The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush
Written by Mark K. Updegrove
Narrated by Milton Jeffers
4/5
()
About this audiobook
An historian’s revealing and intimate portrait of George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush that explores their relationship as presidents and as father and son—the first major biographical treatment of these two consequential presidents and figures in American history.
In 2016 the Republican base revolted against the GOP establishment that has become synonymous with the Bush name, choosing instead a political neophyte and anti-establishment outsider as the standard bearer of their party. Donald Trump’s election marked the end not only of a presidential dynasty, but a rejection of the Republican principles and traditions the Bushes have long championed. Despite the Republicans’ surprise victory in 2016, behind closed doors the party remains divided between traditional conservatives, populists, and radical ideologues, and faces an uncertain future. As presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove argues, Bush 41 and 43 are in effect, the ""last Republicans.""
In this balanced, illuminating book, Updegrove tells the story of the Bushes’ relationship from the birth of George W. through their post-presidential years and Jeb Bush’s failed candidacy. Drawing on exclusive access and interviews with both presidents and the key people in their lives, Updegrove reveals the Bushes’ views on the current state of the nation and the GOP, and how the party they both led and helped build is undergoing a radical transformation. At last, the famously circumspect Bushes offer unvarnished observations and revelations on everything from George W. Bush’s youthful indiscretions to the influence and perspectives they had on each other’s administration to their views on Donald Trump—and how they each voted in the 2016 election.
A candid and often surprising portrait of two men, The Last Republicans is also an elegy for the party of Reagan and Bush—and for the many thoughtful and prudent individuals who made up the ""establishment,"" and are conspicuously lacking in today’s GOP.
Mark K. Updegrove
Mark K. Updegrove is the author of four books on the presidency, including Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency. The inaugural CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum and the former director of the LBJ Presidential Library, Updegrove is a contributor to ABC News and Good Morning America, and has written for the Daily Beast, National Geographic, the New York Times, Parade, Politico, Texas Monthly and Time. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Related to The Last Republicans
Related audiobooks
The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Camelot's Court: Inside the Kennedy White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under This Roof: The White House and the Presidency--21 Presidents, 21 Rooms, 21 Inside Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When the Center Held: Gerald Ford and the Rescue of the American Presidency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5George H. W. Bush: The American Presidents Series: The 41st President, 1989-1993 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of the President 1960 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Texas Titans: George H.W. Bush and James A. Baker, III: A Friendship Forged in Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joe Biden: The Life, the Presidency, and What Matters Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harry S. Truman: The American Presidents Series: The 33rd President, 1945-1953 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The American Presidents Series: The 32nd President, 1933-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The President's Man: The Memoirs of Nixon's Trusted Aide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Middle Way: How Three Presidents Shaped America's Role in the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Surrender is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Days in January: Young Readers' Edition: Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Faith of George W. Bush Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Did We Get Here?: From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grover Cleveland: The American Presidents Series: The 22nd and 24th President, 1885-1889 and 1893-1897 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Choosing Donald Trump: God, Anger, Hope, and Why Christian Conservatives Supported Him Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Heritage History of the Presidents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
United States History For You
Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Charlie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Adams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Untold History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here—and Out There Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: 2nd Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Last Republicans
14 ratings0 reviews