Why should the President get gravitas credit when his 2006 book list [below] shares some books that he was said to read in 2005??  Plus in 2006 he is in competition with Karl Rove. Karl is being outfoxed by the boss?

In 2005 Bush took three books for his vacation reading.

Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar,  Edvard Radzinsky

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History, John M. Barry

Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky

In August 2006 I read about Bush's reading competition with Rove.  Some books on his 2006 reading list:

Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar,  Edvard Radzinsky

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History, John M. Barry

Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky

American Prometheus,  Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin (biography of Robert Oppenheimer, inventor of atomic bomb)

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero,  David Maraniss (about late all-star Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder)

Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power,  Richard Carwardine

Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural, Ronald C. White Jr.

Mao: The Unknown Story, Jung Chang and Jon Halliday

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women,  Geraldine Brooks

Polio: An American Story,  David Oshinsky (how polio affected [US] in the mid-20th century)

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth,  Leigh Montville

The Stranger,  Albert Camus