President Bill Clinton's "My Life" is the strikingly candid portrait of a global leader who decided in early life to devote his intellectual and political gifts, and his... more
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My Life - Bill Clinton
An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton's My Life is a refreshingly candid look
... more
at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband and public figure. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes a...
My Life - Bill Clinton
An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton's My Life is a refreshingly candid look
... more
at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband and public figure. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes a...
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My Life - Bill Clinton
An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton's My Life is a refreshingly candid look
... more
at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband and public figure. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes and failures, including his dedication to educational and economic reform, his war against a "vast right-wing operation" determined to destroy him, and the "morally indefensible" acts for which he was nearly impeached. My Life is autobiography as therapy--a personal history written by a man trying to face and banish his private demons. Clinton approaches the story of his youth with gusto, sharing tales of giant watermelons, nine-pound tumours, a charging ram, famous mobsters and jazz musicians and a BB gun standoff. He offers an equally energetic portrait of American history, pop culture and the evolving political landscape, covering the historical events that shaped his early years (namely the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr and JFK) and the events that shaped his presidency (Waco, Bosnia, Somalia). What makes My Life remarkable as a political memoir is how thoroughly it is infused with Clinton's unassuming, charmingly pithy voice: I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts, and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged only by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain. However, that same voice might tire readers as Clinton applies his penchant for minute details to a distractible laundry list of events, from his youth through the years of his presidency. Not wanting to forget a single detail that might help account for his actions, Clinton overdoes it--do we really need to know the name of his childhood barber? But when Clinton sticks to the meat of his story--recollections about his mother, his abusive stepfather, Hillary, the campaign trail and Kenneth Starr--the veracity of emotion and revelations about "what it is like to be President" make My Life impossible to put down. To Clinton, "politics is a contact sport" and while he claims that My Life is not intended to make excuses or assign blame, it does portray him as a fighter whose strategy is to "take the first hit, then counterpunch as hard as I could". While My Life is primarily a stroll through Clinton's memories, it is also a scathing rebuke--a retaliation against his detractors, including Kenneth Starr, whose "mindless search for scandal" protected the guilty while "persecuting the innocent" and distracted his administration from pressing international matters (including strikes on al Qaeda). Counterpunch indeed. At its core, My Life is a charming and intriguing if flawed book by an intriguing and flawed man who had his worst failures and humiliations made public. Ultimately, the man who left office in the shadow of scandal offers an honest and open account of his life, allowing readers to witness his struggle to "drain the most out of every moment" while maintaining the character with which he was raised. It is a remarkably intimate, persuasive look at the boy he was, the president he became and the man he is today. --Daphne Durham, Amazon.com
My Life - Bill Clinton
An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton's My Life is a refreshingly candid look
... more
at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband and public figure. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes and failures, including his dedication to educational and economic reform, his war against a "vast right-wing operation" determined to destroy him, and the "morally indefensible" acts for which he was nearly impeached. My Life is autobiography as therapy--a personal history written by a man trying to face and banish his private demons. Clinton approaches the story of his youth with gusto, sharing tales of giant watermelons, nine-pound tumours, a charging ram, famous mobsters and jazz musicians and a BB gun standoff. He offers an equally energetic portrait of American history, pop culture and the evolving political landscape, covering the historical events that shaped his early years (namely the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr and JFK) and the events that shaped his presidency (Waco, Bosnia, Somalia). What makes My Life remarkable as a political memoir is how thoroughly it is infused with Clinton's unassuming, charmingly pithy voice: I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts, and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged only by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain. However, that same voice might tire readers as Clinton applies his penchant for minute details to a distractible laundry list of events, from his youth through the years of his presidency. Not wanting to forget a single detail that might help account for his actions, Clinton overdoes it--do we really need to know the name of his childhood barber? But when Clinton sticks to the meat of his story--recollections about his mother, his abusive stepfather, Hillary, the campaign trail and Kenneth Starr--the veracity of emotion and revelations about "what it is like to be President" make My Life impossible to put down. To Clinton, "politics is a contact sport" and while he claims that My Life is not intended to make excuses or assign blame, it does portray him as a fighter whose strategy is to "take the first hit, then counterpunch as hard as I could". While My Life is primarily a stroll through Clinton's memories, it is also a scathing rebuke--a retaliation against his detractors, including Kenneth Starr, whose "mindless search for scandal" protected the guilty while "persecuting the innocent" and distracted his administration from pressing international matters (including strikes on al Qaeda). Counterpunch indeed. At its core, My Life is a charming and intriguing if flawed book by an intriguing and flawed man who had his worst failures and humiliations made public. Ultimately, the man who left office in the shadow of scandal offers an honest and open account of his life, allowing readers to witness his struggle to "drain the most out of every moment" while maintaining the character with which he was raised. It is a remarkably intimate, persuasive look at the boy he was, the president he became and the man he is today. --Daphne Durham, Amazon.com
Advantages: Articulate, insightful, interesting Disadvantages: Long
...others, I awaited Clinton’s book, My Life, with a certain amount of eagerness mingled with a determination not to expect too much. Autobiographies of former presidents rarely serve as authoritative voices on their tenure in office. Such a work is typically a self-serving account that demonstrates its bias all too clearly. On the other hand, an autobiography generally tells the truth (or at least, a truth) as seen by its author. It addresses ... ...is the single aspect of My Life that has gleaned the lion’s share of attention, it is neither the book’s most interesting nor its most important component. Nothing genuinely new is offered, except perhaps some of the details on how Bill and Hillary went about the process of saving their marriage. As for Lewinsky’s current complaint that the book unfairly diminishes what was a real and deeply felt relationship between her and the ...
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Advantages: A first-hand account Disadvantages: Rambling at times -- the second half could use editing
I must confess I am a fan of political autobiographies. The first one I ever read was the Nixon autobiography; I've since read the various presidential and prime ministerial works past and present. Against these various tomes, Bill Clinton's memoirs, 'My Life', stacks up well. There is nothing earth-shattering and revealing here; there are some different nuances and a little more candour involved, but not a lot. After all, Clinton is still a relatively ... ...be the first president to also serve in the Congress after the presidency), and of course, his wife has an active political life of her own, which I am certain was a major consideration in the tone and content of this volume.
I was fortunate to get advance reading material of this before the day of release, and got the local bookseller to permit me a purchase after midnight of the first day of release. Of course, like many people have done or will ...
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Advantages: engaging, thoughtful memoirs Disadvantages: quite long with unneeded detail
...then to dispel that idea. My Life follows a 1996 book, Between Hope And History, that greatly expands on Bill Clinton’s joy of living, helping others and building a bridge to the 21st century. “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,” everybody.
Did you know that he was born without a father and his recently-widowed mother needed to leave him with her parents until she could be trained for a job? Did you know that he was almost gored to death by a ram ... ...complexity of the man. Throughout My Life we see through his revealing eyes him as a boy, young man, husband and father as well as politician and his experiences of hearing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, meeting John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, then how he came to understand that their assassinations weakened the Democrat Party’s vision and led confused American people to the traditional arms of the Republican Party. His vision of building ...
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Advantages: Informing, detailed, interesting in places Disadvantages: rambles a lot, not much detail about being president, easy to lose interest
I think I entered this book with unrealistic expectations and as a result it turned into a disappointment. I was expecting an insight into the highs, lows and secrets of being president but it literally is 'his life'. The book is a full on autobigraphy and starts when Bill is a boy and describes his studies, family life, beliefs and rise of his political career, amongst other things. Unfortunately, you 'd think that being president would provide ... ...over half the book to arrive at the point where he is being elected as president. This, to me, was a waste of half a book. Maybe he is planning another book dedicated purely to his days as president? Anyway, he is certainly an interesting and influential man and you may be inspired after reading this. It can be quite hard going in places and, with the text quite small, it was not an easy read. I actually skipped some pages to try and find something ...
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President Bill Clinton's "My Life" is the strikingly candid portrait of a global leader who decided in early life to devote his intellectual and political gifts, and his extraordinary capacity for hard work, to serving the public. It is the fullest, most concretely detailed, most nuanced account of a presidency ever written, and a testament to the positive impact on America and on the world of his work and his ideals. Here is the life of a great national and international figure, revealed with all his talents and contradictions. Filled with fascinating moments and insights, it is told openly, directly, in President Clinton's completely recognizable voice. 'Bill Clinton has given an unprecedented story of a White House life and the roads that led to it' - Peter Stothard, "The Times". 'You can't help but feel you're in the company, one on one, of the man himself, the narrative is engaging, the accounts of high-wire diplomacy - are all riveting' - Jonathan Freedland, "Guardian". 'His book tells, in an extraordinary way, a truly heartening story of American democracy' - Peter Jay, "Evening Standard".
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