Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton
 (Click for Amazon book review)
BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:
This is Hillary's autobiography, published in 2003 in preparation for her presidential run.
It is the book which is dissected and analyzed by all of her critics and supporters,
in most detail in
A Woman in Charge (by Carl Bernstein, who broke the Watergate story)
and in Her Way (by the reporters who broke the Whitewater story).
If you want to form your own opinions, rather than trust those of the pundits and/or Hillary's critics,
this book is a must-read. Our excerpts, of course, will do.
This book traces Hillary's life from her girlhood in a Chicago suburb through her election to the Senate.
She says in the introduction that it was originally intended to be only a portrait of her 8 years in the White House,
but, she writes, "I quickly realized that I couldn't exlpain my life as First Lady without going back to the beginning."
The book chronicles, in traditional chronological sequence, Hillary's years in college; meeting Bill Clinton; as Arkansas' First Lady; the road to the White House; and finally her election in new York.
The book has chapters that will provide fodder for Hillary's supporters:
- "Class of '69", about her Wellesley graduation speech, her first claim to public fame;
- "East Wing, West Wing", about Hillary's expansion of the First Lady's role;
- "Women's Rights Are Human Rights", about Hillary's trip to China and her most famous speech there;
- "Conversations With Eleanor", about her identifying with Eleanor Roosevelt.
|
And the book has chapters that will provide fodder for Hillary's detractors:
- "Health Care", about her failed healthcare task force;
- "Independent Counsel", about the Whitewater investigation;
- "Soldiering On", the gently-named chapter about Monica Lewinsky;
- "Impeachment", about Bill's worst episode as President, and her reaction.
|
There's not much in the way of issues here -- it's mostly personal history and personal impressions of historic events.
But when you're running for President, those personal things are important too. So read on.
-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, Dec. 2007
Click on a participant to pop-up their full list of quotations from Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton (number of quotes indicated):
- Bill Clinton (5)
- Hillary Clinton (22)
OR click on an issue category below for a subset. |
Abortion
Hillary Clinton: Alternatives to pro-choice like forced pregnancy in Romania.
|
Civil Rights
Hillary Clinton: 1972: Worked with Edelman on school desegregation in South.
Hillary Clinton: Gay soldiers need to shoot straight, not be straight.
|
Education
Hillary Clinton: AR Reform plan pushed mandatory teacher testing.
|
Families & Children
Hillary Clinton: 1974 article: put abused children into state care.
|
Foreign Policy
Bill Clinton: Months of preparation went into Arafat-Rabin handshake.
|
Government Reform
Hillary Clinton: Called for ban on all soft money in 2000 campaign.
|
Gun Control
Hillary Clinton: Congress' failure at Littleton response inspired Senate run.
|
Health Care
Bill Clinton: 1992 campaign: "It's the economy, stupid" but healthcare too.
Hillary Clinton: 1990s reform called "secretive" but had 600 in working group.
|
Homeland Security
Hillary Clinton: I despise terrorism and the nihilism it represents.
|
Principles & Values
Bill Clinton: Nominated Dukakis at 1988 Convention; turned into fiasco.
Bill Clinton: Loves Hillary but has caused pain in their marriage.
Bill Clinton: Gave up job with McGovern 1972 campaign to follow Hillary.
Hillary Clinton: My mom could not live my life; father could not imagine it.
Hillary Clinton: Mother, Dorothy, offended by mistreatment of any human being.
Hillary Clinton: Father, Hugh, focused on self-reliance & personal initiative.
Hillary Clinton: AuH2O: Supported Goldwater on basis of individual rights.
Hillary Clinton: 1976: Organized Indiana for Carter-Mondale campaign.
Hillary Clinton: 1980: Bill practiced Lamaze, but Chelsea delivered Caesarian.
Hillary Clinton: 1992: Meant "active partner" with "buy one get one free".
Hillary Clinton: Loves Bill despite affairs; not just "Stand By Your Man".
Hillary Clinton: Meant "women work conflict" with "stay home & bake cookies".
Hillary Clinton: Hillaryland meant active & influential First Lady staff.
Hillary Clinton: Vince Foster's suicide spurred conspiracy theories galore.
Hillary Clinton: Monica investigation abused process to undermine presidency.
Hillary Clinton: Case for Bill's impeachment was unjustified constitutionally.
|
The above quotations are from Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Related books, debates, and candidates:
- A Woman in Charge, by Carl Bernstein
- Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter
- A Portrait in Her Own Words, by Claire Osborne
- Talking It Over, columns while First Lady
- It Takes a Village, 2006 edition, by Hillary Clinton
- Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America, by Roger Morris
- For Love of Politics: Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years, by Sally Bedell Smith
- Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Hillary's Choice, by Gail Sheehy
- Her Way, by Jeff Gerth & Don Van Natta Jr.
- God and Hillary Clinton: A Spiritual Life, by Paul Kengor
- The Extreme Makeover of Hillary (Rodham) Clinton, by Bay Buchanan
- The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, et al.
- Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race, by Dick Morris
|
|