Laughing Kookaburras are the largest kingfishers in the world, and Blue-winged Kookaburras are not far behind. Their size and distinctive shape and posture make them easily recognisable; their comical and personable characters make them readily memorable. They are able to live in a wide variety of habitats, and adapt to living around humans relatively well. This cheerful familiarity has caused them to figure prominently in the psyches and folklores of all peoples who have inhabited Australia. Kookaburras live in family groups marked by the extremes of social behaviour. Whilst in the nest, chicks fight their siblings for dominance and food so aggressively that the smallest chick is often killed. In complete contrast, many adult kookaburras delay their own breeding in order to help their relatives raise young. Kookaburra: King of the Bush provides a complete overview of kookaburras and their unique place in Australian culture and natural history.

In this collection of true stories, the author takes readers from a small Rocky Mountain town to the abandoned copper mines of the Wrangell Mountains, and all points in between, as she shares the reality of being an Alaskan bush pilot, flight instructor, and air traffic controller at a time and in a place where women were seen as less capable than their male counterparts.

With more than 200 photographs, videos, letters, and speeches, this Deluxe eBook edition of Decision Points brings to life the critical decisions of George W. Bush’s presidency. George W. Bush served as president of the United States during eight of the most consequential years in American history. The decisions that reached his desk impacted people around the world and defined the times in which we live. Decision Points takes readers inside the Texas governor’s mansion on the night of the 2000 election, aboard Air Force One during the harrowing hours after the attacks of September 11, 2001, into the Situation Room moments before the start of the war in Iraq, and behind the scenes at the White House for many other historic presidential decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, and Iran. In addition, it offers intimate new details on his quitting drinking, his discovery of faith, and his relationship with his family. The Deluxe eBook edition also includes: • Videos from the defining moments of the presidency, including Bush’s inspiring Ground Zero speech to the 9/11 rescue workers, intimate family home movies, and a special introduction to the edition from the president himself • Full texts of his most important speeches, including his addresses to the nation about 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq, and his second Inaugural • Handwritten letters from the president’s personal correspondence • And more than 50 new photos not contained in the print version of Decision Points A groundbreaking first in bringing multimedia to presidential memoir, the Deluxe eBook edition of Decision Points will captivate supporters, surprise critics, and change perspectives on eight remarkable years in American history—and on the man at the center of events.

The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson is a fascinating look at the intersection of music and fashion, as well as an homage to Michael Jackson’s brilliant fusing of costume, personality, and performance to create his iconic image. Through his music, dance, and fashion, Michael Jackson created a mystique that was unique to him and recognized as such throughout the world. For five decades he mesmerized audiences—and for twenty-five of those years Michael Bush was there as Jackson’s designer, stylist, and friend, accompanying the King of Pop on his journey to becoming the King of Style. While paying homage to the original Billie Jean, Beat It, and Thriller looks that put Jackson on the fashion map, The King of Style also traces their evolution over several decades. Jackson’s penchant for the military silhouette is explored in detail, along with the trade secrets behind the sequined glove and the fencing uniform that he, Michael Bush, and Dennis Tompkins reinvented to make stage magic. It was Bush who dressed Jackson for the final time, before he was buried. Dozens of garments were left unfinished by his shocking death. The legacy of Michael Jackson lives on. An artist like none other, he transformed everything he touched—from the fabric of his clothes to his legions of fans around the world.

Originally published in different form in 1992 by Random House as What it takes.

Drawing from the imaginative quotes President Bush has uttered over the years, the 'George W. Bush Coloring Book' illustrates Bush's very own words in the form of a colouring book. Illustrator Karen Ocker lends her visually distinct style to on-the-record quotes such as "It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity and incumbency," and "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." The colouring book includes an essay on Bush by Joley Wood. Wood has written on numerous Irish writers, including essays on James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw and William Butler Yeats, and a preface for Shaw's Saint Joan (Penguin).

This collection examines the foreign and domestic policies of President George W Bush's administration. The analysis begins with an account of how highly polarized - in terms of public opinion and electoral patterns - this presidency has proved to be (in a chapter by the editors). This is followed by chapters on the use of unilateral executive powers (by Louis Fisher and William Howell) and pre-rogative powers (by Richard Pious). Because the policy choices of the Bush presidency have had such fundamental effects both in domestic policy and in US foreign policy, three contributors (Thomas Langston, John Burke, James Pfiffner) then address the processes of decision making especially in respect to the war against Iraq. How the administration governs by a recurring process of campaigning is examined in chapters on public opinion and war (by Gary Jacobson), the promotional presidency (by Larry Jacobs), mobilizing congressional support for war (by Scott Blinder) and the White House communications system (by Martha Kumar). Finally the way in which the Bush White House relates to congress and the process of building congressional coalitions to enact laws is the subject of chapters on 'executive style' of this administration (by Charles O Jones) and the failure to reform social security (by Fiona Ross). It will be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand one of the most controversial administrations in recent years.

Entertaining collection recreates the wardrobe of the 43rd president of the United States, together with outfits worn by the First Lady Laura Bush and twin daughters Barbara and Jenna. Eight dolls are accompanied by 26 authentic, full-color costumes, including inaugural finery, ball gowns, business suits, sportswear, and more.

This book offers a fresh assessment of George W. Bush’s foreign policies. It is not designed to offer an evaluation of the totality of George W. Bush’s foreign policy. Instead, the analysis will focus on the key aspects of his foreign and security policy record, in each case considering the interplay between principle and pragmatism. The underpinning contention here is that policy formulation and implementation across Bush’s two terms can more usefully be analysed in terms of shades of grey, rather than the black and white hues in which it has often been painted. Thus, in some key policy areas it will be seen that the overall record was more pragmatic and successful than his many critics have been prepared to give him credit for. The president and his advisers were sometimes prepared to alter and amend their policy direction, on occasion significantly. Context and personalities, interpersonal and interagency, both played a role here. Where these came together most visibly – for instance in connection with dual impasses over Iraq and Iran – exigencies on the ground sometimes found expression in personnel changes. In turn, the changing fortunes of Bush’s first term principals presaged policy changes in his second. What emerges from a more detached study of key aspects of the Bush administration – during a complicated and challenging period in the United States’ post-Cold War history, marked by the dramatic emergence of international Islamist terrorism as the dominant international security threat – is a more complex picture than any generalization can ever hope to sustain, regardless of how often it is repeated. This book will be of much interest to students of US foreign policy, international politics and security studies.

In the wake of the 2004 election, pundits were shocked at exit polling that showed that 22% of voters thought 'moral values' was the most important issue at stake. People on both sides of the political divide believed this was the key to victory for George W. Bush, who professes a deep and abiding faith in God. While some fervent Bush supporters see him as a man chosen by God for the White House, opponents see his overt commitment to Christianity as a dangerous and unprecedented bridging of the gap between church and state. In fact, Gary Scott Smith shows, none of this is new. Religion has been a major part of the presidency since George Washington's first inaugural address. Despite the mounting interest in the role of religion in American public life, we actually know remarkably little about the faith of our presidents. Was Thomas Jefferson an atheist, as his political opponents charged? What role did Lincoln's religious views play in his handling of slavery and the Civil War? How did born-again Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter lose the support of many evangelicals? Was George W. Bush, as his critics often claimed, a captive of the religious right? In this fascinating book, Smith answers these questions and many more. He takes a sweeping look at the role religion has played in presidential politics and policies. Drawing on extensive archival research, Smith paints compelling portraits of the religious lives and presidencies of eleven chief executives for whom religion was particularly important. Faith and the Presidency meticulously examines what each of its subjects believed and how those beliefs shaped their presidencies and, in turn, the course of our history.