- Hardcover: 957 pages
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; First Edition edition (30 Jun 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0375414576
- ISBN-13: 978-0375414572
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.5 x 5.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 201,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"By a generous measure," "the richest American presidential autobiography-no other book tells us as vividly or fully what it is like to be president of the United States.... And he can write." --Larry McMurtry, "The New York Times Book Review"
"My Life" "is," "without question, the best written U.S. presidential tome of all time." --Douglas Brinkley, "Financial Times"
"A hell of a good story." --Frank McCourt, "Entertainment Weekly"
"It's an almost voluptuous pleasure to read Clinton when he's recounting and analyzing a political race or a legislative battle, whether it's one of his own or somebody else's." --"The New Yorker"
"Consistently fascinating." --"The Seattle Times"
"Clinton talks with disarming frankness [and] writes with grace and fluidity. . . . He is also a born storyteller."" "--"The New Republic"
"Might just be the perfect representation of the man himself." --"The Plain Dealer"
"Clinton has many tales to tell, particularly a rich, sometimes moving account of his years before the public life, fit for future analytical historians and biographers. . . . The personal and the political are intertwined. . . . Clinton's story very much reflects the man we know." --"The Nation"
"He manages to create the distinct impression that he is sitting in the living room talking to the reader. . . . Anyone who is geninely interested in American politics will find his insights and anecdotes fascinating. . . . The book helps to elucidate the question of 'how he did it.'" --"Deseret Morning News"
"It's a saga worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, a rags-to-riches tale full of the stuff of human frailty, with a cast of hundreds, complete with low-life villiansand high-minded heroes and, as such stories require, an upbeat ending. . . . The 1990s come to life once again as a time of uncommon tumult and riveting personalities. . . . The personalities on parade are as vivid as the events." --"Newark Star-Ledger"
" Tremendously interesting and entertaining. . . . Clinton's is a truly American story to which the average person can relate. . . . Future politicians will find it a must-read, and average Americans will identify with the highs and lows we all experience as we make our way through life." --"Chattanooga Times Free Press"
"Takes readers through a strong account of the achievements and failures of his administrattion. . . . No other presidential memoir is likely to be so lively. . . . Bill Clinton is hard to dismiss, and so is an account of his extraordinary life." --" The Tennessean"
"A reading of MyLife is a necessity for lovers of good autobiograpy. It reads like a down-home history of a life and, thus, anchors Clinton as a superb storyteller. . . . Candid. . . . Honest. . . . Stimulating." --"Huntsville Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"My Life" "is," "without question, the best written U.S. presidential tome of all time." --Douglas Brinkley, "Financial Times"
"A hell of a good story." --Frank McCourt, "Entertainment Weekly"
"It's an almost voluptuous pleasure to read Clinton when he's recounting and analyzing a political race or a legislative battle, whether it's one of his own or somebody else's." --"The New Yorker"
"Consistently fascinating." --"The Seattle Times"
"Clinton talks with disarming frankness [and] writes with grace and fluidity. . . . He is also a born storyteller."" "--"The New Republic"
"Might just be the perfect representation of the man himself." --"The Plain Dealer"
"Clinton has many tales to tell, particularly a rich, sometimes moving account of his years before the public life, fit for future analytical historians and biographers. . . . The personal and the political are intertwined. . . . Clinton's story very much reflects the man we know." --"The Nation"
"He manages to create the distinct impression that he is sitting in the living room talking to the reader. . . . Anyone who is geninely interested in American politics will find his insights and anecdotes fascinating. . . . The book helps to elucidate the question of 'how he did it.'" --"Deseret Morning News"
"It's a saga worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, a rags-to-riches tale full of the stuff of human frailty, with a cast of hundreds, complete with low-life villiansand high-minded heroes and, as such stories require, an upbeat ending. . . . The 1990s come to life once again as a time of uncommon tumult and riveting personalities. . . . The personalities on parade are as vivid as the events." --"Newark Star-Ledger"
" Tremendously interesting and entertaining. . . . Clinton's is a truly American story to which the average person can relate. . . . Future politicians will find it a must-read, and average Americans will identify with the highs and lows we all experience as we make our way through life." --"Chattanooga Times Free Press"
"Takes readers through a strong account of the achievements and failures of his administrattion. . . . No other presidential memoir is likely to be so lively. . . . Bill Clinton is hard to dismiss, and so is an account of his extraordinary life." --" The Tennessean"
"A reading of MyLife is a necessity for lovers of good autobiograpy. It reads like a down-home history of a life and, thus, anchors Clinton as a superb storyteller. . . . Candid. . . . Honest. . . . Stimulating." --"Huntsville Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
One of the bestselling hardcover memoirs of all time now available in paperback. Includes new material by the author.
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Like many people, I suspect, I bought this book expecting to gain access to elements of Bill's professional and personal life not typically available from other media sources. I really wanted to get a better understanding of some of the patterns of behaviour which coloured part of Bill's time in the White House. I must confess that I was disappointed in the book.
The most interesting part of this tomb is the first third, where at least one gets an understanding of his traumatic upbringing and his determined approach to rising through the ranks of public life. As for the rest I found it to be unnecessarily detailed and long winded, difficult to read for sustained periods of time and tedious.
It begs the question as to whether the book was written as a therapy for Bill himself, rather more than being written to enlighten and inform a target audience. It is a pity that such a great international figure has produced such a disppointing record of his life.
I would not recommend the book to anyone other than those with an academic interest in the politics of Bill's tenure in office.
The most interesting part of this tomb is the first third, where at least one gets an understanding of his traumatic upbringing and his determined approach to rising through the ranks of public life. As for the rest I found it to be unnecessarily detailed and long winded, difficult to read for sustained periods of time and tedious.
It begs the question as to whether the book was written as a therapy for Bill himself, rather more than being written to enlighten and inform a target audience. It is a pity that such a great international figure has produced such a disppointing record of his life.
I would not recommend the book to anyone other than those with an academic interest in the politics of Bill's tenure in office.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the acknowledgments, former president Clinton thanks his editor, Robert Gottlieb, for helping him make the book half as long and twice as good. That man should get five stars! This book is way too long in its current form and not good enough.
Unless you are a friend or a big fan of Mr. Clinton, you will find this book not worth the effort. Fully half is devoted to descriptions of daily events during his two presidential terms. Almost all of the events you will probably remember from living through those years. Although these events were needed for completeness, there was little added that was new. I found the background descriptions of assisting the negotiations between Israel, Syria, and the Palestinians to be the most interesting part of the presidential section.
The best part of the book comes in the period before his first election in Arkansas. How did a young man from a very troubled home end up on the fast track for early political success? Although you will not be able to totally answer that question from reading this book, you will certainly know a lot more than you did before you started. I was especially impressed by the incredible loyalty that he showed to his stepfather, despite the awful treatment that his mother received. I did not realize that Mr. Clinton had only legally adopted the last name of Clinton after his mother remarried his stepfather.
If you are looking for lots of insights into his personal inclination to cause pain in his marriage through affairs, you won't find anything new. You will find out the day when his wife stopped making him sleep on the sofa in the White House.
Although the book is mostly a diary of what he did and when, there are occasional moments of reflection in the book that make reading it rewarding. Unfortunately, the new reflections only occur about every 50 pages or so. Most of the best reflections are in the first half of the book.
The main ingredient that is missing from the book is the tremendous personal appeal that Mr. Clinton excites in many people. That element of his success is largely hidden in this account. He has a genuine liking for others, a sense of commitment to helping them and an incredible stamina for taking on challenges. It would have been good to combine this book with a CD of reminiscences about peoples' reactions to him at very times.
You also don't get much of a sense of his high intelligence, encyclopedic memory, and grasp of complex situations. I have heard Mr. Clinton go on for hours about difficult policy questions without notes and without knowing what questions would be asked. In fact, he tends to downplay those skills.
The material about his presidency would have been greatly enhanced with advice for future presidents.
The end of the book has an almost whiny tone in complaining about Right Wing conspiracies and recalcitrant Republicans in Congress. That part could have been edited down further. You'll get the idea after the first few pages of this discussion.
Frankly, I would not have finished the book except that many of my friends are in the book, and I found myself looking forward to their appearances in the text and what would be said about them.
For most people, you can read the first half and skip the rest.
If you really want to know about certain parts of his life and want to skip the others, the index can give you a condensed books version of his life.
If you did not find him to be a person who inspired you, I suggest that you skip the book.
Seek to do the best for all!
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a wonderful account of Bill Clinton's life up to the end of his presidency. The book is so long because of the incredible detail in which Bill describes the major points in his life, including an almost day-by-day account of his time in the White House. He provides a very interesting alternate view to the mountains of negative press he endured, and although it is obviously driven by his version of events, he is still not afraid to hold up his hand when it was deserved - which it seldom was. The greatest impression this read leaves you with is that Bill did a great deal of brilliant work, much of which will sadly not be remembered - hidden in the shadow of one mistake. Fans of "The West Wing" will particularly enjoy the white house stories for most of them have been unapologetically copied as plot lines in the show.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointed!
I bought a used book and it lacked 35 papers inside (from chapter 1 to half of chapter 5). So disappointed!
Published 8 months ago by David Do
Tedious
What a tedious book. Although I am British I am interested in USA politics and hoped this book would give me some insight into decisions in the US during his Presidency, many of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kborom
Good Book
This is a great book one I have read twice now as their is a lot of information to digest in one reading. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Andrew Whitby
my life
This book gives an insight to what makes one of the greatest men alive tick so to speak. A really good read I must say
Published on 7 Jun 2009 by O. O. Malomo
Awesome book by an awesome man
Wow, what a man. Bill Clinton was my favourite President of the last 20 or so years, despite the scandal of the last days in office. Read more
Published on 23 July 2008 by John Wayland
OK but a bit self-serving
There are two parts to this book:the opening half describes Bill's rise from lower middle-class student to Rhodes Scholar, attorney and ascendency to governor of Arkansas. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2008 by Caterkiller
bill clinton my life
This is a excellent book about a ordinary man that start from nothing and made his way to the very top. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2007 by Ian J. Griffin
Charisma Doesn't Come Thru
Clinton was a good President and leader because of his incredible charisma. It doesn't come thru in this book at all. Read more
Published on 9 May 2007 by Amy L.
An insightful read
Here you have an in depth history of Clinton's rise in politics and the tribulations of his presidency. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2006 by Spider Monkey
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