The Call to Serve

The Life of an American President, George Herbert Walker Bush

By: Jon Meacham

Narrated by: Jon Meacham

Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

In honor of the one hundredth anniversary of George H. W. Bush’s birth, this visually stunning chronicle features never-before-published photos and memories celebrating the forty-first president’s vision of leadership as service to country—curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham.

Lavishly illustrated, The Call to Serve is an intimate, illuminating portrait of the forty-first president, a man who was so much more than just his politics. In words and images—many found in a lifetime of scrapbooks kept by Barbara Pierce Bush—Jon Meacham brings George H. W. Bush vividly to life. From the values of integrity, empathy, and grace that Bush learned in childhood to his leadership at the highest levels in tumultuous times, the forty-first president embodied an ideal of service that warrants attention in our own divided time.

Bush pursued a life of service to America through his heroic combat experience in the Pacific during World War II, his political rise in Texas, his serving as U.S. ambassador to the UN, his time as envoy to China and as director of the CIA, his tenure as Ronald Reagan’s vice president, and his election as the forty-first president of the United States. Set against the background of America during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this book commemorates the legacy of a man who was far from perfect—he could be cutthroat on the campaign trail—but whose ambition was not an end unto itself. Bush’s drive to succeed was, rather, a means to put the values of balance, patriotism, and respect for others into action in the political arena. Toward the end of Bush’s life, the forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, said that Bush put the country first “both before he was president, while he was president, and ever since.”

Featuring more than 450 photographs, Meacham’s introduction and commentary throughout, and narration drawn from his biography of George H. W. Bush, Destiny and Power, this is an essential tribute to a uniquely American life.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of photos from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Jon Meacham (P)2024 Random House Audio

LUV this book & Happy 100th George!🎉

Lovely stroll down memory lane… gotta re-listen to his ‘destiny’ book! His narration was great, it continued to improve after the first few minutes. The photos are a treasure… worth pulling my iPad out to zoom in and view them. As with his other books, I’m sure I will be listening to this book more than once.

A concise overview of George HW Bush’s life

It was condensed and well-researched. Refreshing during a time when we need politicians that are more mindful of using power for the good of other people.