Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Hell to Pay is yet another book on Hillary Rodham Clinton, this time from a conservative lawyer who served as the Republican chief counsel for the congressional committee investigating the Clintons' involvement in "Travelgate" and "Filegate." Barbara Olson traces the now familiar biographies of the president and first lady, contending that Mrs. Clinton is someone with dangerously liberal, even radical, political beliefs who "now seeks to foment revolutionary changes from the uniform of a pink suit." (Olson plays the theme heavily: each chapter of Hell to Pay begins with quotes from Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, which influenced the young Hillary Rodham.)

There are some interesting new tidbits scattered throughout the book, like the fact that after law school Hillary Rodham tried to become a Marine Corps officer but was turned down; or that she told her high school paper her ambition after high school was "to marry a senator and settle down in Georgetown." Olson, attempting to dissect the mystery of the Clinton partnership, writes, "Most self-respecting women would have left" after Clinton's repeated infidelities. "Hillary chose to stay. She behaves as both a desperate lover, and like a frantic campaign manager protecting a flawed candidate.... Hillary, it seems, long ago accepted Bill Clinton as someone who could advance her goals, as a necessary complement to her intellectual cold-blooded pursuit of power." As the Clinton presidency draws to a close, that pursuit has taken her beyond the White House toward a bid for her own U.S. Senate seat. Olson predicts the Senate won't be enough, just the next step toward becoming the first woman president: "Hillary Clinton seeks nothing less than an office that will give her a platform from which to exercise real power and real world leadership." While Olson admits that "Bill Clinton has always excited the greatest passion not among his supporters, but among his detractors," the same could certainly be said of his wife--whose supporters will probably consider Hell to Pay a rehash of a too-familiar story, but whose detractors will no doubt savor every page. --Linda Killian

Product Description

In Accomplice , Olson separates fact from fiction and shows us Hilllary's often disturbing complicity in her husband's affairs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc.; 1 edition (November 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895262746
• ISBN-13: 978-0895262745
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (173 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #490,832 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Analysis - Couldn't put it Down!, November 19, 1999

By	Larry Elam (Mill Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

It is easy to understand why all the reviews here are either five stars or one star. There is no middle ground here. This book is wonderfully written and contains very little rehashed material which at this point is very hard to do. The best part is the critical analysis of Hillary's past writings and how they expose a hidden political agenda. Olson's analysis of the First Lady's seemingly unaltered radical persuasion is convincingly demonstrated in this meticulously researched biography. This type of writing is not one star. One star is like trying to bury the many insights which this book magnificently exposes. Bravo Barbara!

102 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who can doubt this?, December 7, 1999

By	M. Jude "author" (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...What I found fascinating about this book was its verifiability. In every case where Olson reveals some particularly damning bit of information, she is impecable about tieing it to easily corroborated additional public documentation. What is compelling about this book is not so much that it tends to confirm the worst suspicions of many who feel that the Clintons have been a disaster for the American body politic, but that it illuminates the reasons why this has taken place. Olson, by the by, never stoops to cheap shots and is noticably quiet when it comes to Chelsea and Hillary's relationship with her. This book, taken in isolation, would be considered a most distasteful expose of an American personality. Unfortunately, we are all part of the continuing story of Hillary Clinton. This book is more of an explanation for why a member of the extended family is locked in the attic. A good book....whether you like Hillary or not!

129 of 139 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book confirmed some things I already knew., December 2, 1999

By A Customer

After hearing Ms. Olson do a radio interview on the Straight Talk program, I was compelled to buy this book. I'm glad I did. It gave me insight to Hillary and helped me understand why she is running (or saying she is running) for Senate. I think the book does show a bias, but I am smart enough to read through that and get down to the facts, which she provides plenty of. Overall, a good book.