Review of George W. Bush's "Decision Points"

I read George W. Bush's memoir, Decision Points, during my vacation last week. It provoked a number of reactions in me.

One, it stirred memories of what I was doing in the first 8 years of the new millennium we're in. The stories he recounted made me think back to what I was doing when those incidents hit the headlines. Half of that time was spent in Cayman and the other half was in my freshman Hillcrest years.

Two, it made me reflect on how the office of the American President has evolved in light of other presidential biographies I've read (most recently, Ronald C. White's A. Lincoln: A Biography, David McCullough's Truman, and I'm completing Edmund Morris' triology on Theodore Roosevelt). Comparing the Bush years to these other presidents, it struck me how widespread the current American President's responsibilities have become, and how rapid-fire his responses need to be.

Three, the book strengthened my resolve to pray regularly for the President and those who surround him, no matter who holds those positions, just as scripture commands. 

I found the book a surprisingly enjoyable read. It was a good decision for Bush to organize the book around major descisions he's faced instead of a chronological play-by-play. Most intriguing to me were his chapters on his spiritual conversion, stem cells, 9/11, and Afghanistan. I think his reflections on Katrina will be helpful for those evaluating that "decision point" in his presidency. There were other chapters that made me squirm just as much as when the decisions were "live": the decisions on Iraq (for which I remain largely in agreement) and his decisions during the financial meltdown (for which this juror is still deliberating).