WASHINGTON - Former President George W. Bush can finally boast "Mission Accomplished" - if the mission is winning a chance to repair his legacy and be paid handsomely for it.
Bush, who called himself "the Decider," scored a multimillion-dollar book deal to write a dozen or so chapters on how he decided everything from quitting booze while in his 40s to starting two wars.
"My goal is to bring the reader inside the Oval Office for the most consequential moments of my personal and political life," Bush said in a statement yesterday issued by Crown Publishing. "I look forward to painting a vivid picture of the information I had, the principles I followed, and the decisions I made."
Tentatively titled "Decision Points," Bush has told friends he's determined to produce a readable volume instead of the often turgid and lengthy tomes by some of his predecessors.
"Rather than produce a long book nobody would read or take on everything at a surface level, he thought this approach would be a better service to history," an aide to the former President told the Daily News.
Bush decided to follow the advice of his father by not writing a conventional memoir. Ex-President George H.W. Bush's post-mortem also concentrated on explaining the major moments of his presidency, such as the decision to go to war with Iraq and the fall of the Soviet Union, rather than a point-by-point rehash of his White House years.
Friends say Bush also has an obvious longer-term motivation.
"He sees the book as the next draft of his legacy," said another Bush insider, "a way to shape and frame the argument for historians."
Bush has about 30,000 words already written. Chris Michel, Bush's last chief speechwriter, has the job of helping shape up the book, the source said.
Literati giggled at the idea of a hugely unpopular ex-President getting a fat advance to ruminate over his life and career. But Bush apparently got the last laugh, based on industry buzz that he'll get a $7 million payout.
"Sounds like a lot of money to me," said Washington book agent Diane Nine.
Still, Bush's book deal pales in comparison with the $15 million ex-President Bill Clinton was paid for his memoir, "My Life."
President Obama, meanwhile, will get another payday off his 1995 book "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance." Just days before he was sworn in as President, Obama inked a deal to release an abridged edition of "Dreams" geared for young adult readers, according to an Obama source.
"He doesn't have to write a new book. ... The President will review the abridged edition and then sign off on it," the source said. "He gets $250,000, and the publisher gets $250,000."
Bush, who called himself "the Decider," scored a multimillion-dollar book deal to write a dozen or so chapters on how he decided everything from quitting booze while in his 40s to starting two wars.
"My goal is to bring the reader inside the Oval Office for the most consequential moments of my personal and political life," Bush said in a statement yesterday issued by Crown Publishing. "I look forward to painting a vivid picture of the information I had, the principles I followed, and the decisions I made."
Tentatively titled "Decision Points," Bush has told friends he's determined to produce a readable volume instead of the often turgid and lengthy tomes by some of his predecessors.
"Rather than produce a long book nobody would read or take on everything at a surface level, he thought this approach would be a better service to history," an aide to the former President told the Daily News.
Bush decided to follow the advice of his father by not writing a conventional memoir. Ex-President George H.W. Bush's post-mortem also concentrated on explaining the major moments of his presidency, such as the decision to go to war with Iraq and the fall of the Soviet Union, rather than a point-by-point rehash of his White House years.
Friends say Bush also has an obvious longer-term motivation.
"He sees the book as the next draft of his legacy," said another Bush insider, "a way to shape and frame the argument for historians."
Bush has about 30,000 words already written. Chris Michel, Bush's last chief speechwriter, has the job of helping shape up the book, the source said.
Literati giggled at the idea of a hugely unpopular ex-President getting a fat advance to ruminate over his life and career. But Bush apparently got the last laugh, based on industry buzz that he'll get a $7 million payout.
"Sounds like a lot of money to me," said Washington book agent Diane Nine.
Still, Bush's book deal pales in comparison with the $15 million ex-President Bill Clinton was paid for his memoir, "My Life."
President Obama, meanwhile, will get another payday off his 1995 book "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance." Just days before he was sworn in as President, Obama inked a deal to release an abridged edition of "Dreams" geared for young adult readers, according to an Obama source.
"He doesn't have to write a new book. ... The President will review the abridged edition and then sign off on it," the source said. "He gets $250,000, and the publisher gets $250,000."
No comments:
Post a Comment