The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton
by Joe Klein
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Joe Klein, best-selling author of Primary Colors and one of our most brilliant political analysts, now tackles the subject he knows best: Bill Clinton. Astute, even-handed, and keenly intelligent, The Natural is the only book to read if you want to understand exactly what happened-to the military, to the economy, to the American people, to the country-during Bill Clinton's presidency, and how the decisions made during his tenure affect all of us today. Much has been written about Clinton, show more but The Natural is the first work to cut through the gossip, scandals, media hype, and emotional turbulence that Clinton always engendered, to step back and rationally analyze the eight years of his tenure, a period during which America rose to unprecedented levels of prosperity. Joe Klein puts that record into perspective, showing us what worked and what didn't, exactly what was accomplished and why, and who was responsible for the successes and the failures. We see how the Clinton White House functioned on the inside, how it dealt with the maneuvers of Congress and the Gingrich revolution, and who held power and made the decisions during the endless crises that beset the administration. Klein's access to the White House over the years as a journalist gave him a prime spot from which to view every crucial event-both political and personal-and he sets them forth in an insightful, readable, and completely engrossing manner. The Natural is stern in its criticism and convincing with its praise. It will cause endless debate amongst friends and foes of the Clinton administration. It is a book that anyone interested in contemporary politics, in American history, or in the functioning of our democracy, should read. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I certainly enjoyed this small book by Mr Klein. It is an interesting perspective of Clinton and his policy achievements, enjoyable because he writes objectively, from outside the direct partisan lines of either White House supporter or Republican nut. At times I thought he was quite harsh of Clinton, especially his personal faults and I thought his comments on Clinton and Hillary as a couple, was a bit outlandish and not directly relevant to his overall argument - that Clinton was a good president but simply around at the wrong time. Worth a read for its concise and critical analysis.
The book seems to paint him as an indecisive "man of the people" who went more with what focus groups & advisors thought he should do, rather than dictating for others to follow (or not). BUT, with enough charisma and diplomatic sensibility to pull it off. Short enjoyable read. Don't think it'll lead me onto more serious biographies of him, but I still liked getting this picture of him from the book.
A brief look at the comples individual who is Bill Clinton and his two administrations. After all is said and done he was a fighter for the little guy.
History & Biography
-biography of an American president
-biography of an American president
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Author Information
9+ Works 4,098 Members
Joe Klein, a journalist for nearly three decades, is currently Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker". In addition to "Primary Colors", his previous books include "Payback: Five Marines After Vietnam" & "Woody Guthrie: A Life". (Bowker Author Biography) Joe Klein, the formerly "anonymous" author of Primary Colors, has also authored Payback: show more Five Marines After Vietnam (1984) and Woody Guthrie: A Life (1980). A long time editor and political columnist, Klein has reported extensively on America's disillusionment with the political system and related issues for New York Magazine, for Newsweek in the column Public Lives, and for The New Yorker in the column Letter From Washington. In addition, Klein was a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, serving as its Washington bureau chief from 1975 to 1977. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2002
- People/Characters
- Bill Clinton; Hillary Rodham Clinton; Al Gore
- Important places
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Epigraph
- He was so extremely natural that there was no knowing what his nature was, or what came next.
~George Santayana on William James - Publisher's editor
- Gethers, Peter; Thomas, Bill
- Blurbers
- Brands, H. W.; Greenfield, Jeff; Ellis, Joseph J.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Portions of this book have been published in different forms in The New Yorker and Newsweek magazines.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 973.929 — History & geography History of North America United States 1901- 1953-2001 Administration of Bill Clinton, 1993-2001
- LCC
- E886 .K64 — History of the United States United States Later twentieth century, 1961-2000 Clinton's administrations, 1993-2001
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 333
- Popularity
- 94,505
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 4
