Laura Bush

An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady

By: Ronald Kessler

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

When Laura Bush moved into the White House on January 20, 2001, everyone wanted to know what kind of first lady she would be. Would she be like Mamie Eisenhower? Would she follow in Barbara Bush’s footsteps? Would she be another Hillary Clinton?

“I think I’ll just be Laura Bush,” she would say.

On Saturday, April 30, 2005, the world got a glimpse of what that meant when she pushed aside the leader of the free world and stole the show at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Wearing a shimmering lime green Oscar de la Renta gown, Laura wisecracked that she was a “desperate housewife” married to a president who was always asleep at nine.

Replayed constantly on the air, the stand-up routine with its impeccable comedic timing turned the first lady into a glittering star. But while the performance catapulted her to new status, it did not answer the question of who this former teacher and librarian really is and just what role she plays in influencing her husband and shaping his administration. The Bushes are more effective than the FBI or CIA at keeping secret what goes on behind the scenes at the White House, the ranch, or Camp David.

Now, New York Times bestselling author Ronald Kessler draws back that curtain in the first biography of Laura Bush to be written with White House cooperation. Based on interviews with her closest friends and confidantes from childhood to the present, as well as family members and administration heavyweights like Condoleezza Rice and Andrew Card, Kessler paints a portrait of a woman who, even as she ascended to the heights of political fortune and power, never lost touch with the bedrock American values she absorbed in her youth.

In this unprecedented account, Kessler reveals:

How Laura’s opinions have brought budget changes to a range of federal agencies and have affected her husband’s policies, appointments, and worldview.
Why Laura told her press secretary in May 2001 she did not want to do any more media interviews.
What President Bush said to Laura at the dinner table after giving the “go” for the invasion of Iraq, and what his father, former President George H. W. Bush, wrote him the next day about the war.
What Laura’s own political opinions are and what her relationship with twin daughters Jenna and Barbara is really like.
What Laura says in private about Hillary Clinton, media attacks on her husband, and his victory in the 2004 election.
And why Laura, at the age of seventeen, missed a stop sign and caused a fatal accident that tragically left one of her best friends dead.

LAURA BUSH offers a remarkable look at the private world of this famously reserved woman, as well as the beliefs and attitudes that shape it. The book will surprise readers whose knowledge of the first lady comes from cautious media interviews and speeches.

Laura Bush’s approval rating stands at 85 percent. Since opinion polls first began asking about them, no first lady has received a higher rating. This moving biography is the first to penetrate the secret world of the president’s stealth counselor who is one of our most admired public figures.©2006 Ronald Kessler; (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“Laura Bush is a remarkable woman—a great mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, and, of course, first lady. The thing that makes this gentle, bright woman dearer than all of the above is that she makes the president, our son, happy. Ron Kessler does a great job of capturing the spirit of Laura Bush.”

—Former First Lady Barbara Bush

Interesting

This was an interesting book to me. I normally do not read non fiction, but after I saw Mrs. Bush on Oprah, I thought it would be an interesting read...which it was. I enjoyed that Mrs. Bush read it and seeing things from her perspective. I think she is a bit all over the place in her book and seems to flip from flashbacks to the present, which is a bit confusing, but over all it was worth the read.

A poignant story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, for my close friends who share a fondness for the former First Lady. She's open, honest and an excellent listen. I've been reading the book but this is much better for me. It could only be better if it were Laura narrating it herself, then we could hear her lovely voice!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I don't think this is applicable in an autobiography.

What does Susan Denaker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brings an easy listen, and helps me get through the book quicker than my slow reading.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I don't have a good idea on this.

Any additional comments?

I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

It was such a pleasure to meet Laura Bush

This book is based on interviews with Laura Bush's friends. It reveals friendships that are full of caring, insight, wit, loyalty and sincerity. Laura is an authentic, thoughtful and loving friend as you will learn. She has remained close to her childhood friends throughout her life and no matter what.

In reading this book, your also learn that Laura Bush, loves to clean. I found that we share a love for Clorox and Windex. As another reviewer wrote, "Now, when something around here needs cleaning, I think of Laura's enthusiasm. I find that it is much easier and more fun to tackle cleaning with enthusiasm than to go through it with a dismal attitude."

I liked Laura Bush before I read this book, we share several similarities: we are both only children and we both love to read. This book was an insightful read about a "lovely, witty and gracious" First Lady. She truly is a First Class, First Lady.

I love Laura Bush but was SO disappointed

Laura Bush to me is a person to model after. Her poise and wisdom seems to influence everything around her. I had hoped this book would show the depth of her character to a much greater degree. Instead, I felt the book was trite and did not do her justice at all. It was like a newspaper article where pieces of research were strung together to make a picture. The book came across stiffly as if in a list of events rather than about the person. I can't even begin to think how hard it is to write a book much less a biography, but still, I had hoped for so much more. I found the book boring and without depth. Sorry Laura... You are still my favorite First Lady of all though!

Inconsistency.

LB not saying negative things about people then pointing out problems with the previous administration… character flaws. The narrator got on my nerves. She sounded like a suck-up. I’m thinking LB wouldn’t want that.