The Last Republicans
Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $25.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Milton Jeffers
About this listen
A historian's revealing and intimate portrait of George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush that explores their relationship as presidents and as father and son - the first major biographical treatment of these two consequential presidents and figures in American history.
In 2016, the Republican base revolted against the GOP establishment that has become synonymous with the Bush name, choosing instead a political neophyte and antiestablishment outsider as the standard bearer of their party. Donald Trump's election marked not only the end of a presidential dynasty but a rejection of the Republican principles and traditions the Bushes have long championed. Despite the Republicans' surprise victory in 2016, behind closed doors the party remains divided between traditional conservatives, populists, and radical ideologues and faces an uncertain future. As presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove argues, Bush 41 and 43 are, in effect, the "last Republicans".
In this balanced, illuminating audiobook, Updegrove tells the story of the Bushes' relationship from the birth of George W. through their postpresidential years and Jeb Bush's failed candidacy. Drawing on exclusive access and interviews with both presidents and the key people in their lives, Updegrove reveals the Bushes' views on the current state of the nation and the GOP and how the party they both led and helped build is undergoing a radical transformation. At last the famously circumspect Bushes offer unvarnished observations and revelations on everything from George W. Bush's youthful indiscretions to the influence and perspectives they had on each other's administration to their views on Donald Trump - and how they each voted in the 2016 election.
A candid and often surprising portrait of two men, The Last Republicans is also an elegy for the party of Reagan and Bush - and for the many thoughtful and prudent individuals who made up the "establishment" and are conspicuously lacking in today's GOP.
©2017 Mark K. Updegrove (P)2017 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
-
Decision Points
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions of his presidency and personal life. Decision Points is the extraordinary memoir of America’s 43rd president. Shattering the conventions of political autobiography, George W. Bush offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life. In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings listeners inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor...
-
-
Loved It
- By Debra on 11-10-10
By: George W. Bush
-
Romney
- A Reckoning
- By: McKay Coppins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, McKay Coppins
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump’s GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president’s supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection.
-
-
Political and intellectual biography at its best!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-23
By: McKay Coppins
-
An Ordinary Man
- The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
- By: Richard Norton Smith
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 36 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.
-
-
Must-read Polemic
- By allison h eid on 10-17-23
-
41
- A Portrait of My Father
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, has authored a personal biography of his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president. Forty-three men have served as president of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a president told the story of his father, another president, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career.
-
-
Heartwarming and Honoring
- By Marie on 12-24-14
By: George W. Bush
-
Incomparable Grace
- JFK in the Presidency
- By: Mark K. Updegrove
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Mark K. Updegrove
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nearly sixty years after his death, JFK still holds an outsize place in the American imagination. While Baby Boomers remember his dazzling presence as president, millennials more likely know him from advertisements for Omega watches or Ray Ban sunglasses. Yet his years in office were marked by more than his style and elegance. His presidency is a story of a fledgling leader forced to meet unprecedented challenges, and to rise above missteps to lead his nation into a new and hopeful era.
-
-
Nothing new
- By Grace O'Malley on 07-29-24
-
The Matriarch
- Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty
- By: Susan Page
- Narrated by: Kate Levy
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A vivid biography of former first lady Barbara Bush, one of the most influential and underappreciated women in American political history.
-
-
Insightful
- By Jean on 04-14-19
By: Susan Page
-
Decision Points
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions of his presidency and personal life. Decision Points is the extraordinary memoir of America’s 43rd president. Shattering the conventions of political autobiography, George W. Bush offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life. In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings listeners inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor...
-
-
Loved It
- By Debra on 11-10-10
By: George W. Bush
-
Romney
- A Reckoning
- By: McKay Coppins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, McKay Coppins
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few figures in American politics have seen more and said less than Mitt Romney. An outspoken dissident in Donald Trump’s GOP, he has made headlines in recent years for standing alone against the forces he believes are poisoning the party he once led. Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove from office a president of his own party. When that president’s supporters went on to storm the US Capitol, Romney delivered a thundering speech from the Senate floor accusing his fellow Republicans of stoking insurrection.
-
-
Political and intellectual biography at its best!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-23
By: McKay Coppins
-
An Ordinary Man
- The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
- By: Richard Norton Smith
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 36 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.
-
-
Must-read Polemic
- By allison h eid on 10-17-23
-
41
- A Portrait of My Father
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, has authored a personal biography of his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president. Forty-three men have served as president of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a president told the story of his father, another president, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career.
-
-
Heartwarming and Honoring
- By Marie on 12-24-14
By: George W. Bush
-
Incomparable Grace
- JFK in the Presidency
- By: Mark K. Updegrove
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Mark K. Updegrove
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nearly sixty years after his death, JFK still holds an outsize place in the American imagination. While Baby Boomers remember his dazzling presence as president, millennials more likely know him from advertisements for Omega watches or Ray Ban sunglasses. Yet his years in office were marked by more than his style and elegance. His presidency is a story of a fledgling leader forced to meet unprecedented challenges, and to rise above missteps to lead his nation into a new and hopeful era.
-
-
Nothing new
- By Grace O'Malley on 07-29-24
-
The Matriarch
- Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty
- By: Susan Page
- Narrated by: Kate Levy
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A vivid biography of former first lady Barbara Bush, one of the most influential and underappreciated women in American political history.
-
-
Insightful
- By Jean on 04-14-19
By: Susan Page
-
The Presidents Club
- Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity
- By: Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.
-
-
Engaging subject, but fact-checking needed
- By loix on 04-25-12
By: Nancy Gibbs, and others
-
The Man Who Ran Washington
- The Life and Times of James A. Baker III
- By: Peter Baker, Susan Glasser
- Narrated by: Michael Quinlan
- Length: 26 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a quarter-century, from the end of Watergate to the aftermath of the Cold War, no Republican won the presidency without his help or ran the White House without his advice. James Addison Baker III was the indispensable man for four presidents because he understood better than anyone how to make Washington work at a time when America was shaping events around the world. The Man Who Ran Washington is a pause-resisting portrait of a power broker who influenced America's destiny for generations.
-
-
We Need Baker Now More Than Ever
- By @Gazi2a on 01-08-21
By: Peter Baker, and others
-
A Higher Loyalty
- Truth, Lies, and Leadership
- By: James Comey
- Narrated by: James Comey
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his audiobook, A Higher Loyalty, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of powe, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader.
-
-
More Than Trump: All Comey's Life/Working Years--
- By Gillian on 04-17-18
By: James Comey
-
The Man I Knew
- The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bush's Post-Presidency
- By: Jean Becker
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney, George Dvorsky
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A heartfelt portrait of President George H.W. Bush - and his post-presidential life - by the confidante who knew him best.
-
-
You Will NOT Be Disappointed!
- By Andrea M. Damitio on 06-07-21
By: Jean Becker
-
Fear
- Trump in the White House
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With authoritative reporting honed through eight presidencies from Nixon to Obama, author Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files, and documents. The focus is on the explosive debates and the decision-making in the Oval Office, the Situation Room, Air Force One, and the White House residence.
-
-
Extremely Depressing...
- By Pattisguilfordgardenct on 09-11-18
By: Bob Woodward
-
Destiny and Power
- The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 25 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on President Bush’s personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the 41st president and his family, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham paints an intimate and surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times.
-
-
Fair and insightful
- By Jean on 12-02-15
By: Jon Meacham
-
Alexander Hamilton
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 35 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power.
-
-
An Outstanding & Riveting Book!
- By Kevin on 03-04-05
By: Ron Chernow
-
Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
-
-
Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
-
Truman
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 54 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.
-
-
That Mousy Little Man From Missouri Revisited
- By Sara on 07-23-15
By: David McCullough
-
Richard Nixon
- The Life
- By: John A. Farrell
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Nixon opens with young navy lieutenant "Nick" Nixon returning from the Pacific and setting his cap at Congress, an idealistic dreamer seeking to build a better world. Yet amid the turns of that now legendary 1946 campaign, Nixon's finer attributes quickly gave way to unapologetic ruthlessness. It is a stunning overture to John A. Farrell's magisterial portrait of a man who embodied postwar American cynicism.
-
-
Well balanced and proportioned
- By Tad Davis on 06-04-17
By: John A. Farrell
-
So Help Me God
- By: Mike Pence
- Narrated by: Mike Pence
- Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike Pence spent more hours in the Oval Office than any of his predecessors. On the surface, the affable evangelical Christian from a gas-station-owning family in Indiana wouldn’t seem to have much in common with a brash real estate mogul from New York. But the unlikely duo formed a tight bond. So Help Me God is the chronicle of the events and people who forged Mike Pence’s character. This is the inside story of the Trump administration by its second highest official—what he said to the president and how he was tested.
-
-
Struggled to finish this
- By L. Brown on 11-20-22
By: Mike Pence
-
Franklin and Winston
- An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were the greatest leaders of “the Greatest Generation.” In Franklin and Winston, Jon Meacham explores the fascinating relationship between the two men who piloted the free world to victory in World War II.
-
-
Franklin and Winston Review
- By Ronald Hull on 01-29-04
By: Jon Meacham
Related to this topic
-
41
- A Portrait of My Father
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, has authored a personal biography of his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president. Forty-three men have served as president of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a president told the story of his father, another president, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career.
-
-
Heartwarming and Honoring
- By Marie on 12-24-14
By: George W. Bush
-
Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero
- By: Chris Matthews
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Chris Matthews’ extraordinary biography, we see this most beloved president in the company of friends. We see and feel him close-up, having fun and giving off that restlessness of his. We watch him navigate his life from privileged, rebellious youth to gutsy American president. We witness his bravery in war and selfless rescue of his PT boat crew. We watch JFK as a young politician learning to play hardball and watch him grow into the leader who averts a nuclear war.
-
-
What Might Have Been?
- By Mel on 12-06-11
By: Chris Matthews
-
Believer
- My Forty Years in Politics
- By: David Axelrod
- Narrated by: David Axelrod
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.
-
-
Love letter to Obama
- By DaWoolf on 03-15-15
By: David Axelrod
-
Camelot's End
- Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party
- By: Jon Ward
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Carter presidency was on life support. The Democrats, desperate to keep power and yearning to resurrect former glory, turned to Ted Kennedy. Camelot's End details the incredible drama of Kennedy's challenge - what led to it, how it unfolded, and its lasting effects - with cinematic sweep. It is a story about what happened to the Democratic Party when the country's long string of successes, luck, and global dominance following World War II ran its course, and how, on a quest to recapture the magic of JFK, Democrats plunged themselves into an intra-party civil war.
-
-
Does character count in political office?
- By marwalk on 07-29-19
By: Jon Ward
-
Three Days in January
- Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier, Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.
-
-
Gently In Manner, Strongly In Deed...
- By Gillian on 01-20-17
By: Bret Baier, and others
-
Tip and the Gipper
- When Politics Worked
- By: Chris Matthews
- Narrated by: Chris Matthews
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were the political odd couple - the two most powerful men in the country, a pair who "couldn't be more different or more the same." For six years, Matthews was on the inside, watching the evolving relationship between President Reagan and Speaker of the House O’Neill. Drawing not only on his own remarkable knowledge but on extensive interviews with those closest to his subjects, Matthews brings this unlikely friendship to life in his unique voice.
-
-
I didn't want it to end
- By Jim on 10-06-13
By: Chris Matthews
-
41
- A Portrait of My Father
- By: George W. Bush
- Narrated by: George W. Bush
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, has authored a personal biography of his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president. Forty-three men have served as president of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a president told the story of his father, another president, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career.
-
-
Heartwarming and Honoring
- By Marie on 12-24-14
By: George W. Bush
-
Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero
- By: Chris Matthews
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Chris Matthews’ extraordinary biography, we see this most beloved president in the company of friends. We see and feel him close-up, having fun and giving off that restlessness of his. We watch him navigate his life from privileged, rebellious youth to gutsy American president. We witness his bravery in war and selfless rescue of his PT boat crew. We watch JFK as a young politician learning to play hardball and watch him grow into the leader who averts a nuclear war.
-
-
What Might Have Been?
- By Mel on 12-06-11
By: Chris Matthews
-
Believer
- My Forty Years in Politics
- By: David Axelrod
- Narrated by: David Axelrod
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.
-
-
Love letter to Obama
- By DaWoolf on 03-15-15
By: David Axelrod
-
Camelot's End
- Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party
- By: Jon Ward
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Carter presidency was on life support. The Democrats, desperate to keep power and yearning to resurrect former glory, turned to Ted Kennedy. Camelot's End details the incredible drama of Kennedy's challenge - what led to it, how it unfolded, and its lasting effects - with cinematic sweep. It is a story about what happened to the Democratic Party when the country's long string of successes, luck, and global dominance following World War II ran its course, and how, on a quest to recapture the magic of JFK, Democrats plunged themselves into an intra-party civil war.
-
-
Does character count in political office?
- By marwalk on 07-29-19
By: Jon Ward
-
Three Days in January
- Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier, Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.
-
-
Gently In Manner, Strongly In Deed...
- By Gillian on 01-20-17
By: Bret Baier, and others
-
Tip and the Gipper
- When Politics Worked
- By: Chris Matthews
- Narrated by: Chris Matthews
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were the political odd couple - the two most powerful men in the country, a pair who "couldn't be more different or more the same." For six years, Matthews was on the inside, watching the evolving relationship between President Reagan and Speaker of the House O’Neill. Drawing not only on his own remarkable knowledge but on extensive interviews with those closest to his subjects, Matthews brings this unlikely friendship to life in his unique voice.
-
-
I didn't want it to end
- By Jim on 10-06-13
By: Chris Matthews
-
The Presidents Club
- Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity
- By: Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 22 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.
-
-
Engaging subject, but fact-checking needed
- By loix on 04-25-12
By: Nancy Gibbs, and others
-
The Bush Tragedy
- By: Jacob Weisberg
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this first important consideration of the George W. Bush presidency and its profound impact on the state of the world, Jacob Weisberg crafts a wide-ranging portrait that is both balanced and insightful. Weisberg traces the evolution of Bush's political philosophy from its roots in his early life and his years as governor of Texas through the events of 9/11 and his turbulent two terms in office.
-
-
Ahead of the Crowd
- By Nikoli Gogol on 02-14-08
By: Jacob Weisberg
-
The Real Romney
- By: Michael Kranish, Scott Helman
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that high-wattage smile? In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, listeners will finally discover the real Romney.
-
-
Hard to conceal resentment and feign objectvity...
- By I F Leger on 02-10-12
By: Michael Kranish, and others
-
Three Days in Moscow
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Three Days in Moscow, Baier explores the dramatic endgame of America’s long struggle with the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan’s central role in shaping the world we live in today. On May 31, 1988, Reagan stood on Russian soil and addressed a packed audience at Moscow State University, delivering a remarkable - yet now largely forgotten - speech that capped his first visit to the Soviet capital.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Brian W. Barton on 05-20-18
By: Bret Baier, and others
-
Bobby Kennedy
- The Making of a Liberal Icon
- By: Larry Tye
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
History remembers Robert F. Kennedy as a racial healer, a tribune for the poor, and the last progressive knight of a bygone era of American politics. But Kennedy's enshrinement in the liberal pantheon was actually the final stage of a journey that had its beginnings in the conservative 1950s. In Bobby Kennedy, Larry Tye peels away layers of myth and misconception to paint a complete portrait of this singularly fascinating figure.
-
-
Absorbing
- By Jean on 01-18-17
By: Larry Tye
-
Counselor
- A Life at the Edge of History
- By: Ted Sorensen
- Narrated by: Ted Sorensen
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy's closest advisor, recounts in full, for the first time, his experience counseling Kennedy through some of the most dramatic moments in American history. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book Profiles in Courage. Sorensen encouraged the junior senator's political ambitions and was later named special counsel to the president.
-
-
Rare Insight
- By Robert on 05-10-08
By: Ted Sorensen
-
FDR
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 32 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of today's premier biographers, Jean Edward Smith, has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt's restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR's personal battles and also tackles head-on and in depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt's political career.
-
-
Interesting but flawed
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-15-13
-
The Defining Moment
- FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
- By: Jonathan Alter
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this dramatic and fascinating account, Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter shows how Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his first 100 days in office to lift the country from the despair and paralysis of the Great Depression and transform the American presidency.
-
-
Very infomative, and also refreshingly honest
- By Andy on 02-19-09
By: Jonathan Alter
-
A Woman in Charge
- The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton
- By: Carl Bernstein
- Narrated by: Dick Rodstein
- Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carl Bernstein's stunning portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton shows us, as nothing else has, the true trajectory of her life and career, with its zigzag bursts of risks taken and safety sought. Marshaling all the skills and energy that propelled his history-making Pulitzer Prize reporting on Watergate, Bernstein gives us the most detailed, sophisticated, comprehensive, and revealing account of Hilary Rodham Clinton yet.
-
-
in depth and well-written
- By Katherine on 07-20-07
By: Carl Bernstein
-
Ike and Dick
- Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage
- By: Jeffrey Frank
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Nixon was a young Navy officer when he first saw Dwight D. Eisenhower through a storm of tickertape as Manhattan celebrated the end of the war in Europe. Seven years later, Nixon was Eisenhower's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket-the beginning of a political and personal relationship that lasted for nearly twenty years. Despite a gulf that separated them by age and temperament, their association evolved into a collaboration that helped to shape the nation's political ideology.
-
-
He's against NIxon
- By James A. Bretney on 01-20-14
By: Jeffrey Frank
-
Leadership
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Beau Bridges, David Morse, Jay O. Sanders, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the man make the times or do the times make the man? In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied most closely - Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights) - to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized by others as leaders.
-
-
What makes a president great?
- By tru britty on 09-25-18
-
The Gatekeepers
- How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency
- By: Chris Whipple
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chiefs of staff, often referred to as "the gatekeepers", wield tremendous power in Washington and beyond; they decide who is allowed to see the president, negotiate with Congress to push POTUS's agenda, and - most crucially - enjoy unparalleled access to the leader of the free world. Through extensive, intimate interviews with 18 living chiefs (including Reince Priebus) and two former presidents, award-winning journalist and producer Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on this unique fraternity. In doing so, he revises our understanding of presidential history.
-
-
Interesting, but lacking in political objectivity
- By Stephen Watson on 09-04-17
By: Chris Whipple
What listeners say about The Last Republicans
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karri
- 02-17-19
Excellent
I found myself surprised, inspired, impressed, and touched. Thanks to the author for writing this!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kritiker
- 02-19-19
Excellent book!
Well written, I love the subject matter. Hard to believe the Bushes’ were the last of the true Republicans, but I have to agree with the author it may be true. Thank you for writing a great book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chuck Sadler
- 01-05-18
A fascinating in-depth look at the 41stand 43rd presidents.
I’m not a political person but I can’t deny that the whole arena and establishment interests me. Epically after the rise of trump, the Republican Party is looking stranger and stranger. Bush 41 and Bush 43 cast some interesting light on the party in the decades before.
I enjoyed their personal history more than their political history. George HW Bush had an amazing like. Serving in WWII and then striking out on his own in Texas. George W also had his own journey. Both men are quite intriguing and the book does a wonderful job of weaving their lives together and apart. The author certainly romanticizes both of the Bush legacies, and it’s still a interesting read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Anonymous User
- 01-30-22
better than expected
it has some slow moments but overall it was much better than I expected, definitely glad I read it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chrissie Keffler
- 12-27-17
A Great Book About My Favorite American Family
Where does The Last Republicans rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The best non-fiction I have read in ages.
What did you like best about this story?
It confirmed my positive view of the Bush family. These two Presidents are/were servant leaders. They never embarrassed us and had no hidden agendas. There is such a thing as an “Everyman” in politics, and though it might be rare, both Bushes qualify. I think you judge people by the way they treat others, especially ordinary everyday people, and it’s clear that 41 and 43 have a deep respect for others. I happen to agree with them politically but there is a reason they maintain strong ties even with people they disagree with politically.
What about Milton Jeffers’s performance did you like?
It was as it should be, a non-distracting, strong voice sharing information.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me wistful. I have five kids in their twenties. We talked politics everyday when they were growing up. They feel a little cheated that many successful politicians today do not have qualities that inspire them. I pray that the Bushes are not the last Republicans.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 08-03-21
Set your course with humility and resolve and let History tell your story.
Having gained such a negative view of Republican politics over recent years this book has afforded me the privilege of a closer and yet more objective look at Republican politics and politicians through the ages. I am grateful and recommend the book to those who find themselves fascinated with, and frustrated by, politics. It is for me, an important reminder of the courage it takes to set your own course with humility and resolve, taking success and failure in your stride knowing leadership is a calling. A calling to serve in often treacherous times because it is not about you, your ego or your legacy but about those you serve. I love the idea of History deciding what to make of ones legacy!
Cheryllyn Dudley
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joe Huertas
- 07-17-21
A Necessary Read
A tribute to two Americans which should be read everyone. Within its pages are insights and nuances which will leave you feeling a bit prouder of America. And with a better sense of what these two stars in the American political firmament leave behind.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin RK Davis
- 10-16-21
Learned and Appreciated Bush Dynasty
Full disclosure: I'm right-leaning, and voted for McCain (my first eligible voting age), Romney, then an independent in 2016 and Trump in 2020 - so I've never seen my vote in office.
In 2016, a Conservative Christian, I too, was disgusted with the choices we had. While I was interested in politics as much as the average joe, I did not consider the monumental, historical shift in the Republican Party to make Trump its standard bearer. I remember not blaming the Bushes for their public disregard to break from their party to not vote for Trump. While a registered Republican at the time, I did not feel I could in good conscience vote for him either. The stakes felt higher in 2020 (somehow) than in 2016, and held my nose to vote for Trump.
All that aside, this book, only in the prologue, and then near the very end, examines the significance of Trump's impact on the Republican Party that 41 and 43 both dutifully served. The title of this work is taken in part from 43, George W's lament, "I fear I may be the last Republican president," when hearing of Trump's rise to the ticket in 2016. Besides a few slight hints throughout the work to the coming of Trumpism, this book is a great examination of H.W. and W's biographies. While it covers their presidencies, it covers their lives too.
I've not uncovered Updegrove's own political leanings, but he seems to interact more with Democrats then Republicans. His favorable and respectful tone would betray his political leanings if that were truly the case. This is is no way, a Bush-bash, but rather a very helpful redemption from other works closer to 43's presidency that has consistently tainted and biased their legacies under the political tumult of the time. In his last words, Updegrove seems to understand how history sometimes rescues low-approval rated presidencies from their shadows and reexamine them more objectively. H.W. is certainly shown to be more favorable then he was during his actual presidency, while as for W., Updegrove comments that a lot of the bad publicity that W. receives may still be too close to his presidency to still give his legacy a fair shake. Even so, Updegrove all but praises W. for his presidency breaking part from a more heated-narrative in recent years [I greatly appreciated Updegrove's disapproval and write-off of Oliver Stone's propaganda-laced film, "W."]. The shadow of Trump may cause the most heated of W. opponents to re-examine their former nemesis in 43.
Don't hear me wrong, this book isn't a Bush-worship-song, nor did it come across as a nostalgic, fanciful, "Remember the good ol' days, when Trumpers weren't storming the capitol [this book was written before Jan 6 2020, anyways]?" Rather it is an educated and fair look at how the previous two Republican presidents differed vastly from the most recent Republican president not by direct comparison, but by thorough examination of their lives, values, and presidencies, period (again, Trump is removed from the bulk of the book).
I learned a lot about Bush family, and grew to love their values, decency, honesty and convictions. If you're looking to learn more about the Bushes, but don't want to dive deep to find what kind of socks Bush put on in the morning, or the inner-workings of how the W. war-room operated day in and day out, but rather a fly-over with dives only where curiosity might be peaked, then this is a great work.
The kicker of this work, where it may differ from other biographies, is obviously two men and two names grace the cover. Updegrove never departs too much from the book cover, in that he continues to bring up how father and son helped, loved, advised, and so forth throughout each other's careers. Updegrove broadens the lens to include other family members, giving some looks to Barbara - Bush 41's wife - and Laura, Bush 43's wife, as well as Jeb's attempt to gain the presidency in 2016 near the end of the work. Finally, only briefly - in the epilogue - Updegrove touches on on Jeb's son, George P. Bush, as a potential Bush politician in the making. Clearly stated, this work becomes two biographies, of father and son, and as most healthy father-son relationships have, this is how both related two each other.
This work does great service to dispel stupid myths that arose especially during 43's tenure in the presidency in how more sinister, or soap-opera dramas might be playing out. That is, it is all but proven true that W. wasn't operating out of loyalty nor hatred or exoneration of his dad. Rather, just how I might call my dad up for advice or lean on him in hard times - nothing more or less - so did 43 on 41, nothing deeper. Still, opponents will always opine, and haters will always hate, and ignore facts with their minds made up.
Updegrove's work is a good book. I highly commend it to anybody wishing to know more about 41 and 43, and about men who sought to humbly serve by leading out of convictions, instead of make waves out of celebrity status, or wake raging, bitter, divisive political winds for their own agendas (as opposed to any agendas of the people).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brooke J.
- 07-06-22
Interesting relationship story, but ax to grind
I enjoyed the read for the most part, but I like the political books that leave out politics - to the extent they can of course. The title really says it all, meaning they really think they were the last Republicans and that HW Bush was not a moderate. Furthermore that there was nothing at all good about Trump. But then again their belief, also stated in thus book, is that ideals and beliefs are much less important than diplomacy. This is why HW voted for Hillary. I did find W's book, Decision Points much better with no ax to grind.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B Ross
- 04-09-23
A Great Look into MY presidents!
This was a well written book that went far above what I expected. Thank you!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!