The Family [antikvár]

I believe that the people we most admire most influence our country, so those are the lives I've chosen to examine. My subjects have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British monarchy, and now, the Bushes. They were not simply public figures who happened to be celebrities. When 1 wrote about them they were all living icons who, for better or for worse, substantially influenced our culture. I stress the word "living" because I believe in writing books about people who are alive and quite capable of defending themselves. The dead have no recourse to a biographer's unsparing revelations. The Family, by the nature of its scope and historical perspective, varies from that formula a bit. Prescott Bush, the scion of the Bush dynasty, is, of course, an important figure in this book. But the focus is meant to be on his son and grandson, George H.W. and George W., because they have far surpassed Prescott in political and historical importance. Without exception, the contemporary figures I've chosen to chronicle have been reluctant and uncooperative, and in each instance I have encountered resistance as I tried to go behind the public image to the other side of the myth. As unauthorized biographies, my books have been controversial and drawn fire, even litigation on occasion, but I have never lost a lawsuit. Before publication, each book is vetted by several sets of lawyers; facts and sources are checked and rechecked and sources documented.