BUSH S SECRET WORLD

George W. Bush came into office only after a bitterly contested election result, but has since proceeded to establish himself as one of the most powerful, and one of the most arrogant, of all American presidents. He has involved the USA in the invasion of two Islamic countries, seems determined to impose global American hegemony, and has launched a ''war on terror'' which risks perpetuating an unremitting state of crisis. And yet the sources of this enormous power are still shrouded in mystery. He relies on fanatical ideologues, fundamentalist Christians, shady businessmen and right-wing extremists to a degree that will surprise even the most hardened observer. This up-to-the-minute expose, by the celebrated French reporter Eric Laurent - a specialist in world affairs and the author of the best-selling Bush''s War - provides a scrupulously researched and at times deeply alarming account of a President who risks definitively alienating America from the rest of the world.