"FORTUNATE SON"

And Other Books About George W Bush and the Right Wing They Tried To Ban!

"There ought to be limits
to freedom..."

— George W. Bush,
commenting on the website
www.gwbush.com

CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS ABOUT GEORGE W BUSH!!!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: "If you don't think it's a gamble to put a man in the White House who believes we should have guns in church, who thinks the Taliban is a rock band, who was such a failure as a businessman that his company was nicknamed "El-Busto," who wants to turn our Social Security system into a Wall Street boiler room, who can't name a single thing he disagrees with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on, who smeared a bona fide hero named John McCain, and whose principle policy proposal is to give America's surplus to the idle rich in the form of a $1.3 trillion tax cut, you're either nuts or a Republican."

... Equal Time co-host Paul Begala, shooting the bull.

• The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization and High-Finance Fraudsters by Greg Palast (Paperback)
• Shrub : The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush by Molly Ivins (Author), et al (Paperback)
• The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder by Mark Crispin Miller (Paperback)
• The Immaculate Deception: The Bush Crime Family Exposed by Russell S. Bowen (Paperback)
• Forbidden Truth: U.S.-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and the Failed Search for bin Laden by Jean-Charles Brisard, et al (Paperback)
• Fortunate Son by J. H. Hatfield, Greg Palast
• Ambushed by Toby Rogers
• The Dirty Truth, The Oil and Chemical Dependency of George W. Bush by Rick Abraham
• The Mafia, CIA and George Bush by Pete Brewton, Peter Brewton
• Defrauding America by Rodney Stich
• The Shadows of Power: The Council on Foreign Relations and the American Decline by James Perloff (Paperback)
• The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth about Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters by Greg Palast
• Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude by Robert Baer (Author) (Hardcover)
• American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush by Kevin Phillips
• Who's Who of the Elite : Members of the Bilderbergs, Council on Foreign Relations, & Trilateral Commission by Robert Gaylon Ross Sr.
• Stupid White Men : ...And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! by Michael Moore (Author) (Paperback)
• Dude, Where's My Country? by Michael Moore (Author)
• Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back by Jim Hightower
• Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace by Gore Vidal
• Bushwhacked : Life in George W. Bush's America by Molly Ivins (Author), Lou Dubose (Author)

MORE BOOKS:

The Price of Loyalty by Ron Suskind (Author)	Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken	Bushwhacked by Molly Ivins (Author), Lou Dubose (Author)
The Great Unraveling by Paul Krugman	Big Lies by Joe Conason (Author)	The Lies of George W. Bush by David Corn (Author)
Thieves in High Places by Jim Hightower	Wealth and Democracy by Kevin Phillips (Author)	The Clinton Wars by Sidney Blumenthal

As the cover says, "the book they burned is back!" And how!

In October of last year, St. Martin's Press issued the hardcover of J.H. Hatfield's controversial biography of Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, Fortunate Son.  But, under heavy fire from the media, they panicked and immediately recalled the book   issuing a statement that claimed "the author's credibility has come in to question," referring to the authors felony convictions.

Although he's suffered a spectacular thrashing in public, author J.H. Hatfield has retracted nothing.  He stands firmly by three confidential sources that allege Bush was arrested for cocaine possession in 1972 and later had that arrest expunged from the record through a family favor. 

Although the book was quietly returned to the publisher and destroyed, it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to realize that if author "credibility" was obligatory in book publishing, the industry's annual output would, at the very least, be cut in half.  St. Martin's, for instance, is the bastion of credibility, which has brought us Whitney Strieber's alien anal probes and G. Gordon Liddy's Will.  But, I digress.

Fortunately, Soft Skull Press has embraced the task of publishing a new edition of Fortunate Son, which includes an explanation of why Hatfield's credibility has suffered.   In short, he's a convicted felon--what was I saying about G. Gordon Liddy?

Hatfield was initially reticent about explaining his crimes (a Byzantine tale of embezzlement and conspiracy to commit murder), but in Fortunate Son's new introduction, he spills the beans and ponders why certain bald G-Men go to prison and still get to write, but not him.

Aside from the felony matter, which was St. Martin's official reason for pulling his book, Hatfield has published several other books on less staid topics than presidential candidates such as The X-Files and Star Trek as well as biographies of Patrick Stewart and Ewan McGregor.  While some would consider this even more damning than Hatfield's stint in prison, St. Martin's hasty dismissal still smacks of something fishy.

So too does the political life of George W. Bush.

Hatfield's less-than-savory past doesn't preclude our Republican presidential candidate from having one too, and there's a takes-one-to-know-one argument to be made in favor of Hatfield knowing a skeleton when he sees one.

Prior to reading Fortunate Son, I had always considered George W. Bush a dopey schmuck --more the son of Dan Quayle than George H. W. Bush--and it never occurred to me to take him any more seriously than, say, his look-alike Alfred E. Newman.

Fortunate Son has changed all that.  Now I realize that George W. Bush is not a moron but rather a calculating, scheming, cutthroat politico with no real interest except his own. In short, if he smiled less and was more open about his views, he would be Ayn Rand's wet dream.

Hatfield's most serious allegation in Fortunate Son is that Bush was busted for cocaine possession in 1972. According to Hatfield's anonymous sources (whom he declines to name, but whom he claims to have corroborated), Bush was arrested for possession, but as a favor to his father, the matter was rectified with a little community service, and his record was expunged. This accusation alone may be the real reason St. Martin's razed their edition of Hatfield's biography.

Hatfield also carefully details allegations of Bush's insider trading, his cronying, his ties with white supremacist groups, and his frankly despicable business practices. All of this bolsters Hatfield's exposition of Bush's record as Texas governor. For a governor in a state with one of the weakest gubernatorial offices in the nation, Bush has managed to make some really nasty decisions.

Since no one seems to be paying attention to what this grinning goober really is and just how dangerous he can be, I think it's a blessing to the American public that Fortunate Son has been re-issued. Despite a few cosmetic problems in this new edition, it may prove to be a crucial political document.

And in all honesty, for character assassination, it's very even-handed. Unlike other works I could name, like David Horowitz's Hating Whitey and this article, for example, Hatfield doesn't stoop to name-calling and pettiness. He sticks to the facts and lays it all out on the table. I just hope America reads this book before Dubya "aw shucks" his way into the White House.

---

"I bought "Fortunate Son" the day I read in the New York Times that St. Martin's Press was going to recall the book from bookstores because they found out the author had a criminal record. In my opinion, whether or not the author has a criminal record, the book stands on its own merits, and is an excellent way for the public to learn some facts about a candidate who wants us to elect him U.S. President. It's a clearly written, highly readable, informative, carefully researched biography of George W. Bush, with 54 pages of source notes if anyone wants to check the author's sources. Based on reading the book, there's no doubt in my mind that the suppression of this book was motivated by politics, to remove this less than glowingly favorable view of Bush from the public's
eyes. This would be perfectly consistent with G.W. Bush's membership, like his father's and grandfather's, in Yale University's Skull and Bones Society, a top secret men's club whose existence and goals are unknown to most voting Americans. Shame on you, St. Martin's Press -- and the New York Times -- for cooperating. What fear, or price, was your reason for doing so?  This book was obviously suppressed for political reasons."

From Emily Zimmerman - San Francisco

---

"As a devoted conservative I found this book worth reading.  It has a lot of liberal bias, but the information regarding G W's life should be investigated by any voting person and this author has done an excellent investigative job.  Washington DC and both parties have become so corrupt, voters are turning away from the polls.  We need to educate ourselves about all people running for office, this book helps.  Take time to carefully read this book and decide for yourself based on what kind of person you want in the white house."

From Anonymous

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"Why ban this book? This is very suspicious!  I read this book and was riveted! I think of myself as a discerning and intelligent reader, and I've come to believe that Bush had this book squashed because it tells the truth. The first hint came when I found out that the reporter who "discovered" that J.H. Hatfield was an ex-felon has his own recently published biography of Bush (that portrays him in a more whitewashed way!) That's a conflict of interest right there! He's defaming the competition so his book will have greater sales.  Then, I thought about all of Bush's hedging around the drug issue--I figure that he knows it's true, he knows that other people have evidence of it, and he's just trying to bury it instead of outright denying it and being caught like Clinton was.

As for St. Martin's, I can't imagine how difficult and costly it must be to go head to head with some of America's wealthiest and most politically entrenched men. If George Sr. can buy off a judge to protect his son, he sure could make all kinds of problems for a publisher.

I'm sorry they pulled the books off the shelves. I think people should read be able to read it and decide for themselves! I'm sure going to think twice about voting for Bush!"

From an educated reader - California

---

"Yes, the author has a disturbing past. But so what! He's not the one running for
president of the United States. George W. Bush is. And Bush has NEVER denied the allegations made against him in the book. He's only said that he did some "dumb things in his past", and that it's "irrelevant" to his ability to lead. But if his own past is so irrelevant to leadership, than why does he also argue that Hatfield's past is relevant to penmanship? Seems that "Dubya" is riddled with hippocracy. All those who want to learn of this two-faced man who asks to be our president should read this book!"

by Chris Adams from San Francisco

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"The Author Was Right.  Best-selling author J.H. Hatfield was skewered in the media in October 1999 when he claimed that 3 anonymous sources confided in him that Bush had been arrested for cocaine in 1972. 

Hatfield asserted--according to the three well-placed sources--that the elder Bush used his political influence to get his cocaine-sniffing son out of trouble and into community service (at Houston's Project P.U.L.L.) for a year around '72-'73.

The mainstream media scoffed at the author and attempted to destroy his credibility. Then in May 2000 the Boston Globe stated that from November 1972 to April 30, 1973, Bush was apparently AWOL from his Air Force unit. The two lieutenant colonels in charge of Bush's unit in Houston could not rate him for the prior 12 months, saying he had not been at the unit in that period. Then in late June 2000, the equally prestigious London Sunday Times claimed that Bush failed to show up for a military medical exam during the same period and was grounded for flying.

Am I the only one who has put 2 and 2 together and come to the logical conclusion that Hatfield was right in FORTUNATE SON? Bush was doing community service during that time period for drug usage. Now we know why the book's original publisher, the spineless St. Martin's Press, caved in to the political pressure of the Bushes and recalled the book.  Thank God, Soft Skull Press, Inc. had the courage to republish FORTUNATE SON to allow Americans to judge for themselves about its contents."

by Jacque Nouveau from Pacific Northwest

• Although the following information has received the most controversial reception thus far, it is only part of the larger pattern exhibited by Fortunate Son. This biography establishes that George W. Bush has never been required to play by the rules, not just in 1972.   Upon finishing the first draft of Fortunate Son, J.H. Hatfield was bothered by the incongruous break in the pattern of young G.W. Bush's life.  In 1972, Bush "volunteered" to work with inner-city Houston youth at the community center Project P.U.L.L.  Hatfield began to suspect that the service wasn't voluntary, but court-ordered.  This was confirmed by three sources who had the same story: Bush was arrested for cocaine possession but his father, Congressman George Bush, worked out a backroom deal with a friendly judge.

  This information was first brought up by online journal Salon, where the community center was named as the "Martin Luther King Community Center." Bush campaign spokesman Scott McClellan responded to Salon's story with a firm, "We do not dignify false rumors and innuendoes with a response."  After more research, Hatfield phoned McClellan and asked if it was Project P.U.L.L. where Bush performed "court-ordered community service." McClellan's response was a sudden, almost inaudible "Oh shit." followed by a, "No comment."

  An interesting footnote to the 1972 allegations: Bush acquired a new driver's license from the Texas DMV in 1995 when a survey of his public records uncovered a "stale but nevertheless incriminating trail" of a past arrest.

• The first of many G.W. Bush business ventures eventually bailed out or liquidated before bankruptcy was his oil company Arbusto Energy. In 1977, Bush received a $50,000 investment from James R. Bath, a Houston businessman who "made his fortune by investing money for [Sheikh Kalid bin] Mahfouz and another BCCI-connected Saudi, Sheikh bin Laden" according to Time correspondents Jonathan Beaty and S.C. Gwynne. Of special note is that Sheikh bin Laden is widely believed to be the father of Osama bin Laden, terrorist bomber of two U.S. embassies in 1998.

Bath, who had no funds of his own, is believed to have acted as the American representative for Saudi Arabian sheikhs who, as Hatfield describes it, used "their enormous financial resources to influence U.S. policy." As son of the recent director of the CIA, G.W. Bush and his oil startup were a perfect opportunity to buy influence. Ironically, it was with money allegedly tied to the family of Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden.

• In 1988 Bush Junior joined his father's Presidential campaign. Fighting accusations that the candidate was "a wimp," G.W. Bush and spin doctor Lee Atwater ruthlessly brought the campaign into the modern age of dirty politics. G.W. Bush funnelled money to "independent" conservative groups who aired the racist Willie Horton ads which scared voters into thinking Dukakis was weak on crime, by exploiting the image of a rough-looking black man.

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