Koch, Doro Bush 1959- (Dorothy Bush Koch)

PERSONAL:

Born 1959; daughter of George H.W. (a former U.S. president) and Barbara Bush; married Robert P. Koch (an executive and lobbyist for the Wine Institute); children: four.

ADDRESSES:

Home—MD.

CAREER:

Fundraiser for charities and family's political campaigns.

MEMBER:

George H.W. Bush Library, board member.

WRITINGS:

My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Doro Bush Koch is the daughter of George H.W. Bush and sister to George W. Bush, giving her the unique perspective of having been both daughter and sister of U.S. presidents. She works actively for a number of charities and has participated in the campaigns to elect her brother to the presidency. Koch's book, My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush, provides an insider's view of her father's life and his experiences as a businessman, an ambassador, director of the CIA, and of course, in office as both vice president under Ronald Reagan, and president. She uses not only her own personal recollections, but interviews with her father and other family members and friends, as well as her father's personal papers, to create a rounded impression of the man as both parent and politician. Vanessa Bush, in a review for Booklist, wrote: "Koch brings a fresh perspective to her father's long and distinguished career, and her parents' devotion to family." A contributor for Publishers Weekly remarked that "the Bush clan ethos Koch celebrates—‘family and friends always came first’—pays scant attention to public priorities." However, in an interview with Sean Hannity for America's Intelligence Wire, Koch herself admitted that "it's less about his extraordinary career and more about the man behind the career."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Koch, Doro Bush My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George H.W. Bush, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

PERIODICALS

America's Intelligence Wire, October 1, 2006, Rich Lowry, Sean Hannity, and Alan Colmes, "Former President's Daughter Shares Insights"; October 2, 2006, John Kasich, "President's Sister Writes Book"; November 6, 2006, John Gibson, "Interview with Doro Bush Koch."

Booklist, September 15, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of My Father, My President, p. 4.

Eagle (Bryan, TX), October 26, 2006, "Bush, Daughter to Speak at Library"; October 27, 2006, Laura Hensley, "Former President's Daughter Writes about Dad."

Miami Herald, November 2, 2006, Donna Gehrke-White, "Doro Bush Koch's View inside a Political Family."

Philadelphia Inquirer, October 18, 2006, Kevin Ferris, "What George H.W. Bush Taught His Daughter."

Publishers Weekly, September 4, 2006, review of My Father, My President, p. 55.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (December 26, 2006) Robert Finn, review of My Father, My President.