Dead Certain : The Presidency of George W. Bush

Now in trade paperback, the definitive book about the Bush presidency to date. Draper, a longtime observer of his fellow Texan George W. Bush, has written a compelling book for those who still support Bush and those who loathe him.

Dead Certain is a story told in six sections. Beginning with an immersion into Bush the nascent politician (entitled "Baptism"), we see in "Through Our Tears" a mandate-less new President evincing both collegiality and defensiveness as he pursues his conservative agenda. "Dark City On A Hill" describes the contentiousness that attends the roll-up to Iraq and the queasy slide from Mission Accomplished to the occupation of a broken nation.The final section, "A Laying On Of Hands," finds a once-swaggering presidency desperately moving from one gambit to another in an effort to right its sagging agenda, culminating in the 2006 midterm elections that decide the fate of a hobbled administration.

Far from being a retelling of well-known events, Dead Certain plumbs both the natural drama and the behind-the-scenes granularity of George W. Bush''s episodic presidency. It will be regarded as a classic, inside account of this troubled presidency.