A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him [Hardcover]

I loved it. I couldn't put it done. I didn't want to put it down. Let me help you decide if you want to read A Complicated Man. The book is 496 pages long of which 434 are dedicated to narrative. It is beautifully written in chronological order from the beginning of his life, to his post administration period. It even includes a few pages about Hillary running for President. There were over 171 individuals interviewed for this oral biography.

The accomplished author Michael Takiff takes us on a whirlwind tour of Bill Clinton's life concentrating on his Presidency since that is what most readers will find the most interesting. It is possible to move through different sections of the book without starting at the beginning. What happens is that the author will cover a period, and weave the interviews into the chapter setting. This avoids the author inflicting us with his own personal biases except at certain endpoints at the conclusion of each chapter. You will appreciate the effort Takiff took to keep this book interesting.

As we know and the author points out, the Clinton Presidency was sandwiched between the end of the cold war and prior to the War on Terror. As such President Clinton did not have the opportunity to achieve the greatness that is usually accorded a President who must deal with war, and its aftermath. Takiff is completely accurate in naming this book, A Complicated Man. If there is any term particularly appropriate for this President it is that he is complex, and difficult to wrap your hands around from an historian's standpoint. This is a man who desperately wanted to be President of the United States since childhood, and then blew himself up voluntarily. Allow me to quote just three individuals in the book to show how interesting the author's technique is.

* Andrew Friendly tells us that Clinton was feeding directly into what they thought about him.

* Elaine Kamarck said that Clinton's second term was blown up because of Monica Lewinsky. There was no second term.

* Sam Donaldson felt that Bill Clinton was a man child in one body.

In a book like this you will always learn interesting tidbits of fascinating information that you just won't learn anywhere else. You will remember these stories forever, and therein lays the value of a book like this. Here are a couple of quick anecdotes to spur you on to reading this book.

1) After the election of 2000, but prior to the Supreme Court decision awarding the election to George W. Bush, Vice President Gore meets with President Clinton in the oval office. Both men have an in your face conversation. It is the first long face to face between the two men in 18 months. Gore slams the President by telling Clinton that his affair with Monica Lewinsky has cost him Gore the Presidency. Clinton fights back telling the VP that Gore should have leveraged the achievements of the Administration that he was a part of for 8 years. It is a conversation you will relish.

2) Senator Dole who is the Republican Senate leader has a sit down dinner with President and Mrs. Clinton in the White House to discuss health care in March of 1994. Dole tells us that he is expecting a call the next day, and then there will be a compromise on health care reform. The call NEVER COMES. Dole says, the Clintons dropped the ball, and we didn't help them pick it up.

3) Dale Bumpers served more than 20 years in the US Senate as a Democrat from Arkansas. He is an illustrious personality in his own right. When he describes Bill Clinton he speaks glowingly. He saw Clinton in the beginning of his career in two minutes give the finest speech in a small hall that Bumpers had ever witnessed. When Clinton speaks to you, at that moment, he is in love with you; you are the only person in the room.

CONCLUSION:

Do you love political books? Are you a political junkie? This is the book for you. You won't put it down. You will read every page. If there is any issue I have with the book, it is that the author claims to be objective, and yet on pages 394 through 395, he gives you a pro and con of what a Gore Administration would have been like versus the reality of the Bush Administration. Such a comparison is completely unfair because we do not know what Gore's decisions would have really been. It is grossly unfair to attempt to fantasize such a comparison.

Let me simply say READ IT - Five Stars, and thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck

This was disappointing to me as I had hoped to learn more of Clinton as a human being, not a politician. The work is a compilation of hundreds of statements by many different associates, friends, and neighbors, each statement dealing with a specific incident in Clinton's life and how he dealt with it. The problem is the lion's share of these incidents are plucked from his political career, not his personal life. I wanted to know who Bill Clinton is -- the real, down to earth Bill Clinton away from the cameras and advisors, the media and political cronies. What's he like when it's just him and his buddies? What kind of entertainment does he enjoy? Does he have hobbies, etc.? But, then, his political life is his life. And if you want more of that then this will be a winner! Just don't expect to learn much you don't already know.

Once again Michael Takiff takes the reader on fabulous journey drawn on the recollections of those who know the stories best. Takiff's interviewing style and writing honor both the teller and reader. The balanced interviews capture the essence of America's most fascinating tragic hero; Bill Clinton. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the man and every political junkie.