Going to Windward: A Mosbacher Family Memoir (review)

President George H. W. Bush’s Secretary of Commerce and longtime campaign fundraiser, Robert Mosbacher, died on January 10, 2010—just months before publication of his memoirs, co-written with Bush’s speechwriter Jim McGrath. Going to Windward offers an intriguing insight into the inner-workings of business and political leadership in America. The book is not an ideological diatribe, but Mosbacher showcases his forceful stance for “free trade,” and includes pro-business asides such as his dig at “Speaker Pelosi’s union-dominated leadership” (307).

A central character in Mosbacher’s life was his father, Emil (Pop) Mosbacher, whose own father was a German Jewish immigrant to New York City. Emil became a runner for what became the American Stock Exchange; he grew into a skilled and wealthy stock trader. Thus, Robert grew up in a thirty-room mansion on forty-three acres in White Plains, attended prep school, vacationed in Palm Beach, traveled in limousines, and became a top athlete in competitive sailing. He and his brother Bus made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1959. Going to Windward offers a who’s who of the rich and famous in 1930s–50s America and the international jet set of the 1960s–1990s. Mosbacher lays out this rags-to-riches story with worshipful reverence for his father and others who accomplished so much “by the dint of their work ethic” (42).

In 1948, Pop sent Robert to Texas to join the booming oil business. Here the book turns from family to the twin stories of Robert’s business acumen and his rise into politics. He arrived in Houston in 1948, the same year that George Bush arrived in Odessa, and their families soon met in Houston. Robert built his oil and gas company, then moved into the world of finance and business leadership. Thus, the memoir becomes a who’s who of the Texas oilfields, financial industry, and developers.

The book is also a who’s who of the rise of the Texas Republican Party: George Bush, Jim Baker, Thad Hutcheson, Albert Fay, Ed Cox, and John Connally. Texas oilmen of the era funded conservative, business-friendly politicians, and Mosbacher eagerly joined the fray, but he and Bush brought their Republicanism with them to Texas and stuck with it. Mosbacher started attending Harris County Republican meetings in 1952. Mosbacher helped John Tower raise money in his successful Senate race in 1961. By 1967, he was the “Lead Shill” on the fundraising team for Nixon in Texas (114). But it was, of course, with George Bush that Mosbacher made his biggest mark. He was Bush’s chief fundraiser, while James Baker headed the political operations. Mosbacher also became national finance chairman for President Ford in 1975—and served similar roles for Republican presidential nominees all the way to John McCain in 2008.

In 1989 President Bush appointed Mosbacher Secretary of Commerce and Baker Secretary of State. The book includes a classic photo (199) of Baker administering the oath to Mosbacher, with President Bush standing by them: The Houston trio held the reins of national government. Curiously, the book does not cover the Commerce years very extensively. What it does show is Mosbacher’s determined, single focus on developing international trade for American businesses—what he calls “free, fair trade.”

Mosbacher’s memoir is replete with praise of George H. W. Bush. Bush wrote the book’s foreword, in which he suggests that without Mosbacher’s support and friendship, “it’s highly unlikely I would have ever been president.” Yet Mosbacher offers little analysis of why Bush was deserving of his praise—just a repeating of how great he was and how the Bush Administration did “a masterful job” in so many areas. Going to Windward is an easy and interesting read, offering a fascinating behind-the-curtains view of how political economy and...