In the book chapter, Bush writes that he was seldom without his Blackberry while serving as governor from 1999 to 2007, spending roughly 30 hours per week reading and returning email to staff and Florida residents.
Bush casts himself as being readily accessible, to the point that he freely gave his personal email address to constituents. "As much as I could I emailed back," he writes, describing the experience as "quite humbling" at times, but "always eye opening, and (it) certainly kept me on my toes."
Bush's e-book is a reminder that he hasn't held elected office in several years. The emails show that he was fighting to improve the state's website, for example, at a time when many of his constituents didn't have access to the Internet.
Democrats have already started to try to cast Bush as an out-of-touch businessman, and Bush's book presents a narrow collection of the emails that portrays him as an engaged and compassionate conservative.
"Jeb's attempt to rebrand himself as a champion for middle class opportunity is as laughable as the idea of Mitt Romney as an anti-poverty crusader," Democratic National Committee spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. Sams was referring to Romney's brief consideration of a 2016 campaign for president, which he said would have focused on low- and middle-income Americans.
Bush highlights examples in which he paid particular attention to child welfare, education spending and veterans, while focusing on conservative economic priorities such as cutting the number of state employees and cutting taxes.
He also casts himself as someone willing to stand up to the more extreme elements in his party.
He offers one email exchange explaining his decision to block the efforts of a political activist, Ward Connerly, who pushed to end affirmative action in states to address what some called "reverse racism."
"I will do my part as governor to fight against it," Bush wrote of Connerly's efforts, later adding that while he opposes racial quotas, he found Connerly's initiative divisive and said it would make it harder for him to pursue other priorities.
On Monday, Bush found himself having to decry "inappropriate" tweets by a recently appointed top technology aide.
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Associated Press writer Steve Peoples contributed to this report from Washington.
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Follow Thomas Beaumont on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/tombeaumont
