In this press-wary administration, journalist Draper has accomplished a small miracle: He has knocked on all on the right doors, and thus become the first author to tell a personality-driven history of the Bush years. With access to all the key figures of this administration and perhaps 200 other players, Draper delivers an intimate portrait of a tumultuous decade and a beleaguered administration, with a special emphasis on how the very personality of this strong-willed president has affected the outcome of events. Though the headlines may be familiar, the details, the utterly inside account of how events transpired will come as fresh reportage to even the most devoted followers of mainstream media coverage. Draper allows us to witness in complete granularity the personal force of a president determined to achieve big things, who confronted the history of his time with what can surely be described as dead certainty.--From publisher description.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 421-440) and index.