Grace & Steel
Dorothy, Barbara, Laura, and the Women of the Bush Dynasty
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4.4 • 14 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From New York Times bestselling celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli comes Grace & Steel, the epic, hidden history of the exceptional women behind the greatest political dynasty of all time—the Bush family.
Bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli reveals the unsung heroines of the inimitable Bush family dynasty: not only First Ladies Barbara and Laura, but other colorful women whose stories have been left out of history for far too long, including Barbara’s mother-in-law, the formidable Dorothy Bush; the enigmatic Columba and the controversial Sharon; and Laura’s twins, Jenna and Barbara.
No matter the challenges related to power and politics, the women of the Bush dynasty always fought for equality in their marriages as they raised their children to be true to American values. In doing so, they inspired everyday Americans to do the same. Or, as Barbara Bush put it, “The future of this nation does not depend on what happens in the White House, but what happens in your house.”
Details from the book include:
—The tragedy Barbara faced in burying her three-year-old daughter, Robin, and her struggle with depression over the decades that followed.
—The tragic night a teenage Laura Bush accidentally killed a good friend—a story she did not discuss publicly for decades.
—The revelation of the affair that almost doomed George HW's hopes for the presidency.
—The truth behind the fraught relationship between Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush that culminated in an angry phone call during which Barbara told her she would never speak to her again—and she didn't.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biographer Taraborrelli (The Kennedy Heirs) delivers a detailed and largely flattering group portrait of the Bush family matriarchs. Dorothy Wear Walker Bush (1901–1922), the wife of senator Prescott Bush and mother of George H.W. Bush, became famous in her own right as a syndicated newspaper columnist. According to Taraborelli, George H.W. Bush's political success can be credited in large part to the unwavering support of his wife, Barbara Bush (née Pierce; 1925–2018), who suffered from lifelong depression, the loss of a child to leukemia at age three, and insecurities about her appearance, yet became one of the most beloved first ladies thanks to her literacy initiatives and "grandmotherly quality." Though Barbara wasn't the easiest mother-in-law to warm up to, according to Taraborelli, she helped her daughter-in-law, Laura Bush (née Welch), wife of George W. Bush, to find her footing as first lady and become an active advisor in her husband's presidency. Taraborrelli's breathless prose ("Barbara was nothing if not a real patriot; some might even call her an American icon") occasionally mars his deep research and fluid pacing. Still, this is a unique and colorful look at one of America's most powerful political families.
