The Bushes
Section

"Kelley's book isn't just a juicy read.  In fact, if you took Kelley's name off the cover, the book could pass as a David McCullough highbrow biography of A Ruling Family in All Its Richness."
Lexington Herald-Leader, December 23, 2004


"Kelley's account of the rise and rise of the Bush family is both inspirational and cautionary.  She convincingly shows that good looks, energy, athleticism, ambition, felicitous marriages and social networking can compensate for intellectual ordinariness."
—Sylvia Jukes Morris, Washington Post Book World, September 26, 2004


"Kitty Kelley's new book...to me it's just a sweeping indictment of the mind-set of the family, that they grew up feeling that this was their due."
—Garry Trudeau, creator of "Doonesbury," The Charlie Rose Show, October 11, 2004


"In keeping with the Sicilian inflections of the title, this is a story of power, sex and betrayal—but mostly of power.... [Kelley's] books have weight, in every sense, which is why she is feared by her subjects....  [T]he book's value lies...in the sheer aggregate of its 705 pages.  Here is a story any producer would love—a family saga that spans generations and continents, like 'The Thorn Birds,' just begging for a miniseries.  Kelley reminds readers just how long the Bushes have been with us, sweeping like cattle raiders toward the sources of power."
 —Ted Widmer, New York Times Book Review, October 10, 2004


“I want to say that this book, I think, is a fascinating read…an extraordinary read…great history and a great story told.”
—Lou Dobbs, Lou Dobbs Tonight, September 15, 2004


“While Kelley is being savagely attacked as a tabloid sleaze queen, her book is more heavily researched and documented than Bush advocates allege.  (It is also thoroughly entertaining.)”
—David Talbot, Salon.com, September 14, 2004


“[D]oing what she does is like poking a stick into a hornet’s nest.  The holder of the stick gets a nasty reaction from the disturbed occupants….  The resulting book, however, is a good read.”
—Marianne Means, Houston Chronicle, September 17, 2004


THE FAMILY is a fast paced, 600-plus page summary of the Bushes, dating back to the early days of Prescott Bush, grandfather of the current president, and leading right through the U.S.-led war in Iraq.  It is told as both political and personal drama, complete with unhappy marriages, sibing jealousy, drugs, alcohol and the endless pursuit of money and power.”
—Hillel Italie, Associated Press, September 13, 2004


“Despite the best efforts of the media, the public is gaining insight into their president as the facts leak out and as Kitty Kelley’s THE FAMILY: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, tops the sales chart.” 
—Les Payne, Long Island NY Newsday, September 26, 2004


“It is Kelley's function in American culture to give popular expression to the dark, personal dramas of well-known people whose private lives are routinely airbrushed into bright fantasies that bear no resemblance to human life. Kelley's book not only delivers the dirt you'll rarely if ever get in The New Yorker or The Atlantic Monthly, let alone on Fox News, it reminds you that personal dirt is the rich soil of day-to-day political life—whether it's Barbara hating the Reagans for treating her and George like servants, Dubya bursting into obscene rages at reporters during his father's presidential campaigns (which helps explain his manner during press conferences), or Bush I underestimating Bill Clinton in part because he thought the Arkansas governor too low-class to be a real competitor.”
—John Powers, Village Voice, September 21, 2004


“I can vouch for Ms. Kelley’s absolute determination to back up and document numerous stories that she writes about in her book.”
—David Robb, author of Operation Hollywood:  How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies.


 “Kelley’s latest book, THE FAMILY: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, is her most controversial, and potentially most important book to date.”
Irish Independent, September 18, 2004


“With the presidential elections just around the corner, THE FAMILY at 673 pages, is a must read.  THE FAMILY is an in-depth look at the Bush family’s roots and its rise to political and financial fame.’
—Desiree Balmarez, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, September 30, 2004


“Kelley’s goal is to paint the Bush family as a contemporary American aristocracy, and she succeeds in doing so….  Over the course of her intergenerational narrative, Kelley illustrates how each Bush patriarch became increasingly more privileged, increasingly wealthier, and increasingly more imperious.”
—Beth Garrison, The Cavalier Daily, September 23, 2004


THE FAMILY…is a well-paced and important story about a singular family in American politics.”
—Graham Reid, New Zealand Herald, September 19, 2004