The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty is a non-fiction book by the American
investigative journalist Kitty Kelley
. It was published on 14 September 2004, less than two months before the 2004 US Presidential election. Kelley was widely attacked in the media for the book, with charges of partisanship and challenges to her credibility.
snorted cocaine
with his brothers at Camp David
during his father's presidency. One of Kelley's sources for the cocaine allegation was Neil Bush
's ex-wife Sharon Bush, who has since denied telling Kelley the story. Kelley claims that Sharon Bush told her the story in front of a witness and has recanted due to pressure from the Bush family.
The book also claims that in college Laura Bush
was "a go-to girl for dime bags of marijuana
", Barbara Bush objected to the fact that her son's girlfriend's stepfather was Jewish, and that at Harvard
, George W. Bush objected to a classroom viewing of the film The Grapes of Wrath
by asking "Why are you going to show us that Commie movie?", and saying "Look. People are poor because they are lazy."
Glynn Wilson, a free-lance journalist from Alabama, sued Kelley for plagiarism claiming passages from the book have the exact wording as his on-line article.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
investigative journalist Kitty Kelley
Kitty Kelley
Kitty Kelley is an American journalist and author of several best-selling unauthorized biographies of celebrities and politicians. Her subjects have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey...
. It was published on 14 September 2004, less than two months before the 2004 US Presidential election. Kelley was widely attacked in the media for the book, with charges of partisanship and challenges to her credibility.
Synopsis
The Family received attention due to its allegations that George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
snorted cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
with his brothers at Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
during his father's presidency. One of Kelley's sources for the cocaine allegation was Neil Bush
Neil Bush
Neil Mallon Bush is the fourth of six children of former President George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Bush . His five siblings are George Walker Bush, the former President of the United States; Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida; Robin Bush, who died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of...
's ex-wife Sharon Bush, who has since denied telling Kelley the story. Kelley claims that Sharon Bush told her the story in front of a witness and has recanted due to pressure from the Bush family.
The book also claims that in college Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
was "a go-to girl for dime bags of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
", Barbara Bush objected to the fact that her son's girlfriend's stepfather was Jewish, and that at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, George W. Bush objected to a classroom viewing of the film The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
by asking "Why are you going to show us that Commie movie?", and saying "Look. People are poor because they are lazy."
Glynn Wilson, a free-lance journalist from Alabama, sued Kelley for plagiarism claiming passages from the book have the exact wording as his on-line article.
External links
- Official website
- New York Times Book Review, "The Family: 'Here Comes the Son'"
- ""All the Way to the White House" review in the Washington Post
- "Brought low by a bottom feeder" review in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...