Bill Clinton

As part of the American Presidents Series, this book has been a long time coming. The author who originally was designated to write the Bill Clinton biography (Harold Evans, who is in his mid-80s) never came through. Michael Tomasky is a worthy replacement. He has written a book on the history of progressive politics in the US, and another on Hillary Clinton's 1999 senatorial race. He also is a contributor to The Daily Beast and The New York Review of Books and past editor of The American Prospect and Guardian America.

Tomasky's account of the Clinton presidency is fair and impartial, and as balanced a perspective as one might hope for. He documents the presidential successes as well as the failures, and does not whitewash the personal show more failings that marred Clinton's otherwise successful life and presidential tenure. As for successes, he can point to the incredible tripling of the Dow Jones average, the 22 million jobs created, the balancing of the Federal budget with the creation of a surplus, and the incredible 11% growth in median family income.

Having been written in 2016, Tomasky's account is sufficiently removed in time to acknowledge the "withering reexamination" of Clinton's terms in office by a younger generation of voters, for whom his "compromises on crime, welfare, and other matters were anathema" (p. 2). What's more, given the passage of a quarter of a century, he (and the reader) can look back dispassionately at the pseudo-scandals ginned up by his opponents. These included the White House travel office firings, his Whitewater investments (which, as his critics like to obscure, lost money), the time his staff scheduled a haircut while on Air Force One (causing a slight delay of other airplanes), and the suicide of Hillary's friend Vince Foster (which the irresponsible Wall Street Journal claimed -- against all evidence -- was a murder in which the Clintons were somehow involved). And of course there was the Lewinsky matter. As is well known, Bill had a few consensual intimate encounters with a female assistant who had targeted him for seduction. These voluntary encounters, and Clinton's reluctance to acknowledge them were what his rabid opponents tried to use to end his presidency.

Tomasky's account is no hagiography. For example, regarding the controversial trade agreement NAFTA, Clinton supporters often assert that the agreement was entirely the responsibility of GW Bush, Clinton's predecessor. To the contrary, Tomasky's account recognizes that the Clinton administration lobbied hard for it against labor unions and progressives in his own party. Likewise, he acknowledges the foreign policy failures, notably the myopia that allowed the mass slaughter in Rwanda to proceed unchecked. But against such failings are the reinstatement of Duvalier in Haiti following the military coup, and the UN intervention in Bosnia.

Tomasky's book breaks no new ground -- there are no revelations here, at least to those familiar with Clinton's presidency. That's to be expected of this sort of work. As a brief (150 page) summary of Bill Clinton's presidency and Hillary's public and private role, Tomasky's account is excellent. A dispassionate evaluation will find little with which to quarrel.

Note: The delay in publication of this work (due to age/ health of the originally chosen author) has led commentators at Amazon.com to claim that the book was somehow suppressed by Hillary Clinton. No evidence is offered for this bizarre, conspiratorial assertion. However, it shows that "Clinton derangement syndrome" -- fueled by "hate radio" and its print counterparts, lives on. Future historians will likely be utterly perplexed at the off-the-charts vitriol this engaging, likeable politician engendered from the rabid right wing, and will probably view with disgust the unprincipled attempts to remove him from office on a pretext. show less

According to the series introduction, books in the American Presidents series are intended to present the "grand panorama of our chief executives in volumes compact enough for the busy reader." This latest installment in the series, covering President Bill Clinton, fulfills its mission admirably.

For the reader who wants an in depth analysis of the life of the president, this is probably not the book as it offers a general overview of Clinton's pre-presidential life and just a bit more depth about his presidency. For someone unfamiliar with Clinton's life, this is a nice starting point.

I've read a number of books in this series and, for what it is, this one's pretty good.

There's a Selected Bibliography for the reader who wants to know more.

As part of the American Presidents Series, this book has been a long time coming. The author who originally was designated to write the Bill Clinton biography (Harold Evans, who is in his mid-80s) never came through. Michael Tomasky is a worthy replacement. He has written a book on the history of progressive politics in the US, and another on Hillary Clinton's 1999 senatorial race. He also is a contributor to The Daily Beast and The New York Review of Books and past editor of The American Prospect and Guardian America.

Tomasky's account of the Clinton presidency is fair and impartial, and as balanced a perspective as one might hope for. He documents the presidential successes as well as the failures, and does not whitewash the personal show more failings that marred Clinton's otherwise successful life and presidential tenure. As for successes, he can point to the incredible tripling of the Dow Jones average, the 22 million jobs created, the balancing of the Federal budget with the creation of a surplus, and the incredible 11% growth in median family income.

Having been written in 2016, Tomasky's account is sufficiently removed in time to acknowledge the "withering reexamination" of Clinton's terms in office by a younger generation of voters, for whom his "compromises on crime, welfare, and other matters were anathema" (p. 2). What's more, given the passage of a quarter of a century, he (and the reader) can look back dispassionately at the pseudo-scandals ginned up by his opponents. These included the White House travel office firings, his Whitewater investments (which, as his critics like to obscure, lost money), the time his staff scheduled a haircut while on Air Force One (causing a slight delay of other airplanes), and the suicide of Hillary's friend Vince Foster (which the irresponsible Wall Street Journal claimed -- against all evidence -- was a murder in which the Clintons were somehow involved). And of course there was the Lewinsky matter. As is well known, Bill had a few consensual intimate encounters with a female assistant who had targeted him for seduction. These voluntary encounters, and Clinton's reluctance to acknowledge them were what his rabid opponents tried to use to end his presidency.

Tomasky's account is no hagiography. For example, regarding the controversial trade agreement NAFTA, Clinton supporters often assert that the agreement was entirely the responsibility of GW Bush, Clinton's predecessor. To the contrary, Tomasky's account recognizes that the Clinton administration lobbied hard for it against labor unions and progressives in his own party. Likewise, he acknowledges the foreign policy failures, notably the myopia that allowed the mass slaughter in Rwanda to proceed unchecked. But against such failings are the reinstatement of Duvalier in Haiti following the military coup, and the UN intervention in Bosnia.

Tomasky's book breaks no new ground -- there are no revelations here, at least to those familiar with Clinton's presidency. That's to be expected of this sort of work. As a brief (150 page) summary of Bill Clinton's presidency and Hillary's public and private role, Tomasky's account is excellent. A dispassionate evaluation will find little with which to quarrel.

Note: The delay in publication of this work (due to age/ health of the originally chosen author) has led commentators at Amazon.com to claim that the book was somehow suppressed by Hillary Clinton. No evidence is offered for this bizarre, conspiratorial assertion. However, it shows that "Clinton derangement syndrome" -- fueled by "hate radio" and its print counterparts, lives on. Future historians will likely be utterly perplexed at the off-the-charts vitriol this engaging, likeable politician engendered from the rabid right wing, and will probably view with disgust the unprincipled attempts to remove him from office on a pretext. show less

This “clear-eyed” incisive examination of Bill Clinton’s presidency is perfect for the reader so inclined not to want to wade through the extensive autobiography My Life, or even the scholar not enough enamored with our 42nd president to devour a more verbose historical assessment compiled by others. Michael Tomasky is a talented and engaging writer who avoids any indictment possibly accusing him of carrying forth his own agenda. In light of the current election cycle in which a larger-than-life reality TV star wins the presidency over Clinton’s own wife Hillary, this book affords a rather insightful review of the ongoing drama and scandal that perpetuated and defined the Clinton years of 1993-2001. By book’s end I was show more exhausted, but somewhat relieved in knowing our country would not be again going through another round of the typical daily Clinton crisis that would have begun in January of 2017 had Hillary been elected. That is not to say the Trump years will be any better, but at least Donald’s opulent and vulgar occupancy will be more likened to a grandiose circus under the big top, a bombastic ringleader with orange hair, and a wide array of clowns galore. show less

I really hate to be so negative about another writer’s efforts, but, bless his heart, this book was a major disappointment, being not so much a biography as a screed against anyone who might have uttered a discouraging word against the Clintons, from Rush Limbaugh to the New York Times–yes, the New York Times. I fully expected to read that Monica Lewinksy just accidentally fell face first into Clinton’s lap with her mouth open and a vast right wing conspiracy "blew" it all out of proportion.

The funny thing is that in the attempt to show Bill Clinton was caught up in a “Kafkaeque,” persecution, Tomasky turns him into a weak, hapless victim of circumstances and his political enemies. Consequently, I didn’t really learn much show more about the man who was such a gifted politician and a dominant personality in American politics for the last quarter century.

The best thing about this book is that it is mercifully short. show less

I was sent this (thanks Library Thing) right around the horrible debacle of the last presidential election. It's appropriate since the seeds of Hillary's/democracy's loss happened during husband Bill's presidency. This is a short, 139 pages, biography of Bill Clinton, focusing primarily on his Presidency. Of necessity it runs rapidly through the accomplishments and challenges that he faced in implementing policies and getting a handle on the deficit. It slows down for all the events around the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Mr Tomasky describes the efforts of the "vast Right wing conspiracy" to bring him down, doesn't let Clinton off the hook for mistakes he made, but also describes the political skills that allowed him to survive and finish show more his Presidency. Admittedly a victim of his own appetites, but also a victim of the 24 hour news cycle, talk radio, Fox news, well-funded opponents which has continued to this day. All in all a fair minded assessment of Bill Clinton and his presidency. show less

Brief by design, as are all the entries in the American Presidents Series, this even-handed overview will be useful to students or to those seeking just the outline of Clinton's tenure. The main impression with which I was left, though, was less of Clinton himself than of the groundswell of opposition activity and early development of the Republican effort to do everything, whatever the cost to the country, to discredit anyone of the other party. It's pretty dispiriting to read, especially given current events.