Bush 41 and 43
Bush on politics as the family business
02:19 - Source: CNN

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George W. Bush calls his new book on his father "a love story"

Bush says his father, George H.W. Bush, is an "extraordinary person"

Washington CNN  — 

Former President George W. Bush has a number of accomplishments under his belt: Texas governor, U.S. president, and now, a New York Times best-selling author.

But even though Bush’s book about his father – “41: A Portrait of My Father” – has been No. 1 on the Times’ nonfiction sellers list for weeks, Bush admits the book isn’t exactly a historical biography.

“It’s a love story,” Bush told Candy Crowley on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“I’m not the least bit ashamed to say it’s not very objective,” he added. “I also happen to think it’s a handbook on fatherhood. If somebody’s interested in how a person was a great father, even though he’s very busy, this book is such an example.”

Bush ‘wanted Dad to be alive’ to read biography

In the interview, Bush jokes that neither he nor The New York Times had any idea that his book would become a best-seller.

But the former president didn’t write the book with sales in mind. Instead, he says, he felt the need to publish his father’s story, to reintroduce his dad to America in a way that no one has ever known him.

“He’s an extraordinary person, not only because of his accomplishments but because of his character,” Bush said. “I understand how history works; It takes a long time for people to get to know him, get to know somebody and then analyze their decisions. But I wanted to be one of the first people out in the evaluation of George H.W. Bush.”

Bush also tried to dispel any rumors of competition between him and his father.

41 things about Bush 41

“Stiff competition is overstated,” Bush said. “In other words, if you love somebody as much as I love my dad, and my brothers loved my dad, my sister, there’s no need to compete.”

The fact that the elder Bush is still alive to see the book also meant a lot to him, Bush said.

“I’m glad Dad’s alive when it comes out,” he said. “Secondly, I’m glad that a lot of his friends are alive and can take it in and say, ‘wow, this is the guy I know.’”

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