Living History

Rating:
Summary: Up close and not too personal
Review: Frankly I expected this book to be somewhat dull -- the careful musings of an ambitious politician. But in fact the book held my interest far more than I expected.

A lot can be explained by Hilary's Beaver Cleaver upbringing. She grew up in an old-fashioned small town where the kids played outdoors and she felt loved at home. Her high school teachers encouraged her to attend college at Wellesley, where she excelled, and she later chose Yale Law School, where she met Bill Clinton and pursued her own fascination with child protection law. She describes her moves to Arkansas and her life in Washington, where she was determined to protect Chelsea. And she clearly loved campaigning for Senator from NY, where by all accounts she has done an outstanding job.

True, there are no "tell-all" tales. While many readers will want to hear her version of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, she dismisses the episode with a reference to marital counseling and a statement that Bill should tell why he lied and "betrayed" her. But she does discuss her frustrations with answering questions about her marriage.

But while Hilary focuses on her professional rather than personal side, we do get a glimpse into her personality. She shares the scene of helping Chelsea settle into her dorm room (Bill says, "Can't we come back after dinner?"). She describes Bill's instant bonding with the chocolate lab, Buddy. And we get a sense of how life is lived when your many of your friends are household names, like Cronkite and Kennedy.

We also get stories of meetings with heads of state who visit Washington and others Hilary meets as she travels around the world. She's diplomatic and careful but we do get a sense of what it's like to sit through dinners with the likes of Prime Minister Bhutto and Prince Philip.

Reviewers complain she didn't share enough, but those same reviewers might be quick to complain if she came across as whiny or soul-baring. When people achieve on a high level, they're not ordinary and we have to respect their differences. I enjoyed getting to know more about Hilary Clinton's life and I admire her intelligence, energy and tenacity.


Rating:
Summary: easy reading
Review: This is a very well written novel and very easy to read and understand. If you believed everything in the book, Bill and Hillary would be an easy pick for sainthood. I read the book to see how Hillary would present some of the toucher things in her Whitehouse years. I have never seen anyone that is so perfect, and everyone that does not support her is a right wing radical. She could never understand why they have picked on poor Bill all the years of his political career. I would never buy the book, there are plenty to borrow as many will never be read.