Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President
by J. H. Hatfield, Mark Crispin Miller, J.H. Hatfield

List Price: $16.50
Our Price: $1.50
You Save: $15.00 (91%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President

Book Review: Not what you think
Summary: 5 Stars

Hatfield managed to inspire sympathy in me for the Bush family when he described the death of George W.'s sister when he was young. I was impressed that the kids he worked with when he did his community service loved him. His famous "personality" had never appealed to me, but I was impressed that the inner city kids had taken to him. I was also impressed by his skill as a politician, beginning when he was working for his father. Hatfield gives credit where credit is due, but unlike most of the PR biographies, he doesn't pull punches when he talks about the shadier aspects of the family's history.

The drug bust scandal that made all the news was only added to "Fortunate Son" as an afterword at the insistence of St. Martin's, who wanted to make the most of the story that had already been broken by Salon. Hatfield was not a character assassin, but only wanted to write a good biography.

The book was discredited because of Hatfield's criminal past, which I certainly cannot defend, but that does not in itself disqualify the book. Bush's claims that he had not used illegal drugs for 25 years (see New York Times Oct. 21, 1999) indicate that he does not deny that he used illegal drugs, only that he got caught for it. In terms of questions of presidential character, it's a small difference. In any case, the subject was only an afterthought in this book. There is much more of interest within it.

FS was also criticized because the biography was done quickly, which it had to be to get it out while it was still relevant to the election of the man who is now president. It was criticized for using secondary sources, which I find to be no criticism at all. Hatfield was practically the only one compiling the information who was not too intimidated by the power of the subjects to call a spade a spade.

Now that Hatfield is dead, it should be clear that what is relevant is the information about the history and character of the man who holds the most powerful office in the world. Hatfield served his prison term and is now gone. But he did shed some light on the history and character of the man who is now president of the United States.

This book should be preparatory material for understanding where the world is headed today.

Summary of Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President

Bush has denied the allegations, however, and it seems that Hatfield has a few dark secrets in his past. Shortly after the publication of Fortunate Son, The Dallas Morning News reported that Hatfield was a paroled felon who had attempted to hire a hit man to kill his boss. The online magazine Salon went on to add that he may have lied about his history as a freelance journalist and invented a fictitious award for a previous book. Throw in the skepticism of many journalists at the afterword's heavy reliance on anonymous sources, and Hatfield's credibility is in serious jeopardy. For his part, the author maintains that the paroled felon is a different James H. Hatfield, born the same month and year and living in the same part of the country, and if public records say otherwise, he argues: "Doesn't it sound a little bit weird to you that all of a sudden, the guy that's accusing potentially the next president of the United States of having his record expunged, all of a sudden miraculously has a record himself in the state of Texas?" It should perhaps be noted that among Hatfield's previous books is an unauthorized guide to The X-Files.

Political Books

• Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People
• People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bush, George
• Regional U.S. > South
• Current Events