THE CALL TO SERVE

The prolific presidential historian offers a photo-heavy look at the life of George H.W. Bush (1924-2018).

“Don’t brag about yourself. Let others point out your virtues, your strong points.” That was a late-in-life piece of advice from the former president, whose parents offered a list of his son’s virtues on an admissions form for Phillips Academy, pointing out that “Walker” was considerate and “learns easily and rapidly” though also was “less neat than we consider desirable.” The grown-up Walker would remedy the demerit. After heroic service in World War II as a Navy pilot, he put himself together smartly, became successful in the oil business in Texas, and then entered politics. As Meacham notes in this heavily illustrated tribute, which serves as a complement to his 2015 bio, Destiny and Power, the political road was tough. Bush lost both of his senatorial races to Democrats in 1964 and 1970 after having won a seat in the House of Representatives. A fine moment of political history comes when Bush, hat figuratively in hand, visits Lyndon Johnson to ask whether he should try for the Senate, to which Johnson replied, “The difference between being a member of the Senate and a member of the House is the difference between chicken salad and chicken shit.” Bush later took jobs that he didn’t necessarily want but assumed dutifully, notably head of the Republican National Committee under Richard Nixon, whom, in a letter reproduced here, he encouraged to resign during the Watergate hearings. Meacham notes Bush’s evenhandedness as president, thinking of himself as “a steady steward” without the rhetorical flair of his predecessor. Indeed, he was the last of the quietly competent Republicans, a breed now extinct—and worthy of this historical reminder of their existence.

As much a keepsake volume as a biography, but rich in insights on the 41st president.