Former Nixon White House strategist Kevin Phillips, author of such bestsellers as
Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich (2003),
The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath (1991), and
The Emerging Republican Majority (1969), has written a "highly controversial" new book on George W. Bush and the Bush Family.
Phillips' "eye-opening" book, titled American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, will be released in early January 2004. You can read Phillips' bio and an interview about the book with him here under 'Interviews and Essays.'
Phillips now identifies himself as an independent voter and one whose 1969 book served as the bible for Richard Nixon's 'Southern Strategy.' Over the years, he has increasingly expressed his disgust with the rightwards drift of the Republican Party and is a probably a more credible Bush critic than those on our side.
Below are a few excerpts from pre-publication reviews:
Viking Penguin
The Bushes are the family nobody really knows, says Kevin Phillips. This popular lack of acquaintance--nurtured by gauzy imagery of Maine summer cottages, gray-haired national grandmothers, July Fourth sparklers, and cowboy boots--has let national politics create a dynasticized presidency that would have horrified America's founding fathers. They, after all, had led a revolution against a succession of royal Georges.
In this devastating book, onetime Republican strategist Phillips reveals how four generations of Bushes have ascended the ladder of national power since World War One... uncovering relationships and connecting facts with new clarity, Phillips comes to a stunning conclusion: The Bush family has systematically used its financial and social empire--its "aristocracy"--to gain the White House, thereby subverting the very core of American democracy.
Booklist
There are many Bush-bashing books out there, but this one is quite different. Ivins, Franken, and Conason, among others, have focused primarily on the current president's administration. This book, written by a former Republican strategist, is more wide ranging, more scholarly, and in many ways, more disturbing... links to the CIA, the energy industry, and the military-industrial complex--links that have shaped this country's national and foreign policy for decades. Phillips explains the Bushes' relationship with Enron and the House of Saud in eyebrow-raising detail and adds confirming information about troubling claims.
Phillips will be beginning a nationwide book tour next month. While it is true that none of us have actually read the book, I did see Phillips on C-SPAN recently and he cryptically remarked that the book contains lots of new information damaging to the Bush Family.
I've attached a poll for your informed collective judgements.
ps: this is my very first diary entry on Daily Kos. So, forgive me if one of you has already posted one on this book.