Bill Clinton

July 1, 2003
The author of JFK: Reckless Youth can surely take on the equally reckless Clinton. This first of two volumes examines Clinton's start.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2003
Hamilton, who took on the early years of John F. Kennedy in " Reckless Youth "(1992), now looks at the life of Bill Clinton from birth through his ascendancy to the presidency, with a second volume to follow. Similar to " Reckless Youth "in style, this is as much a psychological portrait and picture of an era as it is an examination of the facts and motivations of Clinton's life. In some cases, facts seem as mutable as motivations: Hamilton convincingly speculates that William Blythe was not Clinton's father. While relying heavily on works such as David Marannis' " First in His Class" (1995) and Gennifer Flowers' explicit " Passion and Betrayal "(1996), Hamilton bolsters his secondary sources with numerous interviews, though most are not with familiar names. His premise, though not new, is intriguingly spun: Clinton, the classic pulled-himself-up-by-his-bootstraps kid, the child of an alcoholic home, a chronic people pleaser, had a fatal flaw--his ambition overrode his morality. And yet, in spite of his premise, Hamilton is surprisingly sympathetic to his subject, placing Clinton's foibles against America's culture wars. (Would the Clintons' companionate marriage have raised eyebrows in Europe? he asks.) Hamilton's fleshed-out picture shows how easily Bill Clinton could charm, empathize, manipulate, and disappoint. A very readable addition to the growing Clinton bookshelf.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

May 21, 2007
This second volume of the author's biography casts Clinton's first term as a Miltonian epic of fall and redemption. The years 1993–1994, culminating in the Democrats' loss of Congress in midterm elections, are “Paradise Lost”: a disastrous failure caused by a weak White House chief of staff (Mack McLarty), Clinton's own promiscuous openness to ideas and indecisiveness and, most of all, “co-president” Hillary's baleful influence. 1995–1996 are “Paradise Regained”: a new chief of staff (Leon Panetta) restores order, Hillary learns her place and Clinton grows a spine, comforts the nation after the Oklahoma City bombing, humiliates Newt Gingrich and wins reelection. (Alas, enter Monica Lewinsky, “a luscious fruit in the Garden of Eden, eager to be plucked.”) Hamilton styles this arc, with many military metaphors, as a study of Clinton's maturing capacity for “command” as he grows from “arch-baby boomer” to “undisputed leader of his country.” Unfortunately, this focus on character often overshadows the substance of policy (the treatment of Hillary's byzantine health-care plan is especially sketchy) and is not entirely convincing, since the early, feckless Clinton seems to have accomplished more than the “determinedly presidential” later Clinton, with his third way politics of triangulation. At the celebratory end of Hamilton's account, Clinton's comeback is a merely personal triumph, devoid of political significance.

September 24, 2007
Ah, the British accent! Time-tested shield for all literary sins and effective cover for this exhaustive rehash of Clinton-era misdemeanors and scandals. Brit James Adams (identified as “one of the world's leading authorities on terrorism”) reads the second volume of fellow Brit Hamilton's biography of the 42nd president. Beginning with Clinton's inauguration, Hamilton documents the man from Hope's missteps, from gays in the military to Monica Lewinsky, reserving extra snark for every mention of first lady and current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Adams reads with fruity upper-crust flair, but even his mellifluousness cannot hide the warmed-over stench of Hamilton's tired prose. Anglophiles will enjoy hearing Adams read, undoubtedly, but appreciators of Bill Clinton—or, really, anyone who possesses anything less than a fanatical hatred of him—will find Hamilton's work rough sledding. Simultaneous release with the Public Affairs hardcover (Reviews, May, 21).

July 2, 2007
Ah, the British accent! Time-tested shield for all literary sins and effective cover for this exhaustive rehash of Clinton-era misdemeanors and scandals. Brit James Adams (identified as \x93one of the world's leading authorities on terrorism\x94) reads the second volume of fellow Brit Hamilton's biography of the 42nd president. Beginning with Clinton's inauguration, Hamilton documents the man from Hope's missteps, from gays in the military to Monica Lewinsky, reserving extra snark for every mention of first lady and current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Adams reads with fruity upper-crust flair, but even his mellifluousness cannot hide the warmed-over stench of Hamilton's tired prose. Anglophiles will enjoy hearing Adams read, undoubtedly, but appreciators of Bill Clinton\x97or, really, anyone who possesses anything less than a fanatical hatred of him\x97will find Hamilton's work rough sledding. Simultaneous release with the Public Affairs hardcover (Reviews, May, 21).