It Takes A Village (Paperback)

by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Author) "CHILDREN are not rugged individualists..." (more)
Key Phrases: White House, Head Start, Little Rock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The First Lady, a longtime child advocate, expresses her concerns for the children of today's world and offers her ideas for developing our society into one that values children's unique contributions. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Susan Larson New Orleans Times-Picayune A wake-up call...a comprehensive look at what our children need and want and deserve -- and aren't getting....We should all be reading it, learning from it, and acting on it. -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684825457
• ISBN-13: 978-0684825458
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #570,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

235 of 277 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try reading the book, August 7, 2002

By	Aaron D. Snyder "Aaron Snyder" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My leanings are more right than left but I would take issue with anyone who actually read this book (not just decided to berate the title because you don't like the author) and didn't conclude that Hillary Clinton is every bit a proponent of "family values" as the most right-wing republican.

Mrs. Clinton gives the reader a compelling portrait of her vision for America's Children. To all the rocket scientists who'se reviews made the bold statement "It takes a Mother and Father to raise a Child" you are completely missing the point and obviously didn't read paragraph one of the book. In no way does Clinton devalue parental roles she simply acknowledges that at other people have effects on a child's well being. Children rely on safe neighborhoods, good teachers, readily available health-care and many other facets of "The Village" to be raised properly.

Within the book Ms. Clinton introduces a whole litany of social programs some of which I agree with (better health education and diets in school's to combat obesity, required marital counseling, ) and some of which I don't (socialist medicine and Charter Schools--the former will never fly in this country and the latter are proving to be a flop). Reasonable people can disagree, and while I don't see eye to eye with Clinton on some issues her objective is noble and her writing is enjoyable. FOr the record if Chelsea is any indication--Hillary Clinton is an excellent Mom.

There's little middle ground in this country when it comes to Hillary---I've heard the most vile and disgusting things uttered about her and I've seen her almost worshipped. I like to think I can be part of that middle ground--a right-winger who appreciates the intelligent passionate argument that she brings to the table.

117 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually Reading This Book Makes For Sensible Reviews, November 10, 2000

By	Bobby Jones (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, of the reviews I've read, far too many of the negative ones were from those who obviously didn't read the book. Those who severely damned it, most likely wouldn't have given Mrs. Clinton the pleasure of their having bought her book. Also, these reviews offer nothing more than a mere, simple-minded critique of the book's title.

While I can certainly agree with the opinion that Mrs. Clinton's book does include, to some extent, mild political propaganda regarding social programs, we must keep in mind that the work is a collection of Hillary Rodham Clinton's personal views. It's absolutely pointless for anyone to share his/her views in a book without supporting those opinions--thus creating propaganda. It's a no-brainer that the author would back up his/her views only with the facts that best support the opinions while shying away from those that do not.

As far as the title of the book is concerned, it certainly DOES take a village to raise a child, and as Mrs. Clinton points out, the village WILL raise the child, with or without the parents. Those parents who carefully guide their children in what they see as the best direction have much better control over the extent the village raises their children. Therefore, those who fail to take an active role in their childrens' lives are essentially leaving the job to the community, which definately has more than its fair share of negative influences and role models that tend to serve as predators waiting for the misguided or the unguided. The two choices we as parents have are either to guide our children around the negative influences and toward the positive ones, or to allow our children to wander without us through a labyrinth of the above-mentioned "predators" which include violence, recreational sex, substance abuse, reckless conduct, and other immoralities. This is only the beginning! The cycle continues and feeds on itself to populate the "village" with even more of the negative influences, thus making it even more difficult for the best of parents to guide their children in the right direction.

If it were possible for only the mothers and fathers to raise the children, the world would be almost perfect as even the most uninvolved parents have the best intentions. Unfortunately, far too many leave the job strictly to the village. Our children are raised with or without us. The numbers of prisons, crisis centers, psychiatric units, and adult literacy programs are only a few products of only the village raising our children.

51 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, November 4, 2003

By	Helen Morgan (former 60's radical) (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Takes a Village (Hardcover)

The book in its introduction describes how family life used to be.

Its primary focus is the need for "investment" to end great social ills such as poverty, homelessness, and illegitamacy. While well intentioned this ignores the failure of government intervention to solve these problems. In the almost 40 years since the New Frontier was first proposed we have seen only limited results, from increased "investment" (taxes). That increased tax dollars have marginally narrowed poverty, abuse, and neglect found within inner cities.

Government funded good intentions are often the greatest enemy to the same people Ms. Clinton is trying to protect. Often leading many to be unable to escape griding poverty, illegitamacy, and abuse she is trying to protect.

The focus should be on greater self reliance, rather than on creating a whole new generation of children who are unable to escape the stranglehold of increasingly repressive Orwellian system.