IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Want to read like President Bush?

President Bush brought three historical books — two about President Lincoln and one about the polio disease — along with him on his 10-day vacation.
President George W. Bush
President Bush walks across the South Lawn of the White House to board his helicopter on Thursday and begin his summer vacation. J. Scott Applewhite / AP
/ Source: The Associated Press

President Bush's vacation is shorter this year, and so is his reading list.

As he did last year, Bush took three history books along to his Texas ranch. But in 2005, Bush planned a whole month away from the White House and had 1,500 pages of reading to fill his time. This year, with just 10 days of break time, the president took about 1,000 pages worth.

Two of the books were about Republican Party hero Abraham Lincoln — "Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power," by Richard Carwardine, and "Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural," by Ronald C. White Jr.

His third choice, "Polio: An American Story," by University of Texas historian David M. Oshinsky" won the Pulitzer Prize.

It tells the story of polio in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, including the establishment of the March of Dimes and the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines.