Customer Reviews

Living History

5 star:		(254)
4 star:		(121)
3 star:		(58)
2 star:		(45)
1 star:		(238)

 

 

Like many Americans, I had a strong, pre-conceived idea of Hillary Clinton before I picked up this book. To my surprise, I found myself wrong on many, many counts--and right on others.

I think that Clinton is correct when she says that her public persona was mostly created for her, from public gaffes she made in the beginning (and admits), and from everything from her clothes to her hair (about which she is very funny) to her very strong and unyielding views to her constant championing of causes that are not popular in the Bible Belt.

"Living History" shows us the more private side, and allows us entree into the personal Hillary--at least as much as she wants to show us. She is very honest about her reaction to her husband's scandals, and about why she took him back. I did not think she owed me or any reader such a painful admission, so I admired that very much. I also admire, deeply, all this woman, who is my age, has accomplished in her life. It is truly amazing. And I admire that she steadfastly sticks to her convictions no matter what.

That having been said, I found the last third of the book self-serving and increasingly annoying, and I really do not know why. I think part of it is that every single world leader she and Bill met became "close personal friends," or that her rigid views (many of which I share) never waiver for an instant, or what--I just don't know. My favorite part of the entire book is her poignant recollection of "losing" her daughter to a college 3000 miles away. Any parent could relate. Does that make me shallow, that I found more "real" in her personal feelings than in her strong political views pounded home in paragraph after paragraph? So be it...

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the politics and travails of the Clinton Administration. There are many insights into life "behind the scenes," and all in all, I found this book immensely interesting.

I must admit I had more pleasure reading the reviews here than reading the book! I wonder whether the Hillary-haters actually bought the book or simply received their opinions from the vituperative conserative media hosts.

It is nearly impossible for Americans to remain neutral in their assessment of Mrs. Clinton. Consequently, when any of us approach writing either by her or about her, we tend to bring our own preconceptions with us. Of course, this is nothing new. Conservatives railed about Mrs. Roosevelt to a degree that has still not been matched in more modern times. The accusations that she and her husband were driving us into world socialism are well documented.

I found this book rather a boring read. Mrs. Clinton is a very intelligent woman, but that doesn't make a book worth reading. Yes, I consider it somewhat self-serving. Why would anyone write a memoir that wasn't? Mrs. Clinton delves somewhat into the whole sordid Lewinsky affair, but almost as if she were a member of the press corps, not the President's wife. For this reader the account only reinforces that this was a rather distant marriage to begin with. The political twist is nothing more than I would expect from any political partisan on either side of the aisle.

I still consider the gold standard in recollections of First Ladies to be Mrs. Johnson's "White House Diaries". No other First Lady has accomplished this, and Mrs. Clinton hasn't either. This book will probably only reinforce whatever political baggage each reader brings along. As an entertaining read I have seen many better.

I've got nothing against Hillary Clinton. I voted for her for Senate, and I'd certainly vote for her if she were to become the Democratic candidate for President against George W. Bush. But this is just not a good book. It reads like a children's book, except with the word "Republicans" substituted for "scary monsters." She makes everything sound so simple and one-sided, with the Democrats always on the side of right, and the Republicans always on the side of greed or pettiness or evil. But I certainly remember that at the time a real debate was happening, even if the Democrats might have had the better of the argument. The book is boring, uninsightful, unrevealing, and totally self-serving. Whether you like Hillary Clinton or not, this is just not a good book to read.

I just love Hillary Clinton, but this is only after I read this book. I never really cared for her, but I decided to give this book a shot. Now that I've read it, I can see what an incredible woman she really is. I admire her greatly.

As for the book itself, it wasn't the best thing I had ever read. Some of it was a little boring, but overall I thought it was worth reading. I enjoyed reading about her childhood and I loved hearing about her getting involved in politics. I now see her relationship with Bill in a new light, and I am glad she didn't dwell on the Monica Lewinsky scandal. She had a much bigger story to tell, and I am glad she did it.

The reason some people may not like this book is because it reads more like a political manifesto rather than an out-and-out memoir. The times when she went into too much detail on foreign policies were things I could have done without. Still, I am glad I gave this book a shot because it really does make you see her in a new light. She is no longer the ice woman I once thought she was. Then again my family is predominantly Republican, so it's no wonder I thought that. It's hard for me to think I once thought so little of this incredible woman.

Another reason people may not like this is because they were expecting a juicy gossip rag about the Lewinsky scandal. Like I said earlier, Ms. Clinton does not dwell on this and I love her for that. That is a time in her life she has moved on from and we should all take a page from her book.

I have a newfound respect for Hillary Clinton. She has inspired me to become more involved in politics and I think she is just an amazing woman. Thanks to her, I have come to embrace my liberal views and am not afraid to be the only Democrat in a family full of Republicans. Go out and buy this book to get a glimpse into who this woman really is. She will get my vote if she ever decides to run for the presidency of the United States.

Lucky me. I had an appointment with my kooky liberal doc this morning who thought it would be a good idea to replace the old magazines with copies of Mrs. Clinton's book on the first day of its release. So I read it. Save your money, order the new Harry Potter book instead....!

If you skip the blatant political promotions for her run for the presidency in 2004 (or 2008). Then it should maybe take you 10 minutes to read the whole thing. The problem, is Mrs. Clinton is just not credible. When it is convenient for them, the Clinton's hide behind a cloak of privacy to avoid embarassing questions. But when she needs sympathy you can't shut her up from talking about their private life.

We are supposed to believe that she was the ONLY person in America who DIDN'T believe her husband was fooling around with Monica Lewinsky. This is pure fabrication in order for us to plausibly believe that she could go on the Today show and blame the "vast right wing conspiracy" for her husband's problems.

If you love the Clinton's send them campaign money, but don't buy this...

I was up all night with this book. Here's what I learned: nothing. What I knew, I know some more. What I didn't know, I found hard to believe. Everything comes across as calculated, one eye on the polls. Even the fictitious account of Bill breaking the news to her about Monica is an obvious ploy to capture the hearts of both women and men who she'd like to see her as more sympathetic. (If she really didn't know, she was the only person in America who didn't, which makes her a lousy candidate for leader of the free world, and if she did know, that makes her a liar. But hey, Bill's defenders always said, "Hey, everybody lies," so I guess it's no slur.)

I bought it as a gift for a friend. I hope he'll still be speaking to me a week from now when he's done.

thank heavens I read a friend's copy. Pure spin, few real insights into the author's mind or heart, from the woman who hopes to be the first female President. Save your money.

The book was a bad read, boring, and not very interesting. A waste of my money and the publishers.

I expected a true and honest accounting of Bill and her rise to power - an accounting of the scandels as well as the accomplishments. Never got a sense of what kind of a person she really is. Or maybe I did. She came across as cold and uncaring. It's unbelievable how little she says.

This book is incorrectly categorized in the non-fiction section. Mrs. Clintons book is an insult to anyone who remembers what really happened, only a few years ago. Mrs. Clinton completely leaves out the fact that her husband was not on trial for having sex, he was on trial in a sexual harassment lawsuit and the so called witch hunt against him was actually a focus on obstruction of justice, perjury, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. These are similar charges that were brought against John Gotti only ten years before.
Mrs. Clinton only seem to want to create a grandiose picture of herself as the victim in this event.

In all, this book is pure fiction fluff.

Check <I>The Clinton Wars</I> as a better alternative.