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Anonymous
Posted November 9, 2004
In this very-easy-to-read book, Air Force and commercial airline pilot Hugh Scott shows the magnitude and scope of the lies Dubya and his `war hero¿ father told about their military records, documented with plenty of detail. My one regret was that Scott didn¿t use his investigative skills to explore whether this mendacity extended to the preceding generation (Did Prescott Bush¿s mother really write a letter to their hometown paper apologizing for his letter claiming to have won the Croix de Guerre and other medals during World War I??) I also believe Scott is too easy on the president in calling him `AWOL¿ when it appears he was actually a deserter under the Texas and Uniform Codes of Military Justice, as documented on many websites. However, this criticism is better directed to the press because Scott does a more professional job here - and he's an admitted conservative, registered Republican! Captain Scott¿s investigative journalism has led to a headlined story in the Boston Globe. And he¿s continued that excellence here. In chapter 4, he explores Unocal¿s involvement with Afghanistan and Iraq. In chapter 17, he reports on his interview with the tail gunner of the Avenger in front of Bush 41¿s aircraft in WWII. Scott¿s craftsmanship makes these stories, and this book, all 20 chapters, fascinating. I found it hard to put down, especially when John Kerry was being attacked ¿ on his exemplary war record ¿ two tours of dangerous duty, three Purple Hearts, several documented accounts of men¿s lives saved through courageous action. I look forward to reading many more of your books.
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Posted November 8, 2004
I was interested to read Hugh Scott's book on President Bush because Scott is, by his own admission, a man right out of Bush's base--Republican, Vietnam Veteran, Reagan admirer. And yet it is for all these reasons that Scott is troubled by the Bush presidency. Scott sees the Bush record as a digression from true Republican values. He is also troubled b by the discrepancies between the official Bush biography and the truth about Bush's past. This is a book that Karl Rove and the Republican Spin-meisters cannot easily discount. It is carefully researched, fully documented, and presents a scathing indictment of the Bush past and Presidency. Hugh Scott is best known for having broken the story, to the Boston Globe, of Bush's fabrication of his National Guard flight experience. This book is hard-hitting, and will only be read by those who are willing to challenge themselves. Of course it will be attacked by the Right Wing as liberal lies. The only problem is that it is written by a Reagan Republican and Vietnam jet pilot. Any true conservative owes it to themself to read it and think about the evidence presented. Good chapters as well on Vietnam, and on the elder Bush's own inconsistencies with his own military legacy. I recommend it very highly, as a historian and as a writer.
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