《抉择时刻-小布什自传》.docx

To the loves of my life:Laura, Barbara, and Jenna 1 Quitting 2 Running 3 Personnel 4 Stem Cells 5 Day of Fire 6 War Footing 7 Afghanistan 8 Iraq 9 Leading 10 Katrina 11 Lazarus Effect 12 Surge 13 Freedom Agenda 14 Financial Crisis At the final year of my presidency, I began to think seriously about writingmy memoirs. On the recommendation of Karl Rove, I met with more than adozen distinguished historians. To a person, they told me I had anobligation to write. They felt it was important that I record my perspective onthe presidency, in my own words. “Have you ever seen the movie Apollo 13?” the historian Jay Winik asked. “Everyone knows the astronauts make it home in the end. But you’re on theedge of your seat wondering how they do it.”Nearly all the historians suggested that I read Memoirs by PresidentUlysses S. Grant, which I did. The book captures his distinctive voice. Heuses anecdotes to re-create his experience during the Civil War. I couldsee why his work had endured. Like Grant, I decided not to write an exhaustive account of my life orpresidency. Instead I have told the story of my time in the White House byfocusing on the most important part of the job: making decisions. Eachchapter is based on a major decision or a series of related decisions. As aresult, the book flows thematically, not in a day-by-day chronology. I do notcover all of the important issues that crossed my desk. Many devotedmembers of my Cabinet and staff are mentioned briefly or not at all. I valuetheir service, and I will always be grateful for their contributions. My goals in writing this book are twofold. First, I hope to paint a picture ofwhat it was like to serve as president for eight consequential years. Ibelieve it will be impossible to reach definitive conclusions about mypresidency—or any recent presidency, for that matter—for severaldecades. The passage of time allows passions to cool, results to clarify,and scholars to compare different approa