The Story of James Hatfield and his Book

This is a strange tale indeed. You see, the author of the book in question, James Howard Hatfield, was found dead in a hotel room, on Wednesday July 18, 2001, in Springdale, Arkansas. Mr. Hatfield, it would seem, had committed suicide by overdosing on perscription drugs. The body was discovered sometime around noon by a housekeeper. The responding police said, Hatfield had left some notes for his family and friends listing alcohol, financial troubles, and his book, a biography of George Walker Bush, Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the making of an American President, as the reasons for his killing himself.

In this biography, He (Hatfield) had accused President Bush of hiding a thirty year-old cocaine arrest, among many other things. Published in 1999, the book cited three unnamed sources, claiming that Bush was arrested in 1972 but that his case had been expunged, due to the many powerful connections of, and pressure applied by his father George H. W. Bush. George Jr, who was campaigning for president when the book was published, denied the allegations. George Bush, Sr. threatened libel action and caused the resignation of the Editor in Chief at St. Martin's Press.

Fortunate Son, was released in 2000 during Bush Jr's candidacy for the presidency, but ultimately the Bush camp won. Soon after Fortunate Son was released by St. Martin's Press, it was withdrawn from publication; the company recalled 70,000 copies in October 1999 and left an additional 20,000 copies of the book in storage. It was only on the bookstore's shelves for one week. This majority of the first, and only edition of this book became "furnace fodder" according to Sally Richardson, President and Publisher of St. Martin's trade division at the time.

All though it was on the bookstore shelves only a week, Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President made the New York times Best Seller list. The rights to the book were purchased by Sander Hicks and republished by softskull press, with a new forward by Hatfield. In Febuary of 2000 two persons who Hatfield had written about in the forward of this new edition for softskull sued both softskull press and Mr. Hatfield and many of the bookstore chains carrying the new book for defamation, and once again the book was withdrawn from the shelves. A settlement was made on the grounds that the forward in question would be removed and not used in future printings.

On January 18, 2001, the inagural events began for George Walker. On Saturday, January 20, 2001, Mr. Bush took the oath; the 35 word vow that is the only part of the ceremony required by law, and was inaugurated. It was a peaceful transfer of presidential authority. The next day, January 21, the new president of the United States of America hosted an open house at the White House.

Today the work is still in print and available through softskull press. It has never been altered or censored in any way. Due to all the controversy and suppression, the book remains a very popular biography of America's forty third president; George Walker Bush. It is now printed in many countries around the world, though it probably won't make it into the presidential library.