Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House

I have to admit, George W. Bush was the first President who I studied and watched in real time. Not to mention the fact that so many world defining moments occurred under his presidency. So, I have always found him and his administration fascinating. 

Which leads me to this book, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House. I wasn’t sure what to expect by this book written by Peter Baker. It could be a firestorm or a fluff piece, I purposefully did not try and buy a book that would lean one way or the other. Ultimately, it leans more towards a generous accounting of Bush and his political career. That is not to say it’s all roses, but I absolutely learned a lot of behind the scenes information here. As for Cheney – the author seems to paint him in a slightly less favorable light.

9/11 certainly featured prominently but it did not overpower the book. Instead, the Iraq War seems to have taken up a lot more pages than the War on Terror. Either way, those events were expected. I was surprised to learn about Bush’s desire to fight AIDS in Africa or his fight to combat climate change while those in his party denied its existence. 

This book was a great reminder that what we hear in the media is certainly not the full story. I refuse to get into a debate about whether or not the media has a liberal bias, but instead – I will simply point out that there is only so much airtime for news stations. Of course, they will discuss the topics that will gather more attention and viewership. There was plenty that flew under the radar for the Bush administration. 

I found this book well written and incredibly informative. If anyone is curious about American politics in the 2000’s, this is a book for you! Like I mentioned – I enjoyed the writing style of Peter Baker, so I also followed him for any new books. Check this one out!

C. L.