Rating: 
Summary: One-sided
Review: "Oxygen is good. Competition is bad. I like Jell-O."So says the simple report of a particular "Dilbert" strip. What does this have to do with this book? Well... "Monica Lewinsky is good. Linda Tripp is bad. I like Jell-O." I understand that biography writers generally have a fairly rosy view of their subjects, but unfortunately, from reading this, you would think that a hideous government conspiracy was trying to overthrow Bill Clinton with Monica as a pawn. It also shows her as being misunderstood, a pleasant and sweet girl. I heard nothing of the girl nicknamed "Elvira", of her dirty mouth, of half the things reported by people who KNEW her. And she wanted a sleeveless dress at the age of three and took matters into her own hands-that indicated her various affairs later in life? And "honest"? He calls Monica "HONEST"? I'm not asking for "Kitty Kelley", but I would like it to be something more complex than "so and so is good, so and so is bad." There is extensive reasoning about why Monica kept getting in relationships with older, married men, but virtually none about why Linda Tripp handed in a tape of Monica. Aside from that... honestly, the writing style can sometimes be interesting, but it can also be EXCRUCIATING. I think that Mr. Morton should have produced a shorter yet more intense book by cutting out some unnecessary passages. Sunny Mitchell, thou art correct about the dispassionate tone of the book. You'd almost think, from the attitude of the writer, that hardly a kiss had been exchanged by the prez and Ms. Lewinsky. I wish it had shown a more honest view of Monica, other than a girl who can only be described as unfortunate-Monica has definitely done some wrong things, and that should be faced in this. It's a defensive manifesto, I think, and it only added to my previous thoughts on Monica. I paid five bucks for this book, and I feel terribly ripped-off. This is virtually the only account, Ginsberg aside, that I have seen where Monica is a "waif." She's no waif. Do not buy this book instantly-borrow it from a library, and if you like it THEN buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Ha ha ha!
Review: This book was quite ridiculous. Although I applaud the author on his efforts, the book was among other things boring and without depth. The story somehow tries to paint Monica as highly intelligent, sure of what she wanted and able to speak her own mind. But she is also supposed to be lost, confused, and have low self esteem. Am I the only person who sees the contradiction here? I honestly picked up this book simply because it was in the library and sounded interesting. I am not truly interested in either politics or gossip. Although I knew information about the Lewinsky scandal (who didn't?), I never defended one side or the other. I don't think Lewinsky is an evil women who should be burned at the stake. I also think that some people are too quick to criticize her without considering the fact that we've all done something we aren't proud of in our lives. I think she was truly in love with the President and that she didn't try to set him up. However this book goes way too far in trying to make her sound innocent. Any decent person will own up to the fact that they have done something wrong. But this book made Monica into the hurt little victim, without taking any responsibility for her own actions. The thing that bothered me the most was that no one ever considered Hilary or Chelsea seriously in the story. Monica somehow seems to almost completely write them out of the picture as if the family didn't matter. Of course she does mention that she followed Hilary's actions so she could know when the President would call her. For someone who is so intelligent it is surprising to me that she never considered what effect it would have on other people (namely the Clinton family) if she and the President actually did get married, something she often daydreams about in the story. Does she expect to just lovingly become Chelsea's stepmother? Although the author tried to avoid this he truly ended up making Monica sound extremely neurotic. In life there is usually no black or white area. Most situations can not be interpreted as completely right or wrong. All people live in a gray area, meaning sometimes they do the right thing and other times they don't. In this book we apparently meet the first person who doesn't, because Monica Lewinsky lives totally in the white area. I wish I had picked up a book with much more depth.
Rating: 
Summary: Light & Easy to Read
Review: Reading this book almost made me feel as if I was looking through a tabloid. To be honest I really only scanned the parts where she was with Clinton and the treatment she received by the FBI and her "friend" Linda. We all know the sorted details; the one part I do not think we all have a good view of is the treatment the FBI dished out. Do I want them to act this way with a terrorist or a Mafia Don - ok, but come on, with this young lady and her mother? I felt it was a bit over the top and an abuse of power. Also the trustworthiness of Linda should be called in question based on the stunts she pulled her. She was looking for the fast track to fame. Overall this is an interesting, gossipy book that gives a different view of the situation then you may have received just watching the nightly news. The book is light and fast making it a very easy to read book.
Rating:
Summary: This book makes me laugh.
Review: This book is highly entertaining, for its goal is twofold and self-contradictory. It attempts to portray Monica Lewinsky, Clinton's White House girlfriend, as a moral, intelligent, functional youth of high potential and integrity... while at the same time making her utter naivete and gullibility a natural, acceptable, and logical component of her character. For a thinking person, this is but a stretch. Monica does have a moral backbone of sorts... she refused, for example, to blow whistles on her enemies to the media when such behavior might have been understandable, and she does endeavor repeatedly to spare her family from media pain... but at the same time her dumb choices like having illicit relationships with married men, her abortion, and her efforts to convine her first married boyfriend's other girlfriend not to reveal their affair to his wife both astonish and appall me. They undo successfully my ability to respect her as Morton seems to want the readers of this book to do. Morton explains the faults in her character as "smart woman, stupid choices." Forrest Gump had a point with "stupid is as stupid does," and Monica's decisions and expectations were regularly stupid in the extreme. The author never acknowledges that without reminding us of her (cough) innocence, her (cough cough) inherent character, or her (hacking) idealistic hopes by way of justifying or excepting her as a bad person. Also, I don't like Morton's writing style, although this book is much better than his book on the late former Princess of Wales -- practically a poster-book for circuitous writing. This one follows a fairly logical chronological order, but his phraseology is repetitive and excessive (there's a lot of "weeping, crying," a lot of "utter terror and desperation," a lot of "hysterical sobbing"). I imagine that would try the patience of more sophisticated readers who care less about Monica's affectations and more about how she can rationalize away what thinking and less emotional people would see with crystal clarity, that her situation as the President's girlfriend was tenuous at best and she couldn't believe a single word he told her. If you enjoy faintly salacious reads with unbelievable naivete, true stories, or Clinton bashing literature, this may be a great read for you... but read it for entertainment purposes only. That's really all it's worth.
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