- A Charge to Keep
"A Charge to Keep" is a 1999 book written by
George W. Bush and creditedghostwriter Michael Herskowitz, with aforeword byKaren Hughes . Later editions have the sub-title "My Journey To The White House."The book contains a brief overview of Bush's life and political philosophy. It is not an autobiography in the strict sense, but rather a collection of non-chronological sketches and anecdotes about his years at
Yale andHarvard , business career, and time as governor of Texas. He intersperses these with brief explanations of his political philosophy, including his belief insmall government ,capitalism , and a strongnational defense .More specific parts of his program, which he enumerates in the last pages include creating a free market alliance with
Canada andLatin America , modernizing Social Security, and firmness with hostile regimes, particularlyIraq andNorth Korea (pp. 238-9). [Cite book | edition = 1st | publisher = William Morrow | isbn = 0688174418 | pages = 256 | last = Bush | first = George W. | coauthors = Karen Hughes | title = A Charge to Keep | date = 1999-11-17 ] [cite news | first = Jennifer | last = Harper | title = Bush's biography paints contender as a straight arrow | work = The Washington Times | publisher = The Washington Times LLC | page = A6 | date = 1999-11-17 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ] [cite news | first = Frank | last = Bruni | title = Book Lets Bush Explain His Life and His Politics | work = The New York Times | publisher = The New York Times Company | page = A22 | date = 1999-11-15 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]The title is taken from a painting by W. H. D. Koerner, lent to Bush, showing a horseman charging up a rugged mountain trail, followed by others. In the book, Bush says this scene "epitomizes our mission":
The painting was commissioned by "
The Saturday Evening Post " in 1916 to illustrate a short story called "The Slipper Tongue" and depicts a "slipper-tongued" horse thief being pursued by a lynch mob. The original magazine caption was "Had His Start Been Fifteen Minutes Longer He Would Not Have Been Caught." [cite web
url = http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/01/hbc-90002237
title = The Illustrated President
accessdate = 2008-01-26
author = Scott Horton
date = 2008-01-24
work =Harper's Magazine The article references "The Bush Tragedy", byJacob Weisberg , a book unpublished at the time the article was written.]The painting has hung on the west wall of the
Oval Office during Bush's presidency.Contents
References
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