George W Bush ... a literary man? Photograph: AP

George W Bush is expected to raise an estimated $500m to pay for a memorial library, which will form the cornerstone of his presidential legacy.

President Bush will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Bill Clinton, who unveiled his memorial library in 2004. Although the proposal has been ridiculed in the American press, the choice of a library as memorial seems an obvious one for a president who has previously divulged his love of literature: "I said I was looking for a book to read; Laura said you ought to try Camus. I also read three Shakespeares ... I've got a eck-a-lec-tic reading list."

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