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Rewriting History

Rewriting History

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $15.72
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: As an Insider Book This Is not A buy
Review: One prior reviewer wants to know if he should buy the book. The bottom line is no, the book is a bit of a dud and my review has nothing to do with the Clintons or politics. The book is marginal - 3 stars. Here is why.

I briefly read the book and did not read every word - I could not it simply was not compelling. I reviewed the book after hearing a lengthy radio interview with Dick Morris. The point is that he was an insider and we would expect a much better effort. The book is very short 250 pages, and even worse it is large font - always a bad sign - and contains nothing new that is not already public knowledge and mostly well know.

Let us go over some of his insights. He has a couple of comments on Mrs. Clinton's reaction to Lewinsky but again that is mostly public. All politicians follow the polls, Bill was famous for that, and anyone living within 1000 miles of New York State knows that Hillary lobbied for the Puerto Ricans to be pardoned, and Orthodox Jews and others, and supported both the Yankees and the Mets simultaneously and anyone else that would give her a vote. We need another book to tell us that or to repeat some of that? I think not. Morris makes list of the gifts that they received and has other lists of transgressions in the book. He mentions Gennifer Flowers and has a chapter called "Stonewalling" on the White Water investigation. All of that is public information, we have heard it before many times, and it is not new.

Many sections are very brief and although accurate they tell us little whether you like the Clintons or not. So why buy a short large font book with nothing new?

Unless you just returned from a place where there were no papers or TV , skip this.

Three stars.

Jack in Toronto

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Closer to Four stars than Three
Review: Other reviewers are right when they state that repetition was probably necessary to make this one long enough for a book, but the information within is eye-opening. Morris, having worked side by side with both Bill and Hillary Clinton for nearly 20 years, refutes much of the feel-good, carefully-packaged persona that Hillary put forth in "Living History," and while he describes her as a strong manager, planner and idealist, he also cites numerous examples of greed, manipulation, secrecy and revenge which have dogged both Clintons over the years.

Like Barbara Olson did in "Hell To Pay" and "The Final Days," Morris spotlights not only the various scandals but recounts private strategy sessions dating back to when Bill Clinton made his first run for the governorship of Arkansas, and he describes Hillary's eventual understanding that if she wanted to get ahead in politics, it would be necessary to ride her husband's coattails. Morris's final chapter describes why he thinks Hillary has a good shot at being elected president of the USA in 2008, and why she might well be added as vice-president in 2004. Ultimately, while not quite as hard-hitting as "Off With Their Heads," "Rewriting History" is a cut above most current political books because of the author's proximity to his subject. If nothing else, read it if you've recently read "Living History" and decide whose accounts you believe.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This book should win the Pulitzer Prize- but it won't.......
Review: The world owes Dick Morris and Eileen McGann a debt of gratitude for the countless insights in their book- Rewriting History. Most honest people have recognized Hillary Clinton as a tainted politician since her 1978 commodities "windfall" came to light during President Clinton's first term, however, many of my fellow countrymen remained in the dark about her countless other conflicts of interest, until now.
Dick leaves no stone unturned. In plain english, the reader is navigated through her early years as a activist in support of the Black Panther's defense team, her clerking job for the former lawyer of the American Communist Party, Whitewater, The Commodities investigation, The Travel Office affair, The failed health care reform, gift laundering through the Presidential library, and in my view, the most disturbing, the pardons for votes scandal.
Warning, you may be ashamed of yourself for voting Clinton in the past, but the truth comes "better late, than never".


Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Interesting but Meaningless
Review: This book is not unlike Don Regan's 'For the Record' about his years with Ronald Reagan. Like Regan, Morris had worked closely with the first family, and like Regan, it ended badly for him. So, what did he go? He went and wrote a mean spirited book about the people who made his name famous.

Morris' book is so vindictive and meanspirited that it obscures some real concerns about the person of Hillary Clinton. He sees everything about her in a bad way, and I can only conclude that the Clinton's snubbing of Morris is the cause of this.

Yes, Morris was an advisor to the Clintons at various times of their career, but so were a lot of people. It doesn't make him an expert on Hillary Clinton and his analysis is most definately not the final word.

Dissapointingly short, this book is printed in large font with double spacing. A good short in flight read that should be taken as seriously as a tabloid rag.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very interesting, good insights.
Review: This book turns a scathing eye toward Hillary (and by extension) Bill Clinton. I'm not sure I would have ever bought this book but upon receiving it on loan I figured what the heck. I was blown away by the information in the book and by Mr. Morris's analysis. Any conservative would be happy with this book and any pro-Clinton Dem would be shocked--if they admit to themselves the true disaster that is Clintonism.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Fox Book-of-the-Month-Club
Review: Wow, here's an eye-opener from the ultimate professional hack, Dick Morris, a man who will skewer the opponents of anyone who is paying his salary.

Wow, I was blown away by revelations that Hillary Clinton, lawyer-turned-politician, is ACTUALLY at times two-faced, manipulative, self-serving, and basically behaves LIKE A POLITICIAN.

Wow, I needed this fat blowhard to tell me what anyone with a working brain can figure out. Actually, if you took Dick's framework here, you can apply it to a good chunk of politicians, in general.

So hmmm, you say Hillary is no longer like that Arkansas first lady of years ago?

Whoa.

Morris is a favorite guest of Hannity & Colmes, where his smarmy, Jon Lovitz-esque look fronts a hired one-man PR, political 'advisor' machine. I can only hope to achieve greatness in my own life by becoming a 'political advisor', which is a nice term for a professional hack. His Clinton obsession must be paying off nicely. So nicely that Bubba himself donated all of two lines to Dick in his 9,000 page book.

A waste of your time, and if you have any brains left, that, too.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Written from 20 years of campaigning with the Clintons
Review: Yes, Dick Morris is a political consultant who has worked largely for Republicans. However, he has more than twenty years of experience working with the Clintons on Bill's campaigns President as well as Governor of Arkansas. And, yes, it is appropriate to read what any political consultant says with a certain level of caution. However, I think that reading with active skepticism can actually increase the value you get from this book because you will be asking yourself what is real and what is pose. This internal debate will help you get to the important core of what Mr. Morris is saying.

Because Mr. Morris is frank about Hillary Clinton's virtues and flaws the Hillary haters will probably not find the book harsh enough and the Hillary acolytes will become incensed at the criticism of their heroine. Remember, it is wrestling with every claim and analysis the author makes that will help you get at what the book has to offer. Senator Hillary Clinton is a real force on the American political scene. It won't do to simply dismiss her or to think she will move back to the Whitehouse by acclimation.

The author provides ample evidence that Hillary is a talented person with a lot offer in our country's political debate. He also shows that she has certain character traits that make her brittle and some instincts that do not serve her well. Morris presents his view that the Whitewater scandals and the Lewinsky affair were made much worse by Hillary's immediate and continued tendency to shut down, deny, and stonewall. You may or may not agree with the author's views, but he offers them from personal experience on the inside of the Clinton operations. Some of his personal experiences with the Clintons will have you shaking your head.

He then presents the concept of HILLARY as a personae, brand, or media creation. This is the lady that is carefully calibrated to political success. HILLARY is actually much different than Hillary the real person and Morris helps us see the difference and provides some insight so we can decode the way HILLARY is presented to us and what Hillary is actually after. Morris makes a lot of comparisons between Senator Clinton's "Living History" and a more candid presentation of the facts and events. This provides some very interesting reading that provides some real insight into what makes Hillary tick and how she uses HILLARY to advance her purposes.

Morris thinks that Hillary is all but certain to be the Democrat nominee for President in 2008 and that the combination of the end of 8 years of a Republican President and a rather empty field of GOP stars that could actually be nominated and keep the Pro-Life base make a Hillary Presidency a real possibility. We shall see.

The fact that the 2008 campaign is already beginning (watch the festivities at the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum and take note) makes this book more relevant than ever.


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