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The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton
 
 
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The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (Paperback)

by Joe Klein (Author) "Beneath a khaki sky on a brisk, desolate weekday morning just after Christmas 1991, Bill Clinton's mother gave me a tour of Hot Springs, Arkansas,..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Coronet (20 Jun 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340826746
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340826744
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 12.9 x 1.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 468,768 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #11 in  Books > Biography > Political > United States > U.S. Presidents, A-Z > Clinton, Bill

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk

Primary Colors author Joe Klein offers a non-fictional take on his favourite subject, Bill Clinton, whom he describes as both "the most talented politician of his generation" and "the most compelling". Klein is of two minds when it comes to the man from Hope: he is at once disappointed by Clinton's failure to achieve greatness, but also a defender of what Clinton did do. He can be unremittingly harsh about the 42nd president's personal shortcomings: "Bill Clinton often seemed the apotheosis of his generation's alleged sins: moral relativism, the tendency to pay more attention to marketing than to substance, the solipsistic callowness". Yet he also credits Clinton with running "a serious, substantive presidency" whose chief success was dragging "Washington toward a recognition that a revised form of government activism might be appropriate in the anarchy of an instant economy." Klein is a smart and engrossing writer, and The Natural is an honest liberal's best effort to explain eight controversial years. Readers who supported Clinton will discover new insights into why he didn't accomplish more; those who opposed him will gain a sharper understanding of why he remained so popular with the public.--John Miller


Showtime

'Astute, brisk and brief ... appropriately ambivalent'
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Beneath a khaki sky on a brisk, desolate weekday morning just after Christmas 1991, Bill Clinton's mother gave me a tour of Hot Springs, Arkansas, the town where she had raised her two boys through a succession of family melodramas. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable (lightweight) account of Clinton's presidency, 12 Aug 2002
This was an enjoyable enough read. For someone with only a cursory understanding of American domestic politics, Klein serves up a useful first course: I read quickly, but was left ultimately wanting more. I do recommend this book - its easy reading, but don't expect deep insights and challenging assertions. Its more like a long feature article from a weekend newspaper supplement. And there's nothing wrong with that.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Incisive and balanced account of the Clinton years, 14 Jan 2003
By A Customer
Joe Klein delivers handsomely with this excellently researched account of life inside the Clinton White House. Klein deals with Clinton's strengths and weaknesses with refreshing objectivity and delivers an interesting insight into the decision making process and political wrangling undertaken by one of the late twentieth century's most interesting politicians. Where needed, the author pulls no punches and provides an intense critique of Clinton's every move while simultaneously recognising his unique strengths and successes.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in either Bill Clinton or the operation of the White House.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Picture of the Big Man, 1 Jul 2004
By "scribeoflight" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
One of Clinton's nicknames was "The Natural", after the character in the film based on Malamud's novel about the best baseball player "there ever was." And in some ways he was "the best"; the problem, as this excellent portrait shows, was simply that Clinton had, and still has, some very human flaws.

Although Clinton's presidency was less than magisterial in its achievements, domestic as well as foreign, Clinton himself, in Klein's view, was unique, both in his approach to decision making and in his formulation of unglamorous but important social and economic policy. Klein is critical of his mistakes: the misguided health care bill headed by Hillary; the lack of direction in the early years of the administration; and, perhaps most heavily, of the Lewinsky affair and the handling of it. But he is happy to acknowledge the positive aspects of the man: the intelligence; the human factor; the enthusiasm and passion for a range of issues; and Clinton's ability to retain and apply a huge amount of information about whatever subject he happened to be discussing.

This is a quick and absorbing, personal and continually fascinating account of a flawed, but very important, presidency. It does not contain every last detail of each and every moment Clinton spent in Office; but it does provide us with a look at the nature and character of Bill Clinton. Very much recommended if you want to know more, but don't want to wade through a 900-page memoir.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars First and best
Journalist Joe Klein covered Bill Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 1991/1992 and all eight years of his tenure in office, spending a fair amount... Read more
Published 14 months ago by B. Cooper

2.0 out of 5 stars The reviews promise much but the content is disappointing
If you are expecting a biography of Bill Clinton's Presidency forget it. If you are expecting full revelations about how and why the President acted in the various facets of his... Read more
Published on 26 Jul 2002 by H Ballantine

5.0 out of 5 stars Imagination is more important than knowledge (A. Einstein)
You may think that, because Bill Clinton was the most powerful man of the most powerful Nation in the world, you would know him. Well think again. Read more
Published on 8 April 2002 by Mario Pozzetti (pozzetti@usa.net)

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