My Life

July 5, 2004
Condensing a 900-page text into a six-and-a-half–hour audiobook is no small challenge, but this production proves that it can be done—and done well. Inevitably, people will wonder what has been left out. The answer: anecdotes from Clinton's childhood; blow-by-blow accounts of his gubernatorial and presidential races; a plethora of details regarding his smaller accomplishments as president; and some blistering indictments of Kenneth Starr and other conservatives. What's left is a moving but all-too-brief portrait of Clinton's troubled childhood and an in-depth look at the battles he fought before and after being elected. It should come as no surprise to anyone who has heard Clinton speak that the former president narrates his autobiography with aplomb. His voice rings with mirth when he relates an amusing anecdote and expresses sadness when he describes how his abusive, alcoholic father faced death with more courage than he did life. Clinton covers the expected topics—Whitewater (a "bogus scandal"); his "immoral and foolish" dalliance with Monica Lewinsky; his attempts to balance the budget and bring peace to the Middle East—but the most illuminating details are the small ones (such as when he recalls, with a smile in his voice, impulsively buying a house and telling Hillary: "Remember that little house you liked so much? I bought it. You have to marry me now, because I can't live there alone"). Although not all of the transitions between topics are seamless and listeners may wish John McElroy, who created this abridgment, had included more details from Clinton's younger years, Clinton's legendary charisma shines through in his reading, making this audiobook a rare treat. B&w photos on packaging. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover.

Starred review from December 1, 2004
For the millions of baby boomers who have shared most of Clinton's history, this book will be a reminder of the many events we have experienced in the last half-century. The former President details events of his early life, his years at Georgetown University, and his experiences at Oxford. Throughout, he offers candid portraits of his life and shares fond memories of family and friends. He also reveals some of the darker moments: from his secret life as the child of an abusive stepfather to the ongoing attacks of the anti-Clinton faction that led to the Starr investigation. Clinton narrates in his usual manner, as if he has just dropped in for a chat or is reminiscing with friends. He has never been the object of ambivalence, and here he is finally getting to tell his side of the story. A trip through interesting times, My Life is highly recommended for all libraries.-Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 21, 2004
Former President William Jefferson Clinton's hotly anticipated 957-page doorstop of a memoir is much like its author--charismatic, longwinded, and, many might say, deeply flawed. The first Democratic president to be elected to a second term since FDR in 1936, Clinton has lived what is by any account an eventful, inspiring life. As explained in early passages notable for their frankness and humanity, Clinton, born to humble Arkansas roots, never knew his father. William Jefferson Blythe was killed in an automobile accident just months before his son's birth. Clinton adored his mother, Virginia, a nurse with a large, loving family and a harmless penchant for the racetrack. Difficulties began when Virginia married Roger Clinton, who struggled with alcohol and a violent temper. A turbulent home life and the vagaries of a segregated South, however, only pushed the gregarious Clinton to achieve. He became interested in politics at an early age. He wrote, debated, played the saxophone, and eventually made it to Georgetown and Oxford universities, a law practice, then to Little Rock and the governor's mansion, and eventually to the White House. Clinton's administration was equally dramatic. Domestically, he fought to balance the federal budget, presided over a government shutdown, and beat back a conservative cultural backlash. Diplomatically, Clinton skirmished with a bellicose Saddam Hussein, ended a genocidal crisis in Bosnia, accelerated the Mideast peace process until its eventual collapse, and began to deal with the budding threat posed by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. To top that off, he left office in 2000 amid the bizarre Bush/Gore electoral crisis. Of course, what Clinton is also remembered for are the scandals that plagued his efforts. Beginning with Gennifer Flowers in the 1992 campaign, to Whitewater, Travelgate, the FBI file scandal, Paula Jones and ultimately the Monica Lewinsky affair that led to his historic impeachment, Clinton endured what then First Lady Hillary Clinton termed a "vast right-wing conspiracy" to push him from office. The most interesting passages of Clinton's memoir reveal a simmering, deep animosity toward special prosecutor Ken Starr. Clinton defiantly blisters Starr as an unethical, overreaching partisan who illegally leaked details of his investigations to the press; exceeded his authority; humiliated, bankrupted and jailed innocent people for not playing ball; and served only to ring up huge legal bills for the Clintons, their staff and supporters. Certainly, Clinton's memoir has the raw material for a blockbuster book. But the sheer deluge of information is mind-numbing. Rather than expose the hurricane's eye of a remarkable life and an eventful presidency, the book instead blurs into an unrelenting blizzard of names, dates, campaigns, speeches, events, handshakes, tangential observations, memories, meetings, cities and towns, and anecdotes. The result is a narrative that obscures any meaningful measure of Clinton's true character and values. Save for his strong feelings about Starr, Clinton offers only brief personal assessments of the colorful personalities with whom he crossed paths, including his wife, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and James Carville, opponents like George Bush, Bob Dole and Ross Perot, or world leaders such as Boris Yeltsin, and Yasser Arafat. Monica Lewinsky also escapes any meaningful scrutiny. Most frustratingly, Clinton, while admitting mistakes, offers no deep personal introspection. In an excerpt from a high school essay, Clinton wrote that he was a "living paradox," who "detests selfishness but sees it in the mirror everyday." That...

Starred review from December 15, 2004
For the millions of baby boomers who have shared most of Clinton's history, this book will be a reminder of the many events we have experienced in the last half-century. The former President details events of his early life, his years at Georgetown University, and his experiences at Oxford. Throughout, he offers candid portraits of his life and shares fond memories of family and friends. He also reveals some of the darker moments: from his secret life as the child of an abusive stepfather to the ongoing attacks of the anti-Clinton faction that led to the Starr investigation. Clinton narrates in his usual manner, as if he has just dropped in for a chat or is reminiscing with friends. He has never been the object of ambivalence, and here he is finally getting to tell his side of the story. A trip through interesting times, My Life is highly recommended for all libraries.--Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.