Fortunate son cover

Fortunate son

by James Hatfield

"This biography of President George W. Bush has been withdrawn, slandered, sued and suppressed. Fortunate Son has weathered this fierce storm to emerge triumphant in this new, second edition. Author J. H. Hatfield has updated the text in its entirety, but no information about Bush has been retracted or expurgated. The publishers have added over 80 pages of new material from leading progressive scholars and activists.". "The original publisher received threats from Bush campaign lawyers, and saw their author discredited in public in October, 1999. They withdrew 88,000 copies from stores and promised to "burn" them. Soft Skull republished the book but ran into the mainstream media who took the bait laid for them and focused on Hatfield's 1988 felony conviction. A Texas lawsuit shut down distribution of Soft Skull Press's new edition of Fortunate Son in January, 2000.". "Fortunate Son gives us the truth about George W. Bush: how he dodged the draft, was a mediocre student at Yale, lost a lot of other people's money in boom times in the Texas Oil market, and was investigated by the S.E.C. for insider trading. This is the garish life of special favors, the clear pattern of cut corners, the blurry values of the man who will spend the next four years as our "leader." The story of how Fortunate Son was suppressed teaches us about America and the power of privilege."--BOOK JACKET.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?