Washington (CNN) An upcoming biography of former President George H.W. Bush contains harsh critical assessments by the 41st president of some of the top officials from his son's presidency.

The former president knocked former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to his biographer, Jon Meacham in interviews for "Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush," calling Cheney an "iron-ass" and labeling Rumsfeld "an arrogant fellow."

On Dick Cheney

Bush told Meacham he thought that the famously influential vice president carved out "his own empire" in the White House.

"He had his own empire there and marched to his own drummer," Meacham quotes Bush. "It just showed me that you cannot do it that way. The President should not have that worry."

Bush felt that Cheney, who served as defense secretary during his own administration, had changed as vice president. Cheney grew "very hard line" and in response to the terrorist attacks of 9-11.

"I don't know, he just became very hard-line and very different from the Dick Cheney I knew and worked with," Bush told Meacham.

Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures President George H.W. Bush attends the Republican National Convention in Houston in 1992. Bush dedicated his life to serving others and held many different roles in government, the highest being President. Hide Caption 1 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush is pictured with his sister, Mercy, in 1929. He was born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts. Their father, Prescott Bush, was a successful Wall Street banker who became a US senator in 1952. Hide Caption 2 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush sits in his VT-51 Avenger in 1945. Two years earlier, he became the youngest pilot in the US Navy. He flew 58 combat missions in World War II and was awarded three Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Hide Caption 3 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures After the war, Bush attended Yale University and played baseball there from 1945 to 1948. He was team captain. Hide Caption 4 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Before he entered politics, Bush made a fortune drilling for oil in Texas. He created the Zapata Offshore Co., which introduced a new era in the drilling industry. Hide Caption 5 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush is pictured with his wife, Barbara, during his first campaign for Congress. He represented Texas' 7th District from 1967 to 1971, and he was appointed to the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Hide Caption 6 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush represents the United States at the United Nations in 1971. He served as US Ambassador from that year until 1973. Hide Caption 7 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush sits with members of his family in 1971. He met his wife at a country club dance in 1941, and they were married in 1945. They had six children. Hide Caption 8 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Under President Gerald Ford, Bush served as the chief liaison to China in 1975. Here, Bush greets well-wishers in Beijing. Hide Caption 9 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Ford meets with Bush in December 1975 to talk to about Bush taking over as director of Central Intelligence. Hide Caption 10 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures The Bushes stand with Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, in 1980. Bush lost to Reagan in the primaries but became his running mate. Hide Caption 11 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush and House Speaker Tip O'Neill listen to Reagan deliver his second State of the Union address in 1983. Hide Caption 12 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Reagan shakes hands with Bush in 1988. Bush served as Reagan's vice president from 1981 to 1989, and he would succeed him as President. Hide Caption 13 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures The Bushes pose for a 1986 photo in Kennebunkport, Maine. Hide Caption 14 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures The Reagans and the Bushes join hands after President Reagan endorsed Bush's presidential run at a dinner in 1988. Hide Caption 15 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush poses for a photo with real estate mogul and future President Donald Trump during a campaign event in 1988. Hide Caption 16 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush debates Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988. Hide Caption 17 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush joins supporters in Houston after learning he had defeated Dukakis in the presidential election. Hide Caption 18 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Shortly after winning the election, Bush casts a line while surf fishing in Gulf Stream, Florida. Hide Caption 19 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev takes in the New York skyline with Reagan and Bush in 1988. Hide Caption 20 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush was sworn into office as the 41st president of the United States on January 20, 1989. First lady Barbara Bush holds the Bible for her husband while Chief Justice William Rehnquist administers the oath of office. Hide Caption 21 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures President Bush delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on January 31, 1990. Hide Caption 22 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush holds up a plastic bag with crack cocaine during a televised speech about drugs in 1989. Weeks later it was revealed that government agents had bought the drugs from a dealer in front of the White House for the purpose of Bush's speech. Hide Caption 23 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush hosted Nelson Mandela, South Africa's anti-apartheid leader and future president, at the White House in June 1990. Hide Caption 24 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush and the first lady wave goodbye to US Marines and British troops after a Thanksgiving Day visit to Saudi Arabia in 1990. Hide Caption 25 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush and Colin Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speak on separate phones in February 1991 while Joint Chiefs John Sununu, Robert Gates and Brent Scowcroft listen to a conversation about halting the Gulf War. Hide Caption 26 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush, at his vacation home in Kennebunkport, meets with Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991. Bush also appointed Justice David Souter in 1990. Hide Caption 27 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush plays golf with tennis player Andre Agassi in 1991. Hide Caption 28 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush and Gorbachev shake hands at the end of a news conference in Moscow in July 1991. Hide Caption 29 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures From left, Presidents Bush, Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon stand together at the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Library in 1991. It was the first time five presidents gathered in one place. Hide Caption 30 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle join hands at the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston. They are joined by their wives, Marilyn Quayle and Barbara Bush. Hide Caption 31 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush checks his watch during a 1992 presidential debate with Ross Perot, right, and Bill Clinton. The memorable moment was interpreted as the President being out of touch. Hide Caption 32 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush takes a last look around the Oval Office with his dog, Ranger, before vacating the White House for Bill Clinton. Hide Caption 33 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush's eldest son, George Walker Bush, was elected President in 2000. They became the second father-son duo in history to hold the office (the first being John Adams and John Quincy Adams). The two Georges hug here moments after the youngest was sworn in on January 20, 2001. Hide Caption 34 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures With his father by his side, President George W. Bush sits at his desk in the Oval Office for the first time on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2001. Hide Caption 35 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush rides a Segway at his home in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 2003. Hide Caption 36 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Celebrating his 80th birthday in 2004, Bush performs one of two skydiving jumps he completed with the Army Golden Knights. Hide Caption 37 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed his father and Bill Clinton to lead fundraising efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Hide Caption 38 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush arrives on the South Lawn of the White House in 2008. Hide Caption 39 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures President Barack Obama presents Bush with the Medal of Freedom in February 2011. "His life is a testament that public service is a noble calling. ... His humility and his decency reflects the very best of the American spirit," Obama said. Hide Caption 40 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Barbara Bush kisses her husband as they arrive for the 2012 premiere of a documentary about his life. Hide Caption 41 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush, in the wheelchair, arrives for the dedication of his son's presidential library in Dallas in 2013. Joining him, from left, are President Barack Obama and former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Hide Caption 42 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush holds up his wife's hand at a Republican presidential debate in 2016. One of their sons, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was among the candidates in the debate. Hide Caption 43 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures The Bushes participate in the ceremonial coin toss before the Super Bowl in 2017. Hide Caption 44 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush was admitted to a hospital in April 2017 for an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia. This photo of him and his son George was posted to Twitter. "Big morale boost from a high level delegation. No father has ever been more blessed, or prouder," the elder Bush wrote about the photo. Hide Caption 45 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush joins former presidents and first ladies at the funeral ceremony for his wife in April 2018. Behind Bush, from left, are Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and current first lady Melania Trump. Hide Caption 46 of 47 Photos: President George H.W. Bush's life in pictures Bush is seen in the car after a stay in the hospital. His son Jeb tweeted the photo in May 2018, saying, "My beloved dad is in Maine." Bush had been admitted to the hospital after contracting an infection that spread to his blood, a family spokesman said. Hide Caption 47 of 47

"The reaction to (the 9/11 terrorist attacks), what to do about the Middle East," Bush told his biographer. "Just iron-ass. His seeming under to the real hard-charging guys who want to fight about everything, use force to get our way in the Middle East."

Bush attributed some of that hard-right turn to Cheney's wife, Lynne Cheney, a historian and conservative thinker, according to Meacham.

"You know, I've concluded that Lynne Cheney is a lot of the eminence grise here -- iron-ass, tough as nails, driving," he told Meacham.

But Bush also told his biographer that Cheney was "a good man" and that President George W. Bush had made a mistake by allowing him to "bring in kind of his own State Department."

On Donald Rumsfeld

The 41st president was decidedly more critical of Rumsfeld in his conversations with Meacham. Bush charged that the former defense secretary "served the president badly" and was an "arrogant fellow." He also said of Rumsfeld in interviews for the biography:

"I don't like what he did, an I think it hurt the President, having his iron-ass view of everything, Bush told Meacham. "There's a lack of humility, a lack of seeing what the other guy thinks. He's more kick ass and take names, take numbers. I think he paid a price for that."

The elder Bush also describes his effort to get his son to replace Rumsfeld with Bob Gates, at that point the president of Texas A&M University, in the wake of the Republicans' drubbing in the 2006 elections.

"At A&M he had a marvelous way to get the support of his people, he had a wonderful manner. Bob Gates is motivated by service. He's not trying to get a better license plate. He's down to earth, bright, really good guy," Bush told Meacham.

But Bush 41 didn't absolve Bush 43 of all fault, directing some criticism toward his son as well. He told Meacham that he still supports his son's decision to invade Iraq, calling the ouster and capture of Saddam Hussein "proud moments."

But he said in interviews that he does "worry about some of the rhetoric that was out there" and suggested that "hot rhetoric is pretty easy to get headlines, but it doesn't necessarily solve the diplomatic problem."

Bush referenced in particular the introduction of the phrase "axis of evil" in the 2002 State of the Union address, saying "I think that might be historically proved to be not benefiting anything."

43 supports his team, Rumsfeld fires back

Despite his father's dim assessment of how Cheney and Rumsfeld served him, former President George W. Bush was supportive of his team in a statement issued in response to the book.

"I am proud to have served with Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld," he said in a statement. "Dick Cheney did a superb job as vice president, and I was fortunate to have him by my side throughout my presidency. Don Rumsfeld ably led the Pentagon and was an effective secretary of defense. I am grateful to both men for their good advice, selfless service to our country, and friendship."

Rumsfeld fired back at George H.W. Bush in a statement Thursday.

"Bush 41 is getting up in years and misjudges Bush 43, who I found made his own decisions. There are hundreds of memos on www.rumsfeld.com that represent advice the Department of Defense gave the President," Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld and the elder Bush have their own history. In his documentary about Rumsfeld, filmmaker Errol Morris discussed with Rumsfeld about how Ronald Reagan selected Bush for vice president instead of him.

In the trailer for the film, "The Unknown Known," Morris states that if Reagan had picked Rumsfeld over Bush, he might have become president after Reagan.

"It's possible," Rumsfeld said.

Heirs to the throne

Meacham also sets up the Bush family royal intrigue with a fairly candid assessment by former top aide and longtime Bush family friend Jim Baker.

"George W. was always the cutup in the Bush family ... Jeb was always more serious. Many of us thought that maybe, just maybe, Jeb would be the one to carry on the family tradition in politics," Baker told Meacham.

Then Jeb Bush, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush set about trying to knock that down.

"If I were 'The One,' no one ever told me about it," Jeb Bush told Meacham. "I didn't get the memo. And the relationship between George and dad is incredibly close and loving. I've always been bemused by people who state as a fact that which is highly speculative, or untrue, which happens a lot. I don't think my mom and dad think that way -- 'He's the one, more than that one.' Literally I never had a conversation about that. Ever. I'd say in terms of topics of conversation in the Bush family: family; sports; and then ... well, that's about it."

George W. Bush explained the perception of him as being viewed as "less serious person. I was seen as more like my mother than father in many ways. I was more of a cutup, I was more irreverent."

And the eldest Bush called the whole thing "bullshit."

"The whole idea that Jeb was the favorite one because he was more knowledgeable -- that's all bullshit," George H.W. Bush told Meacham. "Nothing to it. I thought Jeb had a better chance to win than George when George went up against Ann Richards. Nobody thought he could."

Is it 1992 or 2016?

The book comes at an auspicious time in American politics with nation again focused on a Bush and a Clinton, as it was in 1992. Bush recalled his own travails during the campaign, and the surprising rise of a brash billionaire who would eventually help knock him out of office: Ross Perot.

"He now wants to parlay his outsidership into winning the election," Bush said in a diary entry, according to Meacham. "Or if not that, into bringing me down."

Bush, according to the book, said he thought some of Perot's animosity toward him was personal, stemming from previous decisions, including Bush's declining to come work for Perot in 1977.

As Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist, prepared to break rank to go work for Perot, his wife, Sherrie, who worked for Bush in the White House went to Bush directly to break the news he was leaving.

And Bush recalled trying to talk her into talking Ed Rollins out of it.

"I know Ross Perot, and he's crazy," Sherrie Rollins recalled Bush saying, in an interview with Meacham. "Mark my words, this won't last. And the American people are not going to elect a person of Bill Clinton's character. This is all going to work out and we're going to win."

A few months later Clinton won the White House with a big assist from Perot, who drew away disaffected voters.

The Clinton relationship

In the heat of the 1992 race, Bush could not stand Clinton -- his draft-dodging, Bush said in a diary entry, was unbearable.

"I'm tired of the guy lying and ducking on the draft and not coming clean," Bush said in a diary entry, according to Meacham. "So we've got to press him without trying to demagogue the issue, but I remain convinced that it is a very important question because it's a question of truth as well, for a lot of older people, a question of whether he ducked service. The new generation doesn't think that one is as bad, but I think it's very bad not wanting (to participate) when your country is at war. I simply find that offensive, but maybe this shows the age and the generation gap."

A dozen years later President George W. Bush asked the two presidents -- his father and Bill Clinton -- to come together to raise money for victims of a tsunami in Southeast Asia. And, by then, something strange had happened: the elder Bush had developed an admiration for Clinton's masterful political skills.

"He talks all the time," Meacham quoted Bush, noting an emphasis on the last three words. "He knows every subject. You mention Nigeria, and he'll say, 'Now let me tell you about what's happening in the northern part of the country.' I don't know how much f it's bullshit and how much of it's real, factual. We went to call on different embassies -- Indonesia and Thailand. We were greeted warmly by the ambassadors. There was this painting. Clinton asks who painted it, and the ambassador told him. It was one of their famous painters, Umbuga or something like that. And when we were walking out, Clinton turned to the ambassador and said, 'That is one of the most beautiful Umbugas I have ever seen.' He's just shameless. But outgoing and gregarious. I like the man."

At a dinner in Sri Lanka, the two presidents agreed to get out of a dinner with the country's president by 10 p.m. But as Bush and his entourage signaled Clinton toward the door, Clinton stopped to talk with official after official on his way out the door.

And then Clinton took credit for getting them out of there on time.

"'George, you owe me big time for getting us out of there a lot earlier than expected,'" Clinton told Bush, according to Meacham. "And I said nothing more. You cannot get mad at the guy."

The reactions

Meacham showed transcripts of his conversations with the senior Bush to both Cheney and the younger Bush to elicit their reaction.

Cheney, Meacham says, smiled after reading them, telling the biographer that Bush's analysis was "fascinating." The former vice president said that he "never heard any of this from 41" but admitted, "No question, I was much harder-line after 9-11 than I was before."

George W. Bush told Meacham of his father's evaluation: "He certainly never expressed that opinion to me, either during the presidency or after." Regarding the criticism of his rhetoric, Bush said "It is true that my rhetoric could get pretty strong and that may have bothered some people -- obviously it did, including Dad, though he never mentioned it."

And he pushed back on the notion that Cheney possessed outsize influence in his administration, arguing that "I made the decisions. This was my philosophy."

He said to Fox, "I think a lot of people believed then, and still believe to this day, that I was aggressive in defending, in carrying out what I thought were the right policies."

Fox reported that Rumsfeld declined to comment.