The Bush Tragedy opens up the black box of the plane-crash presidency of George W. Bush to examine the political wreckage of a period in America's history rapidly drawing to a close. How did a man of such evident flaws and limited abilities find himself in the position of the most powerful man in the world? How and why did half of America fall for Bush before falling out with him? But this book is not a litany of Bush's misdeeds or a personal indictment. Amongst the wreckage of Bush 43 Jacob Weisberg finds a series of relationships: familial, personal, political and historical. Weisberg analyses Bush through these relationships, looking at how Bush 43 has defined himself in response to the failures and accomplishments of Bush 41, his idolisation of Ronald Reagan, and his devout Christianity that has led to widely condemned policy decisions that have fundamentally changed the role and position of the United States in the modern world. This original interpretation of Bush also studies seriously the much-mocked language that he uses as a political tool, helping to carve out the vision of himself as a wartime leader. In the run-up to the presidential elections, this is the starting point for a worldwide debate about undoing the damage. The Bush Tragedy is a razor-sharp character study of one of the most controversial presidents in American history.

Author Biography

Jacob Weisberg is editor of Slate.com, where he writes a weekly column about politics and currrent affairs, 'The Big Idea' . He was previously Slate's chief political correspondent. Before joining Slate in 1996, he wrote for magazines including the New Republic, Newsweek, and New York Magazine, and has also written for Vanity Fair and the New York Times Magazine. He is the co-author, with Robert E. Rubin, of In an Uncertain World. He is also the author of the 1996 book In Defense of Government and the Bushisms series, including the most recent Bushisms V: New Ways to Harm Our Country.