Rating: 
Summary: The Phantom Menace (is "All Too Human" a prequel?)
Review: This is kind of a bizarre little tome.First off, it's a gossipy good read. But it's strangely bloodless and lacking in passion. George Stephanopoulos, this books indicates, is a man of maddening contradictions. In this book, we see George as both crassly cynical (as when he calculates the political consequences of Clinton's [mis?]use of the military) and breathtakingly naive (as when he corners Betty Curry and pesters her about how African Americans can sympathize with OJ Simpson). Stephanopoulos agonizes over his responsibilities and shows that he has a heart & conscience -- then hammers Dick Morris for (of all things) being overweight and poorly dressed. Meanwhile, Morris's double-dealing work for Republicans gets scant mention. In Stephanopoulos's universe, it's hard to tell what makes Morris a bigger slime ball: his lack of ethics; or his whiny voice, green suit, and "sausage"-like build. We're deluged with details that have no apparent relevance, then inexplicably left without them at apparently crucial junctures. For example, George tells the tale of how Bobby Ray Inman was annointed as Defense Secretary, then withdrew, a tale that twists and turns...then ultimately ends when Inman is revealed to have committed some sin that the president thinks is not necessairly a deal-breaker. What the sin is, George never says, yet the story is made to seem important. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the book, George gives out the exact phone number of reporter Ann Devroy. (Why? Who knows?) This book is very self-centered. The players are only important in their relation to George. Close confidants -- Dee Dee Meyers, Leon Panetta, even George's apparently close friend Harold Ickes -- come and go, but we get no real sense of how and why they came & went. What this book lacks above all is INSIGHT. President Clinton appears as a rather distant phantom (menace? Who knows?). We get no real sense of what he is like as a person or a leader. And the Lewinsky saga is hammered into a brief prolouge and a longer epilogue, with no references or perspective in between. Well over halfway into the book, we're still in the first year of the first term, and by the time the critical event of the government shutdown happens (critical both because it marked the turnaround in Clinton's presidency and because the Lewinsky affair began then), the book is nearly over. After 400 some pages, I have a better insight into the ebbs and flows of the White House from 1993-1996, but no real sense of what it all meant, even to Stephanopoulos himself. Repeated reference is made to Stephanopoulos's work on affirmative action, but I have no idea whatsoever why white, ethnic, middle-class Stephanopoulos cares about that issue, much less why he came to stake his career on it when his fortunes were down at the White House. George: is this the prequel? Where's the book that provides us with perspective, that historians and leaders and average readers can learn from, that inspires or disgusts -- the tale of the REAL "political education" of the subtitle, rather than just the course syllabus? David Maraniss's "First In His Class" is still the book that all other Clinton books will have to live up to. So far, no-one has come close. Woodward's "The Agenda" is probably a distant second...George is closer than some, but you'd expect better than that for someone that ostensibly lived through it.
Rating: 
Summary: A painstaking self-critical look at the Clinton Presidency.
Review: George Stephanopoulos has provided an insider's look at the White House operations under President Bill Clinton during his first term. While both fascinating and disturbing in its revelations, the book is written in an almost apologetic manner. Mr. Stephanopoulos constantly berates himself for advice he supplied and decisions he made although one gleans that, in most cases, he did what he believed to be in the best interests of the Presidency and the American people. The writing appears to be humble and painstakingly self-critical as Mr. Stephanopoulos tries to analyze his ambitions and his motives. The reader is taken on a journey with a man who at first is inspired by a Presidential candidate's charisma and then gradually becomes disenchanted with White House intrigues, political manipulations, and media scrutiny. "All Too Human" is a riveting book.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing.
Review: This book doesn't reveal any new insights into Chubbs Clinton, but it does illuminate the character of Mr. Stephanopolous. And it ain't pretty. Vain and exceedingly ambitious, the hallmarks of Stephanopolous' five years by Clinton's side can be summed up as: 1) an all-consuming adherence to the art of "spinning," which involved frequent misleading and disingenous statements to others; and 2) a prevailing "ends justify the means mentality" that, like a visor pulled low over his brow, Stephanopolous employed that blinded him to the facts of Clinton's severe character flaws. All in all, the Stephanopolous self-portrayed in this book is a microcosm of why Americans trust their politicians so little and why they are so cynical about the political process. Very sad, indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT A WASTE OF TIME
Review: Who cares if he dated Jennifer Grey? All I kept hearing through the entire book was "pity me I'm so stressed" and "Clinton's my way too the top". George gets what he wants and then he turns on Clinton...at least until the polls change. Stephanopoulos is nothing but an arrogant opportunist and this book offers no new insights.
Rating:
Summary: Too little, too late
Review: This book will be useful to the political/historical minded who have run out of Ambien and cannot get to sleep. It may also be useful in the treatment of bulimia, but clinical trials are still in progress. One wonders (and wonders) what George really thinks about Cokie Robert's eyes, though he barely touches this subject and instead devotes an entire chapter to making fun of George Will's neckties and another about the hilarious time he gave Will a wedgie just before showtime. As for Stephanopoulos and his mysterious relationship with the Clintons, it is obvious, from this book, that Stephanopoulos worked for Mr. Clinton (even while Clinton was still President). You might be the cynical type, thinking, "Well, he'll pull punches here because he wants to get a book out while Clinton is still in office and Stephanopoulos is still a somebody because of this, but he doesn't want to offend political allies". Nonsense. The public has a right to know whether or not Mr. Clinton prefers mustard or ketchup on hot dogs (I, personally, can't stand ketchup on hot dogs) and Stephanopoulos tells it like it is. Of course, he doesn't mention any brand names, which could be useful for developing a psychological profile of the President. It could even give us more insight into the Monica affair, but, as Stephanopoulos correctly points out, this probably had more to do with those dreadfully uncomfortably State dinners than with how the President eats his hot dogs. Finally, Mr. Stephanopoulos reveals, for the first time, that he is a very big fan of Martha Stewart and has this habit of incessantly making her ketamine guacamole dip. A must read for anyone over the age of sixteen who has had a lobotomy.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but disingenuous
Review: Fascinating because it seems to offer the inside thinking of a man caught up in the force of a more powerful ego. Problem is it's hard to believe that he would be so credulous at times, it seems he never takes a hard look at the facts of Clinton's actions, and his own moral culpability in helping Clinton evade scrutiny through obfuscation, until he's off the payroll.
Rating:
Summary: Good book if you want to understand the right-wing conspirac
Review: Want to know about Clinton? Read it! You will find all that you want to know about how the right-wing conspired against him! Clearly the best book writen about the soul of Clinton. Even his most ardent supporter couldn't stay with him!
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating journey through the Clinton administration
Review: Put simply, I loved this book. Having been out of the country for part of the period of time this book covers, and having been too young to be interested in some of the earlier years, reading this was almost like reading fiction. I tore through the pages waiting to see what happened next and felt sad, embarassed and a host of other emotions when, among other things, Clinton lied to his own staff about his sexual escapades and his attempt to dodge the draft. In general, I like Clinton, and often found myself feeling like Stephanopoulos did- in awe of the things he did right and shocked that this could be the same man who had an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Overall, a great story...and as much of an unbiased one as I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting, revealing look at how while house works
Review: "All too human" reveals exactly how policy decisions are made in this White House. the jockeying for position between the defferent factions including the liberals (Hilary, Stephanopoulos), the more conservatives, and the dark side represented by Dick Morris is explained by someone who was there. The author does not reveal he knew anything about the Lewinski affair until after it became public.
Rating:
Summary: The making of a politcal consultant
Review: George Stephanopoulos describes with candid words the most extraordinary political adventure of the 1990's. Reading him is delicious!
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