Doug West

President George H. W. Bush Doug West

His was one of the great American stories. Born into a privileged New England family, George H. W. Bush joined the navy on his eighteenth birthday, and at age twenty, he was shot down on a combat mission over the Pacific. He married young, started a family, and resisted pressure to become a Wall Street banker, instead, striking out for the adventurous world of the Texas oil patch. Over the course of three decades, Bush would rise through the political ranks from the chairmanship of his county Republican Party to serve as congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, head of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office to China, and Director of Central Intelligence. He served for two terms as vice president under Ronald Reagan, and, ultimately, President of the United States. During his presidency, the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union splintered. Bush's capable leadership during this dramatic time helped shape a world in which the United States emerged as a lone superpower. After one term in office, he became the first president since John Adams to see his son also become president. This short book covers the life of former President George H. W. Bush from his early years growing up in Connecticut, his rise to power through the political ranks to become the President of the United States, and the years after his term in the land's highest office.