Rating: Summary: The First Partner Review: I wanted to read this book to see what made Hillary Clinton tick. It was a fascinating read, hard to put down. Her childhood and the relationship with her parents was spelled out. Her college days are covered. It offered much insight into the relationship that developed between her and Bill Clinton during their college days and the story continued throughout their courtship, marriage, his time as Governor, his bid for Presidency, her career as a lawyer, the Vince Foster suicide, their relationship with Chelsea, the scandals, the rumors, the affairs, her frustrations, etc. These are two people who will let nothing stand in their way to achieve their goals.
Rating: Summary: lots of opinion, too little fact Review: If you're curious to learn Joyce Milton's opinion of Hillary, Bill, and the Clinton white house, read this book. If you're looking for a more objective picture of Hillary Rodham Clinton and her ideas, look elsewhere.
Rating: Summary: Secret Police Review: It wouldn't surprise me at all if many of the negative reviews for this book were planted by the Clintons' secret police. Genuine or planted, note that none of those reviews defend the Clintons on the facts. They claim the author is a hater who ignored all of the Hillary's "accomplishments," without of course naming any of them. In fact her sole accomplishment, among numerous public policy failures and absurd leftist notions about children and education, was that she married a man who happened to become president. It's true that the author repeats some of the Clinton gossip, but she makes no attempt to disguise it as fact. She even has several kind things to say about this disgusting person. But like almost all who write about HRC, she can't escape the inevitable conclusion that this woman is a liar and a demagogue, ready to trash innocent lives and careers to secure her grab for power and adulation. What's amazing to me is how many celebrity worshipers there are out there who don't want to know the facts, or who know them and simply don't care.
Rating: Summary: don't be fooled by the obvious planted negative reviews! Review: Joyce Milton is a terrific biographer (her Lindburg book is especially good) and this is up to her high standards. The partisan planted reviews make for pretty funny reading (especially the guy who talks about John Birch Society cells, but can't even spell it -- do they even still exist?) Milton is a Democrat who was a Clinton fan until she read his astounding letter to Colonel Holmes justifying his draft dodging. The shrill tone of the negatives merely tells us she has hit the target, and it hurts.
Rating: Summary: A well-written, well-presented, and seemingly objective book Review: Joyce Milton provides a very objective account of the personality, actions, power, and influence of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Unlike some books that I have recently read, Milton presents the reader with an refreshingly unbiased depiction of Mrs. Clinton. I finished the book with a greater sense of understanding and knowlegde of the events, scandals, and rumors that have surrounded the First Lady -without feeling biased by the author's personal viewpoint. I recommend this book to anyone interested in First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Rating: Summary: Thinly disguised hatchet job Review: Joyce Milton's "Partners In Power" is a thinly-disguised hatchet job. I was amazed by three things, primarily: (1) the omniscience Milton apparently enjoys (i.e., her criticisms of Hillary Clinton require expertise from so many disciplines no human being could master all of them; (2) Milton's access to Hillary Clinton's thought processes (i.e., she repeatedly describes Clinton's thoughts and motivations); and (3) that my public library would have purchase this piece of trash. My assessment: the book will be disgusting to all but the die-hard Clinton haters. Chuck Montgomery Des Moines, IA CMontgo378@aol.com
Rating: Summary: Biased, YES - Well Researched, NO! Review: Kenneth Starr missed an opportunity to hire Ms. Milton as a PR spokesperson against the Clintons. This book lacks credible research unless biased investigation is the new standard. Hillary was demeaned from all levels ranging from her lack of "smarts" to her inability to manage. My distaste for smearing Hillary grew more troubling as I read from chapter to chapter. I am not defending Mrs. Clinton; nor will I defend the manner in which this author bled her agenda all over the pages. Sounded too biased to be an honest attempt to learn about our first lady. This book was clearly written for right-wingers - not for mainstream America. Ms. Milton can and should do better. Some books you can't put down. This one should be put down - and I did.
Rating: Summary: The real Hillary revealed Review: Milton does a great job in revealing the real Hillary Clinton. Until now, Hillary's secret ways and refusal to meet the press in an open forum has worked to her benefit. But Milton takes issue with the convential wisdom that has been created by a well oiled spin machine. Clinton has a dark side that we all need to know about -- especially if she continues to be involved in developing public policy. I have read Milton's other books and find this the most captivating.
Rating: Summary: This is a I Hate Hillary book Review: My hopes of reading an objective biography of the First Lady were dashed by the second chapter. This book is good as a case study of how to select fact to build a preconceived notion (Hillary is evil) and to phrase her accomplishments so as to put each in its worst light. The author makes me feel dirty. This is one to avoid.
Rating: Summary: The worst thing I've read in a long time Review: Not so much a biography as a collection of every rumor, piece of gossip, and regurgitated negative story ever written about HRC, this "biography" reeks. Compare her citations in the book to the footnotes (most are post 1990 articles and books written about the Clintons). Milton never probes deeper to find out what the real story is. She simply takes the previously published material as the final word. According to Milton, NOTHING HRC has ever done-- from her ambition to win a DAR award in high school to the health care debacle--was ever for the proper reasons only to advance herself and her "agenda." In one rhetorical flurish Milton weaves HRC's '70s activist work into tangled prose that references a communist front organization (as if to imply that "see, HRC is a communist!") According to Milton, HRC is a lying, duplicitous, greedy, self-aggrandizing, icy virago and bad mother, who demeans people "out of her radar"-- especially people "who work for a living." A woman who's failed at everything she's ever done with a sense of humor that consists only in insulting people. Oh! And she snores! On the other hand Wilton is quick to come to the defense in a long paragraph of poor abused Tammy Wynette and her feminist songs--another hard working woman HRC slammed in her ignorance of the common people. The tip-off to the bias of the writer was the frequently used word, "taxpayer," which almost becomes an outraged character in the book along with Milton at times who can't help putting herself as "we" into her judgements. Maybe it will take 20 years before we can truly have an unbiased biography of either Clinton. This certainly isn't it. (And this review is not a plant, but an outraged consumer wanting my money back!)
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