The eye-opening untold story of a family we thought we knew—and a country we have barely begun to comprehend.

George W. Bush leaves office as one of the most unpopular—many would say, the most disastrous—presidents in American history, Russ Baker asks the telling question: Who really wanted this man at the helm of the country, and why did his backers promote the advancement of a person with such obvious liabilities and limitations? This book is a startling new look at George W. Bush, his family and immediate network, and the enabling environment within which they have operated. Baker's exhaustive investigation tracks the rise to power of the Bushes, up to and including W's presidency. It contains many new revelations, shining a clinical light on a remarkable clan whose core of absolute loyalty and hermetic secrecy has so far concealed the Bushes' far-reaching—and disturbing—role in events from the Bay of Pigs invasion, to Watergate, to the Iraq war debacle. Combining gripping narrative, explosive revelations, and trenchant analysis, How Bush Happened is nothing less than the secret history of the elites who have shaped American politics over the last century.

With this devastating volume, award-winning investigative journalist Russ Baker carries the best-selling critiques of Kevin Phillips and Jacob Weisberg to a new level.

Praise for Russ Baker and Family of Secrets:

“In an era dominated by corporate journalism and an ideological right-wing media, Russ Baker's work stands out for its fierce independence, fact-based reporting, and concern for what matters most to our democracy. A lot of us look to Russ to tell us what we didn't know.”—Bill Moyers, author and host, Bill Moyers' Journal (PBS)

“Russ Baker has the three most important attributes of any great investigative reporter: He is skeptical, he [missing space] is fearless, and he is indefatigable. Whenever he examines anything—including the most allegedly well-covered topics; he breaks important new ground.”—David Margolick, author and contributing editor, Vanity Fair

Listen to Russ on the Montel Williams Show on Air America.

As this historic Presidential election looms, GalleyCat caught up with an investigative reporter to find out what stories the press missed over the course of this seemingly endless election season. His responses could float a few books for long-form journalists.

“When George H.W. Bush was at Andover, his roommate was the nephew of a man with the curious name of George de Mohrenschildt; in later years, Bush and De Mohrenschildt fraternized in Dallas. In 1962, De Mohrenschildt also befriended a troubled young man named Lee Harvey Oswald. It's just one of dozens of connections that the prodigiously industrious investigative journalist Russ Baker has drawn between President No. 41 and the assassination of President No. 35. He also connects the dots between the Bushes and Watergate, which he far-fetchedly describes not as a ham-handed act of political espionage but as a carefully orchestrated farce designed to take down President Richard Nixon. It's common knowledge that the Bushes sit at the intersection of America's business and intelligence communities, but Baker takes it further: he sees them as part of a "globally reaching, fundamentally amoral, financial-intelligence-resource apparatus that has never before been properly documented.”—Lev Grossman, Time Magazine Read full review.

“Baker is skillful at taking bits of information and placing them in contexts that make the Bush family's; and decisions look unusual and, frequently, nefarious.”—Jamie Malanowski, The Washington Post.. Read full review.

“Eight years later and many of us are still wondering: How in the world did George W. Bush become president? How did Dubya, of all people, even reach a point where he could become president?
Partisan carping? Sue me. Better yet, read Russ Baker's scathing&8220;Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America ”—Angelica Martinez and Martin Zimmerman, San Diego Union-Tribune Read full column.