My Life
by Bill Clinton
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Book Reviews of My Life
Book Review: A look into the life of Slick Willie
Summary: 4 Stars
Aptly named, My Life spans the time from Bill Clinton's birth in Hope, Arkansas, to the inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd President. One can imagine how difficult it is to write on a subject with such a large scope. Clinton devotes about the first hundred pages or so to his boyhood and adolescence in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The events in this portion of the book are not extraordinary, but Clinton has a good gift for storytelling, so I found his recounting of his childhood to be interesting. The level of political commentary in this portion is very little, so potential readers adverse to Clinton's views don't need to worry here. The next part of the book, about 250 pages, covers Clinton's enrollment at Georgetown, Oxford, and Yale Law School. Here Clinton's writings become more political, since he worked on several campaigns in Arkansas and for his senator in Washington. Clinton also describes himself as thinking about the presidency as early as high school, accounting for his enrolling in Georgetown (in Washington, D.C.), despite never visiting the campus or knowing anyone there. After graduating from Yale, Clinton moved back to Arkansas and almost immediately into politics. From this point on, My Life is concerned primarily with Clinton's political career from Arkansas to the White House. The early years, consisting of his failed run for Congress, his tenure as attorney general, and his first term as governor, depict a young man fresh out of law school sometimes struggling to connect with the ordinary people of Arkansas. Clinton is very candid in discussing his shortcomings in these years, more so than in his later political life. The accounts of backwoods campaigning and deal making are written in a good fashion, being both interesting and relevant to Clinton's development as a politician. Those familiar with Arkansas will love this portion of the book. Appropriately, the majority of My Life covers the time span from late 1991 to early 2001, starting with Clinton's announcement for the presidency. Starting with the presidency, Clinton covers his life in an almost day-to-day fashion, even covering the mundane aspects of the presidency. I found it to be interesting; some may find it to be boring. I learned a great deal about the various international, domestic, and political struggles of that era. The one problem, though, is that sometimes I felt that I needed a history textbook to keep up with everything. Clinton jumps from one event to the next, sometimes so much that it is hard to keep everything straight. I stopped caring about remembering the names of Clinton's staff and various world leaders about halfway through. Another problem with the presidential portion of the book is the high level of political commentary, especially during the impeachment proceedings. Often, Clinton reads as if he is delivering a campaign speech the entire time, continually trying to make his point to the reader. Though it is interesting to know Clinton's thoughts, the preaching becomes tedious rather quickly. The meetings of Clinton with national and world leaders are covered very well and contain many examples of the behind-closed-doors types of action that I mentioned before. Overall, this portion of the book is a good account of the day-to-day life of a president, told in a very detailed, first-person style. My Life is recommended for anyone who is interested in the life of the 42nd President, as well as the history of the past twenty years. It is an interesting story that can be enjoyed by almost anyone.Book Review: I don't particularly like Bill Clinton ....
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't particularly like Bill Clinton on many levels. I have read many Presidential biographies and autobiographies and so I felt I should read this one, and suspend judgement.
I'm glad I did.
Whether you like Bill Clinton politically or personally is beside the point. He was President of the United States for 8 years. He has left a mark on History and what he has to say about it and the information he provides is worth the time to digest.
Unfortunately, today's commercial market demands instant gratification and so, in responding to that demand the most obvious criticism I can offer is that this book was written too soon. It takes time to digest the events and thinking of a presidency, and if anything, I believe this book would have benefited from some time passing and Clinton himself being able to digest and think through the events and policy of his presidency.
As it is, not suprisingly, Clinton spends a great deal of time and effort in this work defending himself and attacking his detractors. In that regard it reads like a current political campaign work, rather than a Statesman reflecting on his time in power. There could have been a lot more accomplished in this work had he avoided the temptation to use this platform to form a response to his contemporary political foes. I don't doubt that 50 years from now as people removed from the events read this work, they will be less concerned with Clinton's major investment of time and space to paint Ken Starr's investigation of himself as a witch-hunt and will want to know a little more about his actual thoughts and actions while working with policy and foreign relations.
Regardless of what you think about Bill Clinton, if you are able to set aside the need to attack him or extol him, you have to objectively admit that he is a remarkably intelligent and politically savvy person. While it is probably too soon to write a final assessment on the impact of his Presidency and policies upon History, he presided over a time of tremendous economic growth, technological change and a change in political climate and tactics. Whether his leadership was causitive or reactive to these factors, he will no doubt command attention in the years ahead as all that happened to and around him is digested and no doubt, over time additional information, yet unknown will come to light and factor in as well.
The book is long. It is thorough. It uses a consistent formula of presentation that seeks to take the issue or event addressed and put a human face. In that regard it reads like a summary of a State of the Union address and not a deeply reflective biography.
There is a ton of factual information, but it becomes somewhat shallow in tying that information together into a cohesive explanation as to the rationale for actions taken, positions espoused.
Nevertheless, regardless of what passions you may hold or not hold with regard to Clinton himself, the book is a reasonably well written work that the committed reader can work their way through it and hopefully come out with a better understanding of the life and times of this important contemporary and soon to be historical figure. I hope time is kind enough to President Clinton that he will take the time to suppliment this work and preserve some more of his thinking as times passes and he is able to better assimilate much of which remains to be addressed within his presidency.
Book Review: Bill Clinton's Memoir As Engaging As The Man
Summary: 5 Stars
Clinton's memoir is as charming and forthright as he is. It's also surprising like the man. The heavy weight tome, like Clinton himself, delivers more than expected and overcomes the hype.
In 2000, Bill Clinton cancelled a sit-down gourmet feast at Casa Sena in Santa Fe, New Mexico and became the first American President to visit the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum. I was lucky enough to be the guest curator of "IAIA Rocks the Sixties" at the time, so I was working at the museum that day. A museum guard from one of the Northern Pueblos came to get me and other staff and we climbed up to the parapets to watch Clinton's motorcade coming up East San Francisco Street and to peer across the street to the tent on the roof at LaFonda where people were all dressed up in fancy clothes waiting for the President.
The museum's pr director came out and whispered that President Clinton wanted to visit the museum right after the reception. He held his cell phone pressed to his ear - on hold with the White House. Mr. Clinton would come directly to the museum from LaFonda. There was time to drive home to get my 10 year old daughter who was a big fan of Hillary and Bill Clinton. We raced back to museum, and then waited with a handful of IAIA Museum staff while the President shook hands with big donors across the street at La Fonda who had paid $1000 each to shake his hand. Meanwhile the Museum was shut down and astir with the pr man on the phone with the White House, and Secret Service agents interviewing and screening museum staff with metal detectors.
When President Clinton arrived, he was bigger than life. He strode through the museum looking carefully at the art by Native American contemporary artists and asked thoughtful intelligent questions. When he approached me and Liesette, we were standing alone in a large gallery. President Clinton offered his hand and looked me straight in the eyes; and my heart stopped. I mumbled something stupid and introduced him to my daughter who was smiling ear to ear. The President of the United States gave her his full attention for a moment that she'll never forget. Soon a group of people gathered and he was swooped away to the gift shop to buy gifts for Hillary and Chelsea, leaving us breathless and touched by how down to earth and real Mr. Clinton was. When President Clinton left by the museum's opposite door to slip into a limo where his Casa Sena dinner sat cooling in carry-out bags, the whole staff crowded together at the door to watch him disappear down Palace Avenue.
The warmth and sincerity that those at IAIA experienced that day in 2000, comes through in MY LIFE, as does Bill Clinton's extraordinary intellect and devotion to community service.
Mr. Clinton's thoughtful, candid look at his childhood and how the violence he experienced affected him and the judgments he made in his life, struck home the most for me. Bill Clinton is an extraordinary leader because he is one of the rare people who see the big picture. When a person of his stature writes about how domestic violence affected him as a child and continued to impact the decisions he made as an adult, we can have hope that people will begin to see that the difficult road to peace begins inside each one of us and within our homes and families. MY LIFE is a perfect example of how one person telling his story can change the world. Thank you Mr. Clinton.
Book Review: Bullseye!
Summary: 5 Stars
I think Former Pres. Clinton has an excellent second career ahead of him as a fantasy writer. While he claims to admire the magical realism writing of novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, his book shows his own literary endeavors to be more influenced by writers like H.G. Wells, Orson Scott Card, and Piers Anthony. It might be easy, for this reason, to criticize Clinton for mislabeling this lengthy work of fiction an autobiography, but that would be like criticizing George Lucas for using computer/camera trickery, instead of the more honest practice of literally blowing up a spaceship for his Star Wars movies. The razzmatazz is the whole point, and why we're even interested.
I defend this book from the charge of inaccuracy on these grounds: no one, not even supporters, expects anything other than self-serving lies from Bill Clinton. Indeed, far beyond expectation, it is fair to say that his supporters have never really WANTED anything but lies from Bill Clinton, and so I hardly think he can be faulted for giving the people what they want. After all, he regards himself as a man of the people. What's he supposed to do - act the elitist snob and do what the people don't want him to do (form a devotion to truth stronger than his devotion to his own aggrandizement)? If, for example, he hadn't lied to America on 60 Minutes during the first campaign about his affair with Gennifer Flowers, he probably would not have even become president in the first place. Would the millions who voted for him really have preferred he tell the truth that day, and thus never won? Of course not. Both Bill Clinton and his millions of supporters not only expect lies, not only want them, but are and always were utterly dependent on them. Take lying away from Bill Clinton, and you've taken bicycle riding away from Lance Armstrong, and acting away from Dustin Hoffman - do that, and they don't really exist in popular consciousness anymore. So, just as we would never criticize Armstrong or Hoffman for their unique achievements in sport and drama, neither should we critize Clinton's unique achievements in sociopathy. Without them, he doesn't exist. This is what conservatives don't get. I'm so sick of Republicans ranting about what a liar Clinton is - it's as if they think Democrats don't know or something, when in reality, that's the very reason they love him so much: he does what it takes to get the job done - lies, half-lies, three-quarter lies, mini-truths, whole truths, whatever.
I suppose some will wonder why I haven't listed specific examples of fabrication in my review. Do I really need to? His opponents loathe him because he lies, and his supporters adore him for exactly the same reason - almost everyone already gets where Clinton is with facts. So, listing lies in a book whose all-but-stated purpose is to fictionalize would be kind of silly.
Because My Life does everything a Bill Clinton autobiography is supposed to do - obscure reality with useful, comforting fictions, aggrandize the author, serve as a forum for his own masturbatory political bloviating, impress girls, personally demonize anyone who happened to have a difference of political opinion with him, or who might still have had attachments to antiquated, romantic notions like truth or personal integrity, etc. - I am giving it a 100%, thumbs up, five stars.
Book Review: A Man In Full
Summary: 4 Stars
From the outset it should be understood that, like it or not, Bill Clinton is simply the most personable, most charismatic of fellas to come down the political pipe since Ronald Reagan. And though theres a divide the width of the Grand Canyon in each of their philosophical beliefs it cannot be denied that William Jefferson Clinton has reached a certain stratosphere of popularity that is generally reserved for film stars, rock musicians and the occassional television host, i.e. Oprah Winfry. So why should there be this constant outcry from Conservatives and others on the political right who consistently scream ( some may say 'whine' ) for this mans head? Well, as usual politics make for some very strange bed-fellows indeed and being the lightening rod that he always has been Bill Clintons autobiography " My Life " has actually fueled a debate over why this gentleman remains so incredibly popular...and most likely will forever remain so. Inquiring minds may want to know.Uber Neo-Con Newt Gingrich tells the story of first meeting Cliton when he was Majority leader of the Senate and how after their initial sparring came away absolutley stunned at the then Presidents complete knowledge of detail, his command of dominating a room with his larger-then-life presence and how Clinton simply seemed more intelligent about every subject that was broached. Gringrich states that he walked out of the room awed with his opponenet and how he suspected that Clinton would make an extremely worthy political adversary. Well, while " My Life " certainly gives the rest of us insight into the childhood that formed this great man indeed it might be a case of far too much information as well. Just like the gentleman himself the book does tend to be slightly 'wordy' tending to give far too much detail about formative years that, while interesting, is simply much more then I cared to know. Nevertheless, overall the book does give a hint of what makes Bill Clinton such a dominating force in American politics today and whythere remains such a hue and cry from others regarding his larely controversial 8 years in office and how, to many of us, he was a subject of that infamous 'vast right-wing conspiracy.'
Indeed, what makes " My Life " so readable is simply that Clinton is indeed so utterly human. With a life that has been picked over as much as his, with a marriage that has been fodder for late-night television and right-wing radio wackos ala Rush Limbaugh ( by the way Rush, three divorces and you're out! ), many of us view Clinton has a man that we can truly identify with and commiserate with as well. His faults are ours as well and we understand is short-comings. And though many Americans view the Clintons with righteous indignation ( " Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" ) its truly ironic that they too may be held to the very same lofty standards that they punish the Clintons with. But...we won't go there!
Overall, this is a book that needs to be read. No William Jefferson Clinton is far from being a perfect man. And if you seek moral leadership from your Pres., or other politicians ( and God knows I cannot imagine why you would! ) then your opinion concerning this man may not change. Nevertheless, like him or not Bill Clinton remains the atypical 20th century politico. And that in itself is worthy of many more books.