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Bush Biographer Lauds Ex-President In Talk At Texas University

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COLLEGE STATION (CBSDFW.COM/AP)The author of a new biography of George H.W. Bush is lauding the former president, saying he left a legacy of service.

Biographer Jon Meacham spoke Monday night at the Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University. He says the nation's 41st president recognized early in life that being born to privilege meant he had much to give back.

With the former president seated a few feet away, Meacham said Bush has lived his life with the sentiment that "the other guy matters."

In the book, the elder Bush also sharply criticizes former Vice President Dick Cheney and then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Bush, accompanied by his wife, Barbara Bush, was applauded as he entered the auditorium but did not speak at the event. The 91-year-old sat in a wheelchair wearing a neck brace. He's recovering from a fall earlier this year.

Meacham's largely flattering "Destiny And Power" becomes publicly available Tuesday.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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