“Grant made the perfect candidate, a war hero with indistinct views on most political issues.”

“I believe my mother was smart enough to know that in the night, you are willing to tell all. If she waited until the next day, she knew she'd get one-syllable answers.”

“Gold, or at least the prospect of it, saved him, then killed him.”

“He lived in terror of, well, becoming ordinary.”

“The sight of big ships, of the many new uniforms, at once serious and cool, left Bush with an overall sense of the navy's power and camaraderie and purpose.”

“His notes to the outside world offered a window on an active, sympathetic, eclectic mind.”

“He forced himself into good spirits.”

“Diplomacy was a long game.”

“He did something he rarely did. He decided not to see things from the other guy's point of view.”

“When he came in first, he was happy to find all sorts of meaning in the results.”

“Bushes may not be eloquent explaining emotion, but George HW Bush's mother knew enough to be in position with her children were ready to talk. She waited up not just to ensure safety but to make the most of the moment of excited emotions. The next morning, they would congeal into polite, one-word answers.”