Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating & credible, but did it have to be so salacious?
Review: On balance, I loved this book -- just as I loved the author's work on JFK. He has a talent for taking complicated men and making their oversized sins and talents seem very, very human. Detailed and believable, this book is carefully researched and nuanced. I saw no disdain for the South in this book -- instead this is a foreigner's clear-eyed view of that portion of the country, and all it took for Bill Clinton to rise from those beginnings to become Leader of the Free World. It's that amazing rags-to-riches journey, and the poignant and complex Bill/Hillary love story, that is at the heart of this amazing true life story. My only quibble is with some of the more salacious details of the former President's sex life. Do we need to know details of his preferences and anatomy? Just because Gennifer Flowers wrote of it, did Hamilton need to repeat it? This kind of information about a Chief Executive made me squeamish. Robert Dallek handled JFK's prodigious sex drive and the role it played in his life, marriage and Presidency with more class and finesse.
Rating: 
Summary: What hapened to Nigel Hamilton?
Review: Once upon a time there was a first-rate biographer named Nigel Hamilton. Twenty years ago he wrote the definitive three-volume life of Lord Montgomery of Alamein, one that is still the essential source for understanding the man. Then in 1993 the first book of his projected multi-volume biography of John F. Kennedy was published, a work that will probably remain the essential source for understanding Kennedy's pre-political life for decades to come.
At some point after that, though, Hamilton changed. Perhaps it was a consequence of immersing himself in JFK's salacious life or perhaps it was some sort of traumatic personal experience, but Hamilton's focus changed. The shift emerged in 2001 with his atrociously-named "Full Monty," a reinterpretation of his earlier subject that focuses on Montgomery's sexual orientation. Now we have his latest book, the first of a promised two-volume life of Bill Clinton that covers his life up to his election in 1992. Like the Kennedy biography it is an "unofficial" life; unlike the Kennedy biography, though, Hamilton did not have access to any of the papers from the Clinton Library, which obviously limits much of its scope.
Even when this is taken into account, though, Hamilton has written a lousy book. His primary focus is on Clinton's personal life, which he covers in salacious detail (enough to ensure that his book will occupy a prominent place on the bookshelves of most Clinton-haters) and follows up with superficial psychoanalysis. While I do not doubt the accuracy of his account, the result is Clinton the libido, with little about the political career which is the reason why he warrants our attention to begin with. I grant that Hamilton did not have access to Clinton's papers, but would it have been so hard to glean something about Clinton's tenure as governor from newspaper accounts and interviews with other Arkansas politicos? Without it, the reader is left with the impression that Clinton was elected president based on his charm - a facile impression that does a great disservice to anybody seeking a true understanding of the man. No doubt that disservice will be continued once Hamilton's second volume is published.
Rating: 
Summary: A surprizing lack of knowlege about Watergate
Review: Perhaps it is a result of the author being British, but for a biographer with an honors degree in history, Nigel Hamilton seems to lack a clear understanding of President Nixon's actual involvement in the Watergate affair. For example on page 286 he mentions the "President's clearly personal involvement in the plot to break into the Democratic National Committee's office in the Watergate building, then to cover up such transgressions." While it is true that the White House tapes proved Nixon's involvement in the cover-up after the break-in had occurred, I am unaware of any evidence produced then or now that Nixon had any personal involvement in the plotting of the break-in itself. On page 291 Mr. Hamilton speaks of Nixon's "political misdemeanor - the attempted theft of rival political and personal documents." We know from the evidence that there was also a break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in an attempt to obtain derogatory information on him but since Mr. Hamilton makes no mention of that particular break-in, the reader is left with the impression that the "attempted theft of rival political and personal documents" for which Nixon was being "hounded" was solely the one at the Watergate. Mr. Hamilton greatly exaggerates the effect of the work performed personally by Hillary Rodham in the Watergate investigation. He erroneously describes her on Page 285 as working on the SENATE Judiciary Commitee's Watergate Investigation Staff when she actually was working as one of forty-four attorneys on the HOUSE Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry staff. Mr. Hamilton describes her duties as mainly listening to and transcribing the White House tapes. However much she might have longed for the ultimate impeachment of Nixon, it is certainly a stretch to claim that simply performing her job of transcribing tapes evidenced her "determination to help impeach the President." His exaggeration of her role and power continues on page 287 when he writes that "Hillary's investigation should under no circumstances be prematurely concluded," since doing so would give Republicans time to recover before the fall elections and thus help her future husband's GOP opponent defend his Congressional seat. By dubbing this "Hillary's investigation" Mr. Hamilton could cause an unknowledgable reader to come away with the mistaken impression that Hillary Rodham headed up the entire Watergate investigation, rather than simply being one of forty-four attorneys and that she alone possessed the power to move it forward or to conclude it at any time. The late Mr. Nixon would probably be greatly amused if someone told him that it was solely Hillary Rodham who was "hounding" him toward impeachment and trial and that if she had simply refused to continue listening and transcribing tapes, he could have been spared having to resign his office. On page 295 Mr. Hamilton claims that the one White House tape that would finally tip the scale against President Nixon and force him to resign "was leaked." A casual reader might infer that since Hillary Rodham was the person listening and transcribing these tapes, she could have been responsible for the leak of the smoking gun tape and thus responsible herself for forcing Nixon to resign. Mr. Hamilton neglects to mention that the disclosure of this tape actually occurred when the White House itself released a transcript on August 5, 1974. It was only after that official release, and not after any leak, that Nixon chose to resign on August 9, 1974. As another reviewer has already noted, on page 126 Mr. Hamilton confuses Senator Eugene McCarthy with the infamous Joseph McCarthy. This glaring error should have been easily seen and corrected by a vigilant fact checker. Any knowledgeable American editor should have recognised the author's mistakes regarding the Watergate affair and his overexaggerations of the role of Hillary Rodham in the investigation. I can only assume that these errors slipped through the cracks since the publisher probably wanted to get this book onto the shelves before Clinton's own autobiography is released. This seems a poor excuse for the release of a book containing so many errors. Since I have only read one-half of the book, I wonder how many more I may find.
Rating:
Summary: Rush to Judgement?
Review: The forces and dynamics of both the Democratic Party, and the national unrest prevalent during the period that Clinton "rose" to shoulder his duties at the White House during his administration, and the manner in which he went about it suggests that it will be years before the clarity of his personal strengths and weaknesses will be understood fully. Complicated by the number of extraordinary events (including his impeachment process, the innovation of the internet, and the flaws of the political process itself, as they were revealed during the election of 2000, make rushes to judgement less accurate than they are entitled to be in American history. In addition, the unique upbringing of Clinton, his background, and the unusual experiences that preceded his Presidency obscure typical thinking about him within the normal boundaries in which other Presidents have been examined. As one of the most visible of persons, with a staff strikingly involved, and yet removed from his Presidency, it will take years to sort out the important dynamics of his terms, and may be seen as the beginning of an era where Americans, themselves, awakened to the strengths and weaknesses of their democracy to play a greater role in its outcome. He will, no doubt, remain an enigma for years to come both because of what he respresents, and because of his forceful personality, not to mention the importance of his wife, the Senator, who was fully vested in his administration, and continues to play a significant role in American politics as well as American government. It's obvious that Mr. Hamilton's attempts might be much more important in the future, and through development of his second volume, when and if that becomes available in the distance.
Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Hamilton needs an editor
Review: This book could have EASILY been chopped down to 500 pages. The first indication that something is afoul is how tiny each "mini-chapter" was. (Mr. Hamilton breaks down each major chapter into these little mini-chapters that can be as small as 2 paragraph or as "large" as a page and a half.) It's distracting, especially in light of the fact that those mini-chapters force a redundancy. He repeats items and ideas over and over again. He even used the same quote twice- with only 1 page of each other! This redundancy goes unchecked and over time, you start to think that he uses them as if repetition by itself is proof. I completely agree with most reviewers that he stresses the sex thing too much. Unless you confuse supermarket rags with serious writing, there's really no need to repeat the same thing over and over again about Clinton's known sex "problems". Yes, Clinton had lots of sex. Yes, that should be written in his biography. But to go on and on about it in every single page of the book (I am not exaggerating- once in college, Clinton and his "appetite" get mentioned in every single page!) is just too much. And then he states as fact that men must cheat- it's written in their genes! They can't help it! And women don't cheat (despite the fact that he makes several quotes from Washington insiders stating how the WOMEN cheated just as much as the men! He even quotes a Kinsey statistic that states that men's extramarital affairs outpace women's by only 1 or 2 percentage points! Sometimes, his blathering about evolutionary theory seems almost like he wrote this book to explain to his wife why HE cheated. It's mentioned so much that it feels like there has to be an ulterior, personal, motive. And just as his "evolutionary" cheating theory is stated as fact, despite being questionable at best, he states things from disreputable sources as truth. Was fact-checking so difficult? Was Nigel spending too much time making unsubstantiated claims about Clinton's psychology (based on what? Other people's interviews? Quotes from Gennifer Flowers?) In fact, I noticed that it seemed like once Clinton became governor (the first time) Mr. Hamilton appears to have become much lazier- he relies, from this point- on so many lengthy quotes. Most quotes in the chapter pretty much say the same thing, and they ramble. Did Nigel Hamilton edit his own book?
On top of this shoddy work, there's also Mr. Hamilton's penchant for really BAD puns and even worse metaphors. At one point, he quotes the biographer of the Rev. Jimmy Swaggert who referred to Swaggert's similar sexual needs as a "groin demon". Then Mr. Hamilton goes on to use that same, childish and inelegant term for the next several pages. He'll return to that gem over and over again. It's not an offensive term. It's just so... stupid! And his puns! Ouch. Quote from page 585(I added emphasis): " 'He needs to contact me to discuss my ROLE.' Betsey had replied...- but for the moment Bill was on a ROLL."
Now, for the good news- this is an easy read. I found the problems numerous and very distracting. But at the same time, you're compelled to keep turning that page. Does that owe more to the interesting life that Bill Clinton led or is it a testament to Nigel Hamilton's writing? A little bit of both. At times, I wanted to throw the book. I wanted to personally yell at Mr. Hamilton for being so repetitious, so sleazy and so ham-fisted with his "humor". But I'd pick that book back up and keep reading. My final say on the matter is: if there's nothing better out there (this is my first Clinton bio, so I can't help you there) then go for it. You'll find yourself skimming pages but you could do much worse. Unfortunately, Mr. Hamilton could have done so much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Our 42nd President, His Life And Times
Review: This is the best biography of President Clinton yet published. Nigel Hamilton covers Clinton's life up to his election in November 1992. He does a great job of describing Clinton's background, parentage, and early years. I realized for the first time (and I have read numerous Clinton studies) just how poor and unprivileged a background the President came from, and how truly remarkable it was that anyone with so many strikes agaisnt him rose so far so quickly. Hamilton also provides some interesting psychological insights into Clinton's well known moral weaknesses and failings, so that the reader gets a better understanding of this enormously complex (and very human) individual. Hamilton does an excellent job of covering the historic events which influenced Clinton's growth, so that this is not just a biography, but a history of modern America and the world. Clinton phobics will not enjoy this book because it is truly "fair and balanced." But if you are looking for the truth, and would like some insights into President Clinton before reading his own memoirs, this book is an excellent beginning.
Rating:
Summary: Our 42nd President, His Life And Times
Review: This is the best biography of President Clinton yet published. Nigel Hamilton covers Clinton's life up to his election in November 1992. He does a great job of describing Clinton's background, parentage, and early years. I realized for the first time (and I have read numerous Clinton studies) just how poor and unprivileged a background the President came from, and how truly remarkable it was that anyone with so many strikes agaisnt him rose so far so quickly. Hamilton also provides some interesting psychological insights into Clinton's well known moral weaknesses and failings, so that the reader gets a better understanding of this enormously complex (and very human) individual. Hamilton does an excellent job of covering the historic events which influenced Clinton's growth, so that this is not just a biography, but a history of modern America and the world. Clinton phobics will not enjoy this book because it is truly "fair and balanced." But if you are looking for the truth, and would like some insights into President Clinton before reading his own memoirs, this book is an excellent beginning.
Rating:
Summary: This biography could have been 200 pages less.
Review: This is the type of biography that performs so well in some respects while failing miserably in others. The first part of the book focuses on Clinton's childhood, especially his family problems, and the Vietnam draft dodging afterwards. Nigel Hamilton provides a great impression of the culture & mentality associated with the Vietnam War. Unfortunately afterwards the book loses its touch. Very little time is devoted to Clinton's emotional state when dealing with actual political decisions. Hamilton assumes without any evidence the reasons behind Clinton's cheating. It seems like emphasizing Clinton's sexual exploits is the purpose of this biography. Too many times we're reminded how Clinton compares to JFK in regards to womanizing. This comparison while interesting the first 3 or 4 times mentionned rapidly becomes redundant. Hamilton also has an immature view of the Darwinism theory of evolution. He justifies Clinton's cheating with this theory & just like JFK he has to remind us of this theory every few pages. To summarize, this biography has some interesting sections, especially the beginning, and the last 100 pages when Clinton runs for president. Otherwise the author is obsessed over sex. He also believes himself capable of knowing how every single person that Clinton dealt with viewed Hillary. The content contained therein could have been reduced to 400 pages instead of 700 without losing any of its content. I'm sure there are better biographies out there, or to be released in the near future.
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