Barbara Bush has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 1 narrator, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 7 ratings. The most-rated is Barbara Bush.
Barbara Bush
Summary
Barbara Bush is certainly among the most popular First Ladies ever to live in the White House. Politics aside, people worldwide have come to admire her wit, her candor and compassion, as well as her unswerving devotion to her husband and children. In her memoir, Mrs. Bush for the first time gives listeners a very private look at a life lived in the public eye for more than 25 years. She begins with a compelling portrait of her early years, including: growing up in Rye, New York, and meeting George Bush; life as a young bride and mother, moving far away from home to West Texas; and the almost unbearable pain of losing a child. With contemporary American history as the backdrop, Mrs. Bush remembers the shock of learning that her fiancé has been shot down in the Pacific during World War II; the disbelief when a black friend is refused service in a Southern restaurant in the 1950s; and the fear when she is caught in the middle of a student protest march in the 1960s. She recounts her years in public life, from first moving to Washington when George Bush was elected to Congress; to her experience living in New York as the wife of the Ambassador to the United Nations and in China as wife of the U.S. envoy. She talks candidly about the ups and downs of three presidential campaigns and describes her role as the wife of the Vice President, culminating in the climactic White House years. Drawing upon excerpts from her diary, which she has compiled for more than 30 years, Mrs. Bush takes us behind the scenes of the Persian Gulf conflict and the end of the Cold War. She talks about both the Bushes' struggle to overcome Graves' disease and how she faced the controversy that erupted at Wellesley College before her commencement speech. Through the friendships she developed over the years with world leaders and their spouses, we meet and get to know the Gorbachevs, the Thatchers, the Mitterrands, the Mubaraks, and many others.
©1994 Barbara Bush (P)2015 Simon & Schuster
Reflections
Summary
Not since Abigail Adams has one woman been both the wife and mother to a president. Barbara Bush's prominent place in American history is matched by her extraordinary popularity: Republicans and Democrats alike appreciate her wit, her compassion, and her devotion to her family. Dignified, loyal, and unpretentious, Barbara Bush defied skeptics to become one of the most admired First Ladies in history; she remains a beloved public figure today. Reflections begins with the inauguration of her son President George W. Bush, in January 2001, and then flashes back eight years to President Clinton's inauguration, when she and her husband President George H.W. Bush were leaving the White House. Drawing on excerpts from her diary, Mrs. Bush chronologically takes us through this time in her life. She reveals her and her husband's inner lives through sometimes touching and often hilarious stories about their extensive travels, their hobbies, and their charity work. She discusses her experiences on the campaign trail with her sons, and relates her continuing interactions with VIPs from around the world. Mrs. Bush also reflects on the experience of having a president for a son and discusses the family's reactions to September 11, 2001, and its aftermath. Reflections will delight Barbara Bush's millions of admirers with the former First Lady's warmth and wit, as well as with candid revelations and anecdotes from the past decade of a full and fascinating life.
©2003 Simon & Schuster; 2003 Barbara Bush
Your Own True Colors
Summary
An inspiring and beautiful way to commemorate Barbara Bush - the complete recording of her historic speech to the 1990 graduating class of Wellesley College, which NPR included in their list of the “Best Commencement Speeches, Ever”. Barbara Bush is one of America’s most beloved first ladies and one of only two in our history to be both the wife and the mother of a president. Celebrated for her wit, compassion, candor, and ebullience, she was embraced on both sides of the political aisle. In the outpouring of national admiration and affection in the days following her death in the spring of 2018 at age 92, many remembered the commencement address Mrs. Bush gave to the Wellesley College class of 1990. She urged the graduates to believe in something larger than themselves, citing her own commitment to literacy and her belief that “if more people could read, write, and comprehend, we would be much closer to solving many of the problems plaguing our society”. Filled with timeless wisdom, Your Own True Colors is a perfect gift book for graduation or any occasion. Barbara Bush’s message about men, women, diversity, and big ideals - finding one’s own true colors - is as timely, important, and inspiring as ever.
©2018 Barbara Bush (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio
Pearls of Wisdom
Summary
An Instant New York Times Best Seller! In this "sage, valuable volume" (Publishers Weekly), First Lady Barbara Bush shares the best of her advice to family, staff, and close friends. First Lady Barbara Bush was famous for handing out advice. From friends and family to heads of state and Supreme Court justices, and certainly to her staff, her advice ranged from what to wear, what to say or not say, and how to live your life. She especially loved visiting with students of all ages, from kindergartners to college graduates. When she turned 80, she owned up to all her advice-giving and explained it this way: After all, in 80 years of living, I have survived six children, 17 grandchildren, six wars, a book by Kitty Kelly, two presidents, two governors, big Election Day wins and big Election Day losses, and 61 years of marriage to a husband who keeps jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. So, it's just possible that along the way I've learned a thing or two. At the end of the day, she taught all of us some valuable lessons. As First Lady, she made a point of cuddling a baby with AIDS and hugging a young man who was HIV positive and whose family had rejected him, showing us by example the importance of compassion and the myth of fear. As a mother, she made sure we all knew that your children must come first, and one of the most important things you can do is to read to them. As a friend and mentor, she showed that you had to be true to yourself, and even at the end of her life, she taught us how to die with grace. Full of Barbara Bush's trademark wit and thoughtfulness, Pearls of Wisdom is a poignant reflection on life, love, family, and the world by one of America's most iconic - and beloved - public figures. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 the George and Barbara Bush Foundation (P)2020 Hachette Audio