At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, Smith–called “America’s greatest living biographer” by George Will and “America’s premier political biographer” by others–will discuss the topic of his latest book, BUSH, focusing on the career of President George W. Bush.
The New York Times has called BUSH “a comprehensive and compelling narrative punctuated by searing verdicts” of President George W. Bush’s foreign and domestic policies including the aftermath of 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Guantanamo, stem cell research and Hurricane Katrina.
According to event organizers, Smith will aim to show how, contrary to popular belief, Bush often ignored his principal advisers and made key decisions himself, fortified by his deep religious faith. He will discuss both positive and negative aspects of Bush’s presidency, including the fact that Bush’s actions in the wake of the financial collapse of 2008 actually helped save the nation’s economy, while his decision to invade Iraq created problems that still haunt us today.
“It is an honor to have such an accomplished author and scholar as Professor Smith speak in the lecture series,” said Patricia Proctor, director of the Simon Perry Center for Constitutional Democracy. “This is also a fabulous opportunity to learn from someone who spent years studying this subject. This book has received national and international attention, and it will be fascinating to hear professor Smith expound on what he learned in the course of writing it.”
Smith served as the John Marshall Professor of Political Science at Marshall from 1999 to 2012, and is professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, where he taught for more than 30 years. In addition to BUSH, he is the author of Eisenhower in War and Peace; FDR, winner of the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians; Grant, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; John Marshall: Definer of a Nation; and Lucius D. Clay: An American Life. Smith received his A.B. Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University and his Ph.D. from the Department of Public Law and Government at Columbia University.
The lecture is free and open to the public and will take place in the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, home of the Erickson Alumni Center. A book signing will follow the lecture.