TPR Recommends... George W. Bush's Elections

In TPR's fairly short life, few politicians have been as polarising as President George W. Bush. Reviled by those who opposed the episodes which have come to define his eight years in office (namely the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) yet still seen as under-rated by many who valued his vision for the world and will to see it through, he remains controversial to this day. And outside of today's political debates, who can deny the lasting controversy of his 2000 election victory (which went to the U.S. Supreme Court and many still feel was stolen by the Republicans) and his divisive 2004 re-election. So, here to re-live the memories of the elections of George W. Bush, here are TPR's pick of some of the best books in and out of print.


This book describes itself as "not a journalistic account of campaigning and media strategy but a reflective assessment of the strangest election in modern American history." Exactly what such an election requires and, truth be told, what the world of political books requires in a market saturated with journalistic tell-alls by the darlings of the political circuit using their unparalleled closeness to the candidates to cash-in on a book. If this book does what it claims, one to cherish. Yet, as ever, the proof is in the pages. Purchase here.


TPR is a little disappointed to see this book is no longer in print. However, David Frum's account of George W. Bush's early days in the White House is a thoroughly engaging book. If virtue is to be found in content, then the events of 9/11 make this account of life in the White House at the time gripping. Beyond that, we find the case for George W. Bush elegantly made from the perspective of 2003. David Frum is, especially for those interested in Canadian politics, a wonk to watch. Purchase here.



Written by the Newsweek team who followed the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, this book (also sadly out-of-print yet still available from certain sellers) is a must-read for those who are willing to settle for a less insightful analysis in favour of a narrative re-run of the rollercoaster campaign that secured Bush's place in history as a two-term President and Senator John F. Kerry's place as a political side-liner. Purchase here.

Anybody who has ever themselves searched on a book site for "Bush" "Election 2000" or "Election 2004" will have been met with an unprecedented number of conspiracy theory-touting books claiming that Bush stole either the first or the second election - or both. I have done my best to avoid these. Yet if you know of one that is well written and insightful (and doesn't simply attribute the perculiarities of the U.S. judicial system to a Bush family conspiracy) do drop me an email.