Bush's reading list

[Stevie]

Hope this hasn't been discussed before here, I couldn't find any ref...

In what appears to be a desperate attempt by the Whitehouse to improve upon Bush's 'idiot' image, they have metamorphosized him into an articulate ardent reader.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060817/17bushbooks.htm

Here's his summer reading list:
--------------------------------

Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar by Edvard Radzinsky

American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin (a biography of Robert Oppenheimer, an inventor of the atomic bomb)

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss (about the late all-star Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder)

Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine

Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural by Ronald C. White Jr.

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky (discussing how polio affected the United States in the mid-20th century)

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth by Leigh Montville

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

The Stranger by Albert Camus

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The claim is Bush has read 50 to 60 books already.. this summer alone?!

The Whitehouse claims Bush recently read Albert Camus's existential book The Stranger and then had a an engaging discussion about the origins of existentialism with the Whitehouse press-secretary Tony Snow.

I'm trying my hardest to imagine Bush discussing existentialism with anyone. (Am I real, do I really exist?!!??!.. Oh Please..

 

[Mr. Premise]

No freaking way he read those books! Maybe he had Condi read the Roberto Clemente book to him. I agree, Stevie, this list is hilarious.

On a serious note, the choice of books they told the media he read can hold clues. Especially disturbing is the inclusion of The Stranger (about a senseless killing of an Arab, hmm..)

 

[Mike]

Especially disturbing is the inclusion of The Stranger (about a senseless killing of an Arab, hmm..)

The blog Deconsumption had a post about this and the 'The Stranger' a few weeks back, which I found to be an interesting read. Wish there was some way to quiz Bush on what he read or make him give an oral book report to reporters. I could use a good laugh.
http://deconsumption.typepad.com/deconsumption/2006/08/bush_heads_off_.html

 

[Cyre2067]

More Obvious Lies brought to you by The US Gov't!

 

[vinny]

hold the phone. HE CAN READ??! :D

 

[dant]

Anyone can claim to have read hundreds of books by "speed reading"
regardless of what was read. All one has to do is read the title of the
book, or table of contents, or perhaps the preface or the summary or
conclusions, or simply read ALL the words VERY FAST but with very
little comprehension of what was read.

It is possible to claim to have read the book, cover to cover with little
comprehension and then later try to strengthen your comprehension by
watching a movie, listen to audio tapes, or use other aiding tools but
this pathway is a shortcut to knowledge and as I recall, the C's make
the point that when it comes to knowledge: "NO SHORTCUTS ARE ALLOWED"!

Some of us have tried these shortcut pathways when going to school. Sometimes
you get away with it and sometime these shortcuts will bite you back and result
in a bad grade. Smart and challenging teachers will recognize these shortcuts
and craft the test carefully so that only by fully comprehending the material given
will result a passing grade for those who do not take these shortcuts. Unfortunately,
teachers today may no longer do this as the psyhcopaths may have already taken
these positions, osit.

It seems that these psyhcopaths are always looking for the least resistance
pathways to knowledge by always taking these shortcuts especially when
supporting a plausable lie. So it behooves us to recognize these shortcuts
when they appear by challenging such claims so as to prevent them from
occupying high(er) positions of power of which eventually may shape the
course of our future(s). Of course, challenging a psyhcopath may result
in the short-circuiting your own life and if going ahead with such a
challenge, make sure you know the consequences and plan accordingly.

Keep in mind that these psyhcopaths are actually very intellegent, but they
are very much STS oriented and much into "wishful thinking". There are
many tricks of the trade as we know it:

1) The claimant needs to be sure to stay within the framework of the plausible
lie and to do nothing to degrade it. Keep the claim short, simple, and leave
very little detail as possible so that the "devil is in the details" are not easy
to detect without objective and critical thinking.

2) Keep the claim simple. For example Novels are perhaps easier to support as
a plausable lie claim, so as long as you don't make claims to have read quantum
mechanics, arousing suspiction.

3) Let others start the rumor mills; let them claim direct lies if needed to "spread
the message" of the plausable lie so that more dupes are easily reached. This
is easily done via mass media outlets.

4) For question and answer sessions, all activity should be tightly controlled and fully
scripted as possible. Use whereever possible, the magician's trick. Plant your questioners
in the audience and use the proper ratio of questioners per non-questioners. All questions
asked must follow a script and the resultant answers must be simple, short, and concise
so that an idiot would able to follow through successfully.

As you may recall, Bush has allowed himself to go outside controlled scripts in his
answer/question sessions and against his his advisers wishes, which of course resulted
in mistakes and revealed to us, the magician/puppet/clown that he is.

 

[Peam]

The claim is Bush has read 50 to 60 books already.. this summer alone?!

It could be true! The devil is in the details though. It's more likely he read 'my pet goat' 60 times rather than anything heavier.