American Evita: Hillary Clinton's Path to Power [Hardcover]

Christopher Andersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2004

"I don't quit. I keep going."
–Hillary Rodham Clinton

She is, quite simply, the most famous, most complex, most loved/hated/admired/reviled woman -- perhaps person -- in America. And, whether she fulfills her life's ambition or not, she can already lay claim to being the first woman ever considered a serious contender for the presidency.

From the beginning, there have been the inevitable comparisons to Argentina's legendary Eva Perón. Sex, power, money, lies, scandal, tragedy, and betrayal were the things that defined the lives of both women. Yet most of what we know about Hillary Rodham Clinton is seen in the context of her tumultuous marriage to the 42nd President. Now a power in the Senate, Hillary waits for the right moment to make her own run for the White House.

In the style of his #l New York Times bestsellers The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died, as well as Jack and Jackie, Jackie After Jack, George and Laura and Sweet Caroline, Christopher Andersen draws on important sources -- many speaking here for the first time -- to paint a startling portrait of America's most controversial woman. Among the revelations:

*How U.S. history has been shaped -- and will continue to be shaped -- by the arrangement between Hillary and Bill known as "The Plan."
* Important new details about the role Hillary played in the scandalous eleventh hour pardons of armed radicals, drug dealers, tax cheats, embezzlers, money launderers and more.
* How the outgoing First Lady registered like a bride at a gift store and left the White House with $400,000 worth of "gifts" belonging to the American people.
* How JFK Jr. almost thwarted her Senate plans.
* New details about Hillary's relationship with Vince Foster.
* How Hillary has coped with Bill's hundreds of affairs, and the new women in her husband's life.
* What Martha Stewart did for Hillary, and how Hillary repaid her.
* How Hillary is using the 2004 elections as a springboard to her own future presidential candidacy—regardless of who wins.

Whatever the ultimate judgment of history, the ongoing saga of Hillary Clinton's inexorable rise to power continues to stir passions, and to make her the American Evita.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Early on, relates Christopher Andersen in American Evita, Bill and Hillary Clinton created "The Plan"---an arrangement in which the Clintons would reverse roles once he was out of office and Mr. Clinton would help his wife reach her ultimate goal: the presidency. Now that Mrs. Clinton is a Senator from New York, the second part of The Plan is in effect, and regaining the White House is only part of it--if elected president, Mrs. Clinton would also, according to Andersen, work to get her husband installed as a Supreme Court Justice. It becomes clear over the course of this book that Mrs. Clinton was the guiding hand during her husband's two terms, including heading up the near-constant damage control required as a result of a string of scandals and her husband's reckless behavior. This was not done out of loyalty to her husband, Andersen stresses, but because she recognized that she needed to save him in order to further her own career later on. Though much of the information in this book has been printed before, Andersen does offer tantalizing new details about Mrs. Clinton's long-running affair with Vince Foster, the numerous pardons of criminals that were made in the final days of the Clinton administration in order to help Mrs. Clinton's Senate bid, her self-serving actions in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and her efforts to constantly upstage the 2004 Democratic nominees for president, particularly John Kerry. Part of the reason for doing this, Andersen maintains, is that she actually wants the Democrats to lose the presidential election in 2004 in order to better set the stage for her own run in 2008. One cannot read this book without being struck by the fact that nearly every move Mrs. Clinton has made over the past 30 years has been calculated, and in this regard American Evita is a fascinating depiction of "the most famous, most controversial, most complex, most loved-hated-admired-reviled woman---perhaps person---in America." --Shawn Carkonen

About the Author

Christopher Andersen is the critically acclaimed author of twenty-three books that have been translated into more than twenty languages worldwide. A former contributing editor of Time and senior editor of People, Andersen has also written hundreds of articles for a wide range of publications, including Life and the New York Times.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060562544
• ISBN-13: 978-0060562540
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,695,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unvarnished Hillary, July 15, 2004

By 

Bonnie Fitzpatrick (Matawan, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Evita: Hillary Clinton's Path to Power (Hardcover)

Interesting warts and all look at the history of the woman behind the headlines. The Hillary Clinton in this book is foul mouthed, foul tempered, sometimes prejudiced woman who has been known to throw anything within reach, as well as punches, at Bill. She won't allow anything to stop her accumulating ever more money and power. She's shown to be ethically flexible (she ignores rules, and laws, when it suits her needs/wants), she's very intelligent, focused and politically astute. She's always looked the other way and defended Bill's many indiscretions because to do otherwise would be to possibly disrupt "The Plan".

"The Plan" is an agreement she and Bill reached when they first got together. First all their attention and energies would focus on Bill while he became President. Then the focus would shift and it would become Hillary's turn to fulfill her ambitions and become President. In fulfilling "The Plan" she's divided the world into 2 parts, her friends (slavishly loyal who donate huge sums to her causes when asked and will fall on their swords to protect the Clintons) and her enemies ("those we want dead"). Her friends are given plumb political assignments, contracts and even Presidential pardons. On the other hand people unfortunate enough to find themselves in the latter group will find Hillary a ruthless enemy. Hillary has hired private investigators to dig up dirt and will literally muscle someone she sees as a threat into silence. Her enemies have found themselves being audited by the IRS (for example).

In many ways this book is similar to Dick Morris' "Rewriting History" (in fact Anderson quotes Morris on several occasions). But where Morris focuses on "Living History", Anderson gives us a much broader scope. The two books seem to disagree in one respect, where Morris indicates that after the Health Reform Plan Hillary piloted failed she was frozen out by Bill, Anderson indicates otherwise. According to Anderson Hillary is always in charge of everything dealing with Bill and "The Plan".

This book is a good balance to the image Hillary projects (in her books and speeches) as she primes herself for the Hillary phase of "The Plan".

79 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening, July 8, 2004

By 

G. Scimeca "GDS" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Evita: Hillary Clinton's Path to Power (Hardcover)

Honest people have never trusted the Clintons by their public persona alone. After all, this is a woman who claimed she was named for Sir Edmond Hillary, despite the fact his famous trek didn't occur until she was 5 years old.

Those who ask why we should be afraid of Hillary ask a question that is easy to answer. Better yet, why not ask the staff of the Travel Office she had fired so she could give the lucrative business to her old pals. Worse, she set the FBI after these people on trumped up charges that took a jury less than an hour to dismiss. Is this putting people first, or honoring those who "work hard and play by the rules?" Hardly, it is crooked and highly hateful.

Ask the NY city police officer her limo ran over at the airport, who was hospitalized for two months. He didn't receive an apology, but he and his wife DID receive threats from Hillary's staff to keep quiet about the incident. Is this compassion? Ask Buzz Patterson or members of the Joint Chiefs' staff who were ordered by Hillary NOT to wear their military uniforms in the West Wing. This is patriotism?

Ask the dozens of think tanks and private organizations who opposed the Clintons who just happened to receive IRS audits. IRS audits are actually quite rare, yet somehow on her meager income Paula Jones received one.

Hillary has always appeared power-hungry and phony, yet this book tells a lot more about her climb to the top and her future ambitions. Rules are not something Hillary cares much for, unless they apply to everyone else. Many have been on the receiving end of her tirades and ashtray throwing. Ask Dick Morris about her racial slurs or the White House helicopter pilots who were verbally abused by Hillary because they would not alter flight plans for security purposes.

Absolutly disturbing that this woman is discussed as a future president, and this book does a tremendous job in keeping the REAL Hillary within public view.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth about Hillary, July 2, 2006

By 

Christina Kullberg "snacpk" (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Evita: Hillary Clinton's Path to Power (Hardcover)

Truly a great book about the lies and evils that were commited by former President and Co-President (Hillary) Clinton. Every American should read this book. The message is very clear; Hillary does not represent the democrats or any other party or person then herself. She is only out for herself and damn anyone who gets in her way.