George W. Bush pushed back publication of his memoirs, "Decision Points," out of fear that a public reminder of his presidential legacy would hurt Republicans heading into November's midterm elections, Bush's friends tell the Financial Times.

The FT reports that Bush refused to allow publication in September, which would have been a better time to unveil his book from a sales perspective. Instead, it's slated to hit stores on Nov. 9, one week after Election Day. Bush isn't scheduled to give any interviews for the book tour until Nov. 8.

For their part, Random House's Crown group said they made the call to delay "Decision Points," concluding, "From a media perspective the period leading up to the midterm elections is a very noisy and crowded space and we believe the president's book will be better served by being launched following that time."