Follow The Money: How George W. Bush and the Texas Republicans Hog-Tied America

Christy Hardin Smith will be talking to John over on FireDogLake Book Salon Sunday at 5PM Eastern. Christy had very nice things to say about Follow the Money in her preview. FDL book salon’s live chat promises to be very interesting. See you there!

This Sunday we will have John Anderson here to discuss his fantastic book, “Follow The Money: How George W. Bush and the Texas Republicans Hog-Tied America.” I have been re-reading the book this week in preparation for my book salon intro, with a handy pad of post-it page markers at the ready for important bits I want to mention.At the moment, the book is a sea of post-it markers. You have got to read it.

Craig Unger, author of House of Bush, House of Saud (and the forthcoming The Fall of the House of Bush), had some nice things to say about Follow the Money on the Amazon.com page

“John Anderson’s Follow the Money shows that when George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and others arrived in Washington, D.C., in 2000, they brought with them the Texan Republican way of getting things done. While Americans were fixated on terrorism and the war in Iraq, the corruption never stopped in Washington. Combining the curiosity of a journalist with the perspective of a historian, John Anderson brilliantly lays it all out for the reader, whose jaw will drop when seeing what — even today — passes for political leadership and representation of the people in our nation’s capital.”

Publisher’s Weekly’s review, which can also be seen on the Amazon.com page for Follow The Money, is succinct and positive. My favorite sentences highlighted below…

Those looking to catch a glimpse of the past, present and future of America would do well to visit Houston, Texas. It’s there, amid the sprawl of highways, strip malls and looming glass towers, that journalist and native Texan Anderson (Art Held Hostage) finds the nexus of money, power and politics that gave birth to the presidency of George W. Bush. Weaving together a narrative almost as vast and interconnected as the city of Houston itself, Anderson has a style and pace that make his accounts of men, money and scandal a real page-turner. From “Casino” Jack Abramoff and Tom “The Bug Man” DeLay to the Enron collapse to the Alberto Gonzales Eight, Anderson enumerates considerable examples of fraud and atavistic behavior. Using primary sources (including private emails) and making use of Bush-era reportage, Anderson penetrates the Texas political scene and its outposts in Washington, producing a vivid portrait of a movement for which the Bush family is merely the most visible part.

John will be appearing on the premier broadcast of the new  ”John Batchelor Show“ on WABC New York (770 AM) Sunday at 9PM.  Tune in and hear him discuss Follow The Money.

JOHN ANDERSON shows us the grifting ways of the worst president in the Republic’s history on the terribly easy trail of Follow the Money.–Austin Chronicle

Anderson’s story, exposing the naked power grab of the Republicans in Washington, D.C. (and particularly in Congress), as well as in Texas, is a shocker.–Mark T. Millkey

James Henson’s review of Follow the Money from The Austin American-Statesman

Anderson’s overall vision of the network that connects elite Texas law firms, the Bush administration and a motley assortment of fallen lobbyists and defrocked congressmen makes for a compelling account of the abuse of political power.

Go to Amazon’s page on Follow The Money, buy it from your local bookseller, or get it as an e-book directly from Scribner’s SimonSays server.

What: Reading and signing

When: Tuesday, Sept. 11 7 p.m.

Where: BookPeople, 603 North Lamar Blvd.

Info: 472-5050