DALLAS — George W. Bush said today his upcoming book begins with an anecdote about his wife persuading him to give up drinking.

Bush said "Decision Points," due for release in November, opens with Laura Bush pushing the former president to decide whether he preferred drinking to fatherhood, and him questioning whether he loved booze more than his wife.

He said he realized he had an addictive personality and quit drinking cold turkey.

Bush said the book is less autobiography and more an analysis of key decisions in his life, both before and after he was elected president. Topics will include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the troop surge in Iraq, his responses to terrorists attacks and Hurricane Katrina and the financial meltdown.

He said he hopes the book will be a tool for historians evaluating his presidency.

He also joked about the comedown of post-presidential life, saying he realized how different his life was when he was walking his dog Barney through his new neighborhood.

"There I was," Bush said. "Former president of the United States, with a plastic bag in my hand, picking up what I had been dodging for eight solid years."