Customer Reviews

The CLINTON ENIGMA : A FOUR AND A HALF MINUTE SPEECH REVEALS THIS PRESIDENT'S ENTIRE LIFE

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

David Maraniss is a real pro and I recommend his books and articles, but I wish he would not have written this little book. It is an interesting idea -- to extrapolate a man's life from a four minute speech -- but I found it to be somewhat self-serving.

For example, Mr. Maraniss makes something of a to-do about the fact that the president of the United States would not make time for him. Mr. Maraniss had been critical of Clinton in some ways, and that might have dampened the president's enthusiasm for meeting with him; but Maraniss is only an author. Bill Clinton was president of the United States.

One other little example: Mr. Maraniss makes something of a deal out of the fact that Clinton once said to him, "Nice tie," and then later someone else told him (D.M.) that that remark should be interpreted as a "F- you." Hm, a pretty far-out interpretation.
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For readers with only a passing interesting in Bill Clinton, this is a short, succint book that you can complete in a day. But for readers looking for bigger game, read "First in His Class" by the same author. That book is the best Clinton biography on the market, covering his life from childhood to his 1992 presidential run. This book was published just before Clinton's impeachment by the House. The author gives some new insights, going through the president's August 17 confession line-by-line, and interprets its meaning. You sense Mr. Maraniss's frustration and obvious disappointment with his subject. But at the same time, he maintains a hue of fairness and objectivity that is badly needed when compared to other Clinton books. Mr. Maraniss will help you understand Bill Clinton, but the truth is that no person can fully understand this true "enigma."

Maraniss did such a good job in his full-scope Clinton biography ("First In His Class") that if you've read it you'd (almost) be able to come up with a summary of your own to explain his 4-minute speech, which is nominally the subject of the Clinton Enigma. There's very little new in this book to be missed if you have not read it. What is new is in the first 13 pages (Chapters 1-4 of the first part of the book), where Maraniss mentions his own experiences with Clinton (or rather: the lack of them) when trying to arrange an interview with him, immediately prior and also after his biography was published. The manners and maneuvers Clinton and his aides applied and Maraniss' reaction provide a valuable supplement to understanding Clinton, but also Maraniss.

The weakness of this book for those who have read the biography is also an advantage for those who haven't and if you are not as interested in Clinton to devote yourself to reading 500 pages of the biography you will appreciate its summarized version in the Clinton Enigma.

I have listened to this book on the tape. It's a good thing I got my copy at the library, because buying it even for 1 cent would be a waste of money. I have already wasted my time on listening to the author's non-sense about Clinton's biography. David Maraniss, the author and narrator of the book became upset with the President for the unwillingness of the later one to meet with the biography writer. Frankly, after listening to this material I would NOT let this author write my biography either. This book is all NEGATIVE since the first paragraph. It is based on the comments of the Clinton's enemy's and unfairly judges the president based on his personal life and not on what he has done for the country.

Don't waste your money on this book.

Sorry Dave, but you have to change the style and give people credits. Leading a country is a huge responsibility enough. So what if Clinton had some fun in his personal life. No one is perfect. I still bet he has done for the country more than most other presidents or people, including yourself!

The Clinton Enigma is misnamed. The book is not about an enigma at all - the theory about Clinton is that he's all too predictable. The only real mystery that Maraniss struggles with is why some people so viscerally hate Bill Clinton. This book won't do much to diminish that hatred, but it seems less written out of hate than disappointment and frustration. But Maraniss' frustration seems driven by Clinton's avoidance of him. This may have some metaphorical application for the rest of us, but it's a somewhat misleading motivation to write this mini-biography in the middle of the Monica incident. The book is worthwhile as a brief, speculative psycho-biography of Clinton, but it won't endure. Its more like New Yorker article written in the middle of a story that is very much in play. Less than two years later, the book is well out of date. Still, at 110 pages it's hardly a waste of time to read.

Packed into a mere 110 pages is enough material to keep one spinning in speculation and turbulent thought for hours. There have been many books written about the Clintons but none is more concise than this production by Maraniss; especially with regard to what motivates Hillary Rodham Clinton, the power behind the throne, co-president to some and a marriage seemingly made for the sole purpose of acquiring and retaining power at any cost.

Taking a chance with Bill (p.78) paid off handsomely in spite of the enormous price in the interim. In this context, one cannot help but recite a few lines from Philip Wylie's "Generation of Vipers," if only to round out the author's observations and background material on Hillary.

Quote: Mom is organization-minded. Organizations, she has happily discovered, are intimidating to all men, not just to mere men. They frighten politicians to sniveling servility and they terrify pastors; they bother bank presidents and they pulverize school boards. Mom has many such organizations, the real purpose of which is to compel an abject compliance of her environs to her personal desires...As an interesting sidelight, clubs afford mom an infinite opportunity for nosing into other people's business. Nosing is not a mere psychological ornament of her; it is a basic necessity. Only by nosing can she uncover all incipient revolutions [i.e., the "vast right-wing conspiracy"] against her dominion and so warn and assemble her co-cannibals. Close quote.

Even more intriguing is the use of religion to smooth out the ramifications of having stepped over the line either from alleged crimes or ethical violations, not to mention the countless "bimbo eruptions," purported or otherwise. For example, the author mentions the Clintons praying with the high-profile Rev. Jackson in the White House (p.100), the night before the four-and-half minute speech Maraniss brilliantly analyzes in this book. It is not without accident that the Christian concept of forgiveness allows one to commit any transgression, no matter how repugnant, on an ongoing basis simply because the opportunity is always there to wipe the slate clean; something Clinton has used with masterful expertise. That Rev. Jackson would appear on camera shortly thereafter only leads one to conclude that, not only does one hand wash another in politics and prayer -- with the public's credulity serving as the soap to facilitate the process -- but that the employment of such a strategy as a photo-op would have Tzu Sun relishing the moment.

Moreover, Maraniss' book, perhaps unwittingly, breathes new life into Ambrose Bierce's definition of politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. Close quote.

At any rate, the author saves the best for the last: Did he [Clinton] believe in life after death? "Yeah, I have to," Bill Clinton said. "I need a second chance."

Only Clinton's autobiography will do a better job at realistically assessing the behavior of this very unique president. He was such a blend of good and bad.
The author captures this perfectly.

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"

An interesting analysis of President Clinton by one not part of the "great right-wing conspiracy." Making use of the four-minute speech in which the president finally confessed to lying under oath regarding an affair with "that woman, Miss Lewinsky," Maraniss (who wrote the Clinton biography First in His Class) claims this speech tells us everything we need to know about Bill Clinton. Get the audio edition, which contains the entire speech.

I've not read any books about Clinton until now. The stories I read in here were new to me. I found the author fair and balanced. No honest look at Clinton's personal life can be flattering, but the author seeks to explain Clinton, not condemn him. The book is thoughtful and very well written. I enjoyed it immensely. ( Let's face it, Clinton's personal life became public business when he fooled around in the Oval Office and involved his secretary in the coverup.)

Most of this stuff everybody already knows -- even if we haven't researched or read about it. After all, Clinton is a disgusting "open book." Observing Clinton in office for seven years tells it all -- the man has always been a self-centered, psychotic egotist who knows he is really weak -- that's why he married Hillary. However, the author does a good job of writing what he observes. Note: The guy who wrote the second review must have tried to rewrite the book; he obviously doesn't know what a book review is -- and his poor English, spelling, and sentence structure show us he is not qualified to review any author's work. His review reminds me of book reports by some of the boys in grade school -- they just wrote a shortened version of the book.