfolds in front of a consistently irreverent camera. In the captions, Spada combines frankness (W.’s alcoholism and reputation for verbal mishaps) with affirmation and historical context. The whole feels well-researched and chosen, describing the progress of the family, whose members include what Spada calls "Lone Star Yankees."Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In addition to full-bodied biographies of film stars (Streisand, 1995), Spada has compiled lighter photo-biographies of, for example, Jacqueline Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Framing that format around the Bush political dynasty, a member of which has been in office or on the hustings since 1952, when Prescott Bush was elected senator, Spada selects about 300 images. They contain the ordinary settings of a family photo album--weddings, graduations, vacations. Accompanied by biographical captions, the photos sample generations of Bushes. Some of Spada's images have appeared frequently in the media, such as George H. W. Bush's rescue by a submarine in World War II. But most of what is on view here is new--or, at least, infrequently published--giving browsers a broad-brush impression of the campaigns and countenances of Prescott; his son, George H. W.; his sons, George W and Jeb; and Jeb's son, George P. Bush, the family's next-generation political heir apparent. The photos are largely innocuous, and the text is silent about politics. Spada will appeal to those wishing simply to relax with a look at the clan. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
A rich photographic treasure trove---featuring both historical and contemporary images---of the Bush family at work and at play from the author of Ronald Reagan: His Life in Pictures

The Bush family is an American dynasty---a clan of "compassionate conservatives" and "Lone Star Yankees" whose power has helped shape America for decades. From Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush's father, through George and Barbara to George W. Bush and Laura, this first family has lived in front of the camera.

Their biography in pictures creates a rich panorama of twentieth- and early-twentieth-century history and at the same time offers a glimpse of the private sides of these very public figures.

James Spada's beautifully researched book also tells the story of the Bushes in lively captions that accompany the almost three hundred photos, many previously unpublished. From family matriarch Dorothy Walker Bush all the way through to the photogenic new generation, which includes George P. Bush---Florida Governor Jeb Bush's son---and George and Laura's twin girls, Jenna and Barbara, The Bush Family provides a priceless portrait of a clan that believes in a tradition of public service. It is a deep and highly personal overview of nearly seven decades in this remarkable family's private and political life.


About the Author
James Spada is a writer and photographer whose twenty books have included pictorial biographies of Ronald Reagan, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and John and Caroline Kennedy as well as biographies of Julia Roberts, Grace Kelly, and Barbra Streisand. He lives in Natick, Massachusetts.



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The Bush Family Is An American dynasty -- a clan of "compassionate conservatives" and "Lone Star Yankees" whose power has helped shape America for decades. From Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush's father, through George and Barbara to George W. Bush and Laura, this first family has lived in front of the camera. Their biography in pictures creates a rich panorama of twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century history and at the same time offers a glimpse of the private sides of these very public figures. James Spada's beautifully researched book also tells the story of the Bushes in lively captions that accompany the almost three hundred photos, many previously unpublished. From family matriarch Dorothy Walker Bush all the way through to the photogenic new generation, which includes George P. Bush -- Florida Governor Jeb Bush's son -- and George and Laura's twin girls, Jenna and Barbara, The Bush Family provides a priceless portrait of a clan that believes in a tradition of public service. It is a deep and highly personal overview of nearly seven decades in this remarkable family's private and political life.


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