I'm Reading President Clinton's "My Life"

[BamaLefty]

And I absolutely love it! If any DUer has not read it, then I strongly recommend it.

Great book written by a great man.

[Arkana]

1. Took me a week

but I finished it last summer. Excellent read!

[Coexist]

2. You may not get many responses, because of this....

it was discussed in another thread - check it out if you are interested.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=209x936

[LSU_Subversive]

3. i'm reading it right now and loving it.

i'm at the point where he's just out of law school.

[MaryBear]

4. I'm almost done reading it.

Highly recommended. It's taken me a while to get through it. It is jammed full of details. Incredible life -- and very different from what we may have been left to believe about this remarkable man.

[MaryBear]

5. Could easily be reviewed chapter by chapter

and used with other texts for a survey of history course --
or on its own in a book discussion group. Any interest?

[NJCher]

6. would reading it change my feelings?

I came to love BC but changed my feelings after his latest love fest with the bushes. Somehow Beautiful Mind Babs calling him "son" and pics of BC laughing it up with poppy kinda' undid it all for me.

Will this book alleviate my feelings?


Cher

[Coexist]

7. Er... he certainly is very positive all through it

and everyone thinks he's right about everything in the end.
Maybe I'm not the person to ask.

[NJCher]

8. OK,well,another question then

I heard Randi Rhodes say today that she learned Bill Clinton is not a "giver."

What would you say to that, based on what you've read in his book?


Cher

[Coexist]

9. Well that would be a darn shame, considering how much

he's "taken". Well documented even.

I don't know - to me the book is his rose-colored version of how his life was, so much is glossed over as to make him seem (to me) two-dimensional. Some people like to romanticize how hard their upbringing was, but intoning how "good for them" it was. In my opinion, this seemed like that.

It's been a long time since I read it now, sorry I can't be more help.

[NJCher]

10. thanks for giving it a shot

Others? What was your impression from this book? Is Randi Rhodes right?


Cher

[MaryBear]

12. Read the book.

Of course it focuses on Clinton's point of view. It's written by and about him! It is filled with successes and blunders, and then what he learned through various situations. It portrays a brilliant, very human man.

Read it, NJCher.

[Yupster]

11. Here was my post from the other thread

I'm surprised how fast a read it is.Been reading close to 100 pages a day.

Anyway, I have to agree with you two.

It's fun to remember all the things that happened, important and not so important, but the book was maddeningly self-serving.

The number of times his opponents apparently come up to him later and tell him he was right and they were wrong seems a little tough to believe. How many of us have had opponents fighting us pull us aside and tell us "you know, you're right and I'm wrong, but I have to lie about you anyway?" To Clinton, it seems it happened a lot. I bet his opponents would remember those conversations somewhat differently.

Also, whenever one of his opponents did something he didn't like, he said it was just "unbelievable."

Overall, it's been an okay read, but I'm not as excited now on page 810 than I was when I saw it available on the library shelf.

I read a lot of memoirs, and I'd call this one of the weaker ones. I think historians will eventually treat it pretty harshly.

In a weird juxtaposition, I just barely finished General Longstreet's memoirs before starting WJC's. Longstreet's were much better.

One story from Longstreet's is from the Battle of Chikamagua. Longstreet's staff had stopped in the middle of the battle to wolf down a quick lunch. Just than a cannonball exploded over them, and Longstreet reports seeing one of his chief aids writhing in his apparent death throes. Turns out he was just choking on his lunch, and all the staff had a good laugh at his expense. The choking colonel's name? Payton Manning.