This book simply wouldn’t have happened without the forty-first and forty-third presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, giving generously of their time to offer firsthand glimpses into their remarkable lives. I am deeply indebted to them and to members of their family, including Barbara Bush and Laura Bush, and to members of their staffs and foundations: Catherine Branch, Brian Cossiboom, Logan Dryden, Ken Hersh, Hutton Hinson, Catherine Jaynes, David Jones, Kristin King, Holly Kuzmich, Nancy Lazenby, Mike Meece, Laura Pears, Evan Sisley, and Tobi Young. Special thanks to Jean Becker and Freddy Ford.
I am grateful to others who agreed to be interviewed for the project—James Baker, Ben Barnes, Jean Becker, Barbara Bush, Jeb Bush, Andy Card, Dick Cheney, Clay Johnson, Ron Kaufman, David Hume Kennerly, Mary Matalin, Condoleezza Rice, Karl Rove, and Chase Untermeyer—and to those I interviewed independent of the book but whose feedback factored into these pages: Laura Bush, Jimmy Carter, Eric Draper, the late Gerald Ford, Robert Gates, Steve Hadley, Karen Hughes, Henry Kissinger, Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Brent Scowcroft, and Hugh Sidey, a friend and mentor who offered a standard for writing on the presidency.
Many have helped to guide and support this endeavor, including my agent and friend, Jim Hornfischer, and, at HarperCollins, Adam Bellow, Jonathan Burnham, Chris Goff, Kate D’Esmond, John Jusino, Eric Meyers, and my editor, Eric Nelson. Isabel Saralegui, Jake Solomon, and Ben Stein diligently transcribed interviews between their school studies.
Our presidential libraries, under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration and the direction of archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, and director of presidential libraries, Susan Donius, are national treasures. The George Bush Presidential Library and the George W. Bush Presidential Center are no exceptions. At the George Bush Presidential Library, my thanks to director Warren Finch, Mary Finch, Robert Holzweiss, and Cody McMillian; and at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the directors Alan Lowe and Pat Mordente, Brook Clement, Eric McCrory, and Emily Robison.
I am thankful to a number of accomplished friends and colleagues who provided insight, inspiration, editorial advice, or a willing ear, including Ken Adelman, John Avlon, Peter Baker, Michael Beschloss, Philip Bobbitt, Bill Brands, Doug Brinkley, Christopher Buckley, Ken Burns, Marc Burstein, Don Carleton, Matthew Dowd, Michael Duffy, Jeffery Engel, Frank Gannon, Nancy Gibbs, Mike Gillette, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Steve Harrigan, Will Imboden, Bob Inman, Tom Johnson, Mark Lawrence, Jim Magnuson, Jon Meacham, Todd Purdum, Cokie Roberts, Richard Norton Smith, Robert Schenkkan, Bat Sparrow, Larry Wright, and Bob Woodward.
Valuable perspective also came from those who served in either the Bush 41 or 43 administrations: John Bridgeland, Randy Erben, Margaret Hoover, Anita McBride, Tim McBride, Margaret Spellings, and Kevin Sullivan. At the LBJ Presidential Library and the LBJ Foundation, my thanks to Claudia Anderson, Amy Barbee, Ben Barnes, Adam Brodkin, Elizabeth Christian, Jennifer Cuddeback, Rodney Ellis, Wayne Gibbens, Jay Godwin, Mary Herman, Bill Hobby, Luci Johnson, Tom Johnson, Sarah McCracken, Cappy McGarr, the late Harry Middleton, Suzanne Mirabal, Marge Morton, Kassie Navarro, Lyndon Olson, Lynda Robb, Roy Spence, Larry Temple, and Anne Wheeler; and at the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, Carlyle Blakeney, Marilyn Buist, Bill Phillips, Darwin Simpson, Peter Stent, and Jim Taylor.
Thank you to old and loyal friends: Craig Barron, Marty Dobrow, Amy Erben, Bill Gurney, Steve Huestis, David Hume Kennerly, Jim Popkin, Lee Rosenbaum, Nick Segal, Hal Stein, and Ray Walter, who died far too soon in 2014. And I couldn’t ask for a better sister and brother-in-law than Susie and Glenn Crafford, or in-laws in Kim and Richard Storm, and Sandy and Skip Wood, or family members in Jim and Wendy Krombech, Herbert Krombech, Cindy Kaskey, Jeff and Loretta Kaskey, and Mike and Andria Kaskey.
Frequently, as I worked on these pages about a father and son, I was reminded of my own father, John Jacob Updegrove, a good and decent man, and a great dad, who died in 2014. I owe so much to him and to my beloved mother, Naomi, both of whom labored, scrimped, and sacrificed to give their children every advantage.
My wife, Amy, my dearest friend and greatest love, has been with me at every step, lending support and encouragement as I wrote this book, which is dedicated to her. She and our blended family—Isabel, Charlie, Mateo, and Tallie—make me lucky beyond measure.
MKU
Austin, Texas