我们相互推荐书。比如，他鼓励我读毛泽东的传记，我则向他推荐了一本讲战后重建的不幸结局的书。我们在一起讨论所读之书，还给一些作者写感谢信。

到年底，我以110本比95本的成绩击败了总统。我获得的奖杯看上去和初级保龄球决赛的冠军奖杯差不多。总统牵强地认为，他之所以输掉比赛，是因为做国家领导人太忙了。

布什2006年的阅读书单体现了他的文学品位。他读的非虚构类作品中，从亚伯拉罕•林肯、安德鲁•卡耐基[1]、马克•吐温、“贝比”•鲁斯[2]、利奥波德国王、威廉•詹宁斯•布赖恩、休伊•朗、林登•贝恩斯•约翰逊、成吉思汗等人的传记，到詹姆斯• L.斯旺森的《追捕》、纳撒尼尔•菲尔布里克的《五月花号》，他都有所涉猎。

除了约翰• D.麦克唐纳的八本讲述特拉维斯•麦吉的故事的小说外，布什还读了迈克尔•克赖顿的《危机当前》、文斯•弗林的《执行力》、斯蒂芬•亨特的《冲撞点》和阿尔伯特•卡默斯的《局外人》。

那年他读过的书中，有58本是非虚构类作品。其中几乎一半是历史著作和人物传记，另外有8本谈论时事（主要谈论中东问题）、6本谈及运动。

出乎我意料的是，总统在2007年要求再比一次。尽管这次比赛的节奏总体放缓了些，但他再一次以51本比76本的成绩屈居第二。他那年的阅读范围很广，从历史著作和人物传记到当前时事都有所涉及。他还读了一本青少年读物——他女儿詹娜的精彩作品《安娜的故事》。

布什不甘失败，坚持2008年再比。但这将是我取得三连冠的机会：截至今日，他读了40本，我读了64本。这一年里，他读了大量历史作品：

此外，他还读了不少传记：

总统每年都把《圣经》从头至尾读一遍，而且每天虔诚祈祷。

阅读比赛反映了布什先生对目标的专注。其实输赢无关紧要。良性竞争能帮他集中精神，带给他清醒的头脑和充沛的精力。他用读书代替看电视。他在“空军一号”上靠读书来放松身心，因为他充满了求知欲。他读和手头事务相关的书，经常根据他面临的挑战选择要读的书。他说得没错——我之所以获胜，是因为他有真正的重任在身。

We recommended volumes to each other (for example, he encouraged me to read a Mao biography; I suggested a book on Reconstruction’s unhappy end). We discussed the books and wrote thank-you notes to some authors.

At year’s end, I defeated the president, 110 books to 95. My trophy looks suspiciously like those given out at junior bowling finals. The president lamely insisted he’d lost because he’d been busy as leader of the country.

Mr. Bush’s 2006 reading list shows his literary tastes. The nonfiction ran from biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain, “Babe” Ruth, King Leopold, William Jennings Bryan, Huey Long, LBJ and Genghis Khan to James L. Swanson’s Manhunt, and Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower. 

Besides eight Travis McGee novels by John D. MacDonald, Mr. Bush tackled Michael Crichton’s Next, Vince Flynn’s Executive Power, Stephen Hunter’s Point of Impact, and Albert Camus’s The Stranger, among others.

Fifty-eight of the books he read that year were nonfiction. Nearly half of his 2006 reading was history and biography, with another eight volumes on current events (mostly the Mideast) and six on sports.

To my surprise, the president demanded a rematch in 2007. Though the overall pace slowed, he once more came in second in our two-man race, reading 51 books to my 76. His list was particularly wide-ranging that year, from history and biographical to current affairs. He read one book meant for young adults, his daughter Jenna’s excellent Ana’s Story.

A glutton for punishment, Mr. Bush insisted on another rematch in 2008. But it will be a three-peat for me: as of today, his total is 40 volumes to my 64. His reading this year included a heavy dose of history—including David Halberstam’s The Coldest Winter, Rick Atkinson’s Day of Battle, Hugh Thomas’s Spanish Civil War, Stephen W. Sears’s Gettysburg and David King’s Vienna 1814. There’s also plenty of biography—including U. S. Grant’s Personal Memoirs; Jon Meacham’s American Lion; James M. McPherson’s Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief and Jacobo Timerman’s Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number.

Each year, the president also read the Bible from cover to cover, along with a daily devotional.

The reading competition reveals Mr. Bush’s focus on goals. It’s not about winning. A good-natured competition helps keep him centered and makes possible a clear mind and a high level of energy. He reads instead of watching TV. He reads on Air Force One and to relax and because he’s curious. He reads about the tasks at hand, often picking volumes because of the relevance to his challenges. And he’s right: I’ve won because he has a real job with enormous responsibilities.