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The first details about former President George W. Bush's new book have begun to leak out.
According to a report at Matt Drudge's website, The Drudge Report, the new book Decision Points talks about topics including alcoholism, his order to shoot down planes on 9/11, Katrina and the financial crisis.
According to Drudge, the book begins, "It was a simple question, 'Can you remember the last day you didn't have a drink?'"
The book also discusses the events of Sept. 11, 2001. That morning, Bush says he made the order to shoot down hijacked planes.
At 10:03 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, United Flight 93 slammed into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Most believe it was brought down when passengers tried to overtake the hijackers.
Bush writes that at first he believed Flight 93 had been shot down by the US military, according to Drudge's filing.
Time and time again, Bush returned to his faith to help govern, the book allegedly says. Bush described his struggle with deciding how to
handle the stem cell ban after receiving a letter from Nancy Reagan
describing a "wrenching family journey," according to the report.
"I did feel a responsibility to voice my pro-life convictions and lead the country toward what Pope John Paul II called a culture of life," Bush purportedly wrote.
The former president also talks about a July 2001 meeting with Pope John Paul II where he prayed for ABC News' Peter Jennings, who was struggling with cancer at the time. Jennings later died.
Bush is planning a media tour to promote Decision Points. An interview with NBC's Matt Lauer is set to air Nov. 8., and an interview with Oprah Winfrey will be broadcast Nov. 9.
Drudge frequently obtains pre-release copies of politically-themed books.
In May, Bush described some of the elements to be outlined in the book, as reported by AP:
Bush said "Decision Points," due for release in November, opens with the scene and him questioning whether he loved booze more than his wife,
Laura. He said he realized he had an addictive personality and quit
drinking cold turkey.
He said he hopes the book will be a tool for historians evaluating his presidency.
"I don't think you can come to a definitive conclusion about a presidency until the passage of time," Bush said. "I want to put you in my position."
"The sad thing is you don't get do-overs," Bush told the assembled crowd. "You've got to make the calls. I got some right. I got some wrong."
A recent report in the Financial Times said Bush pushed back publication of his book from September to November in an effort to help Republicans in the midterm elections.
"George W. Bush pushed back publication of his memoirs, 'Decision Points,' out of fear that a public reminder of his presidential legacy
would hurt Republicans heading into November's midterm elections, Bush's
friends tell the Financial Times," Huffington Post reported in August.
The Financial Times reported "that Bush refused to allow publication in September, which would have been a better time to unveil his book
from a sales perspective. Instead, it's slated to hit stores on Nov. 9,
one week after Election Day. Bush isn't scheduled to give any interviews
for the book tour until Nov. 8."
Random House, Bush's publisher, said it was their decision to delay publication of the book, saying, "From a media perspective the period leading up to the midterm
elections is a very noisy and crowded space and we believe the
president's book will be better served by being launched following that
time."
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