Family of Secrets

The Bush Dynasty, America's Invisible Government, and the Hidden History of the Last Fifty Years

By Russ Baker

"Shocking in its disclosures, elegantly crafted, and faultlessly measured in its judgments."—Roger Morris, author of Richard Milhous Nixon and Partners in Power

How did the deeply flawed George W. Bush ascend to the highest office in the nation, what forces abetted his rise, and—perhaps most important—have those forces really been vanquished by Obama's election? Award-winning investigative journalist Russ Baker gives us the answers in Family of Secrets, a compelling and startling new take on the Bush dynasty and the shadowy elite that has quietly steered the American republic for the past half century and more. Baker shows how this network of figures in intelligence, the military, oil, and finance enabled—and in turn benefited handsomely from—the Bushes' perch at the highest levels of government. As Baker reveals, this deeply entrenched elite remains in power regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.

Family of Secrets offers countless disclosures that challenge the conventional accounts of such central events as the JFK assassination and Watergate. It includes an inside account of George W.'s cynical religious conversion and the untold real background to the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. Baker's narrative is gripping, sobering, and deeply sourced. It will change the way we understand not just the Bush years, but a half century of postwar history—and the present.

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.