On the way down to Crawford on Air Force One, Mr Bush's legacy was clearly on his mind.
He was reading Richard Carwardine's biography of Abraham Lincoln, another president whose tenure was dominated by a morally difficult war, and who was willing to test the boundaries of presidential power at a time of war.
However, it was another book that offered a more revealing glimpse into the mind of the vacationing president.
He read Albert Camus's The Stranger, triggering a discussion about existentialism with his aides. "He found it an interesting book and a quick read," said Mr Snow. "I don't want to go too deep into it, but we discussed the origins of existentialism."