Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Decision Points  By  cover art

Decision Points

By: George W. Bush
Narrated by: George W. Bush
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions of his presidency and personal life.

Decision Points is the extraordinary memoir of America’s 43rd president. Shattering the conventions of political autobiography, George W. Bush offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life. In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings listeners inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; at the head of the table in the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century.

President Bush writes honestly and directly about his flaws and mistakes, as well as his accomplishments reforming education, treating HIV/AIDS in Africa, and safeguarding the country amid chilling warnings of additional terrorist attacks. He also offers intimate new details on his decision to quit drinking, discovery of faith, and relationship with his family.

A groundbreaking new brand of memoir, Decision Points will captivate supporters, surprise critics, and change perspectives on one of the most consequential eras in American history - and the man at the center of events.

©2010 George W. Bush (P)2010 Random House

What listeners say about Decision Points

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,500
  • 4 Stars
    599
  • 3 Stars
    203
  • 2 Stars
    56
  • 1 Stars
    21
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,152
  • 4 Stars
    310
  • 3 Stars
    93
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,081
  • 4 Stars
    349
  • 3 Stars
    124
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved It

I miss President Bush. He was such a great pres. If you are like me and turned off the news and radio in 08 because you were so disappointed in America's selection of president then you will enjoy this book. I really enjoyed hearing from a American that is proud to call himself one. A President that did not spend his entire term in office apologizing to world leaders for defending his country or for spreading freedom to those who were denied freedom. President Bush is a good man and he will go down in history as a great President. He made me proud to call myself an American. This was a great book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

129 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I liked it despite myself

I once broke up with a girl friend because she voted for this guy. I'm not his biggest fan but what I believe is that he was doing the best he could given his skill set. It's surprisingly religious. Not my cup of tea. Perhaps I should have expected that... I believe he believes what he wrote. I don't necessarily believe that it's as simple as he describes. He's very black and white. That said, he faults himself in situations in which he deserves it and he's candid about a lot of events that allowed even me, a hater, to find him very human and almost endearing. Interesting book no matter your views. I recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

73 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A well written book on poorly executed decisions.

n this book GW makes inspiring clams of fact like: He hid facts about his driving record (DUI) from the American People, not because he though it would hurt his campaign, but because he thought it would send a contradicting message to his daughters. (end paragraph)
The real value in this book is that it gives the reader an understanding of the context in which the decisions were made. Although I disagreed with almost all of the decisions of the administration, I now have a better understanding of where he was coming from. (end paragraph)
I think that people should read the book. After all he was the President and I feel that his two cents is important. I enjoyed reading his opinions on the stem cell debate and though it, though wrong, fair and sensitive to all sides. (end paragraph)
In conclusion the book is just like the campaign. Full of gut decisions and free of data, piety over science and never stopping to think about consequences. Side notes: Nothing about Enron, the Afghanistan war starts halfway through the book and an awkwardness to the style in GW’s oration clearly suggest that he didn’t write much of it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting Account of Presidency

First off, there is an unabridged version of the book that I wish Audible would have linked to from either the front page or this page. I didn't know that at the time I bought this, or I would have looked for the unabridged.

I enjoyed the recounting of many of his decisions. I don't think his reasoning will surprise many people who keep up with politics, but I do think that a lot of that reasoning tends to fall by the wayside in our 24-hour infotainment media that wants to cover outrage more than news. It's unfortunate that we don't get these types of explanations while a president is in office.

I liked that he owned up to many mistakes (the Katrina handling comes to mind). I also like that he doesn't necessarily pull punches when others screwed up too (the Loiusiana governor taking four days to request the response to be federalized). Some may see it as back-handed attacks, but the simple fact is that the law requires the first response to be from the state, not the feds.

I guess the biggest benefit is hearing what he was doing and when, without the constant sniping of critics trying to reframe his actions to political advantage is very useful. For historians, that's a great gift. Too much of what we know of these events is shaped by the partisan attacks on cable, and not enough on the first person accounts of those involved.

This is a book well worth the time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting and insightful

This book shows how a president can use his faith and internal strength to make the hard decisions that won't always be the right ones, but anyone on either side of the political spectrum can see he made them in the best interest of the people. Where he made mistakes he owns them, and this is something the current president has neither the willingness nor character to do. Bush also gives credit to others that helped make the decisions and build the policies that were highly successful under his leadership. One can't help but be motivated and inspired by his internal strength and faith. I hope others regardless of their political views will read (or listen to) this book, as it will help us all to expect more out of our leaders and ourselves.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly good

I truly enjoyed this book. I was sceptical at first, being that I had a hard time listening to o George W. Bush during his speeches while in the white house.....but I found this to be very decise, to the point, and interesting. A job well done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great insight

It was a great insight into the presidency. I actually enjoyed the "topic" approach rather than the chronological approach. This allowed me to understand the basis of the decisions President Bush made whether I agreed with them or not. I would recommend this book strongly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book!

Whether you are for or against President George Bush, this book is a revealing look inside a man making difficult, almost impossible decisions - decisions that affected the entire world. It's so easy to listen to the press's interpretation of events and decisions, but I feel I never know the whole story. This book let me peek behind the scenes of the presidency and understand with the information available at any given time, how a president thinks. I love it when asked the question, "if you knew then what you know now, would you do it differently?" His answer is "I didn't have that luxury". It is far too easy to second guess past decisions, but in any moment we can only act on the information we have. Having the book read by President Bush himself was a real treat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Catapult The Propaganda

Selected decisions from the 8 years of George Bush's presidency presented in the voice of the ex-president himself. Each decision heroically made (by W) and supported with every Republican talking point, justification, excuse, and half truth and carefully framed with just the right Frank Luntz vocabulary from the 8 years of Bush's presidency. If you are a Bush sycophant you're gonna love it. As for me UGH! As Mr. Bush once said back in the day: "See in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." Well that's what this book is. Kudos to the narration by Mr. Bush as it is nicely done (that's why I have to give it 2 stars).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointed with the facts

A disappointing account of missed opportunities and poor staff judgment. I truly believe President Bush is an honest man who doesn't deserve all the blame for the insane government spending and lack of Wall Street oversight by do-nothing bureaucrats.

Taken as a whole it's a sad story, but I give President Bush credit for having the courage to tell it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful