''Shocking in its disclosures, elegantly crafted, and faultlessly measured in its judgments.''--Roger Morris, author of ''Richard Milhous Nixon ''and ''Partners in Power ''How did the deeply flawed George W. Bush ascend to the highest office in the nation, what forces abetted his rise, and--perhaps most important--have those forces really been vanquished by Obama's election? Award-winning investigative journalist Russ Baker gives us the answers in ''Family of Secrets,'' a compelling and startling new take on the Bush dynasty and the shadowy elite that has quietly steered the American republic for the past half century and more. Baker shows how this network of figures in intelligence, the military, oil, and finance enabled--and in turn benefited handsomely from--the Bushes' perch at the highest levels of government. As Baker reveals, this deeply entrenched elite remains in power regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. ''Family of Secrets ''offers countless disclosures that challenge the conventional accounts of such central events as the JFK assassination and Watergate. It includes an inside account of George W.'s cynical religious conversion and the untold real background to the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. Baker's narrative is gripping, sobering, and deeply sourced. It will change the way we understand not just the Bush years, but a half century of postwar history--and the present.