Rating: 
Summary: Would recommend to anyone.
Review: I thought the book was great. There was a little slow period in the middle but, once you get thru that, it really picks up. Especially a good read now that clinton's library has opened arkansas!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Revisionist History
Review: More than any other president in recent history, Bill Clinton would probably like to change his legacy. Rather than being remembered for the economic growth of his tenure of the remarkably stable foreign affairs, he will likely be remembered for Monica Lewinsky and wasting his considerable political charms. In this book Mr. Baruth posits that time travel has become a reality (but only for a select few, with government approval). In the Year 2055, the United States is on the verge of losing a war, based upon political decisions involving litigation against cigarette manufacturers. The lead character, Sal Hayden, Bill Clinton's biographer is chosen as part of a team to meet with Clinton and try to change his political decision. Fascinating premise. Mr. Baruth did a nice job of telling this tale. His writing is clean and crisp. The characters are plausible, and you can almost feel Bill Clinton aching for a second chance.
Rating:
Summary: Good Revisionist History
Review: More than any other president in recent history, Bill Clinton would probably like to change his legacy. Rather than being remembered for the economic growth of his tenure of the remarkably stable foreign affairs, he will likely be remembered for Monica Lewinsky and wasting his considerable political charms. In this book Mr. Baruth posits that time travel has become a reality (but only for a select few, with government approval). In the Year 2055, the United States is on the verge of losing a war, based upon political decisions involving litigation against cigarette manufacturers. The lead character, Sal Hayden, Bill Clinton's biographer is chosen as part of a team to meet with Clinton and try to change his political decision. Fascinating premise. Mr. Baruth did a nice job of telling this tale. His writing is clean and crisp. The characters are plausible, and you can almost feel Bill Clinton aching for a second chance.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, For Political Junkies
Review: My friends say I'm a political junkie and I guess it's true. I loved this book! I was at the bookstore waiting for my girlfriend to finish shopping and I just picked this off the rack because of the cover. After about ten pages I got into it and actually had to buy the book! I was still reading it in bed but had to control my laughter not to wake my girlfriend. I finished the book during breakfast. Anyway, all of this is to point out not only do I have a girlfriend(!) but this book is great if you're into politics and also have a sense of humor. I'm glad to see there are others here who liked it. The professional reviews posted here seem accurate to me, except the point about the "vague ending." If you know American politics, you won't consider the ending vague but very pointed and an attack against the pundits who act like they can predict the future.
Rating:
Summary: great ride
Review: Philip Baruth has written a hilarious novel that takes you on a great ride from 2055 to 1995 with a stop in 1963. There are many great characters in the book but my favorite is the raging cajun James Carville. I read in 2 days and it earned a 5 stars from me(I would have given 6, if I had the chance)
Rating: 
Summary: Time Travel Meets The Clinton White House
Review: The year is 2055 and things are going badly. The U.S. is involved in a dreadful world war and is clearly losing. Much of the difficulty can be traced back to well-intentioned measures initiated during the Clinton adminstration. The man himself, "B.C." is now over a hundred years old and lives in Little Rock where he has his Presidential Library. Sal Hayden is a noted historian who is working on his definitive biography. The premise of the book is that if a team of commandos could be sent into the past, they might be able to alter the stream of history so that this terrible war would not be taking place. Sal Hayden is conscripted into this project much against her will, and back they go to 1963 to influence a young, impressionable B.C., and then to 1995, to visit B.C. as president. Of course there are all kinds of interesting twists and complications, and we never find out for sure if the mission was successful. It's an interesting idea, but, for me at least, it did not work. The "science" of time travel as presented here was totally illogical and never achieved believability. The characters were like caricatures of Clinton-era figures and never really came to life. The ending was shallow and unsatisfying. The book simply dragged. Although there are some entertaining moments and even some humor, overall it was a chore for this reviewer to get through it. If you are a modern history buff or really intrigued by the Clinton years you might enjoy it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber
Rating:
Summary: Smokingly funny
Review: This is a hilarious book, heavy on the politics, for those of you who like that sort of thing. I do, and the humor combined with the political history and satire proved irresistible. I alternated between this and Franken's Lying Liars and the combination was perfect. (Which is a hint -- if you don't like Franken's politics, this might not be your thing.)
Rating:
Summary: Smokingly funny
Review: This is a hilarious book, heavy on the politics, for those of you who like that sort of thing. I do, and the humor combined with the political history and satire proved irresistible. I alternated between this and Franken's Lying Liars and the combination was perfect. (Which is a hint -- if you don't like Franken's politics, this might not be your thing.)
Rating:
Summary: Clinton meets Heinlein
Review: This is a remarkable book that seamlessly combines science fiction, Clinton-era political commentary, literary theory and trenchant observation on the ethos of politics and pool. Bill Clinton is beautifully rendered (in nearly every sense of the term). This richly imagined book also works as a compelling piece of science fiction, a knowing comment on the nature of biography, and a primer on the norms and nuances of bar room billiards. It is Heinlein without the messianic overtones (or the breast fixation); Primary Colors where anonymity and identity ultimately prove to be fungible; Billy Phelan's Greatest Game for the 21st Century. Baruth's portrait of Clinton evokes the inexplicable "fullness" of an incomplete man (Wolfe's Charlie Croker) and, at times, the near majesty of the ultimate political animal in command of very considerable powers of persuasion and appeal. The yBC character (Clinton as a boy) is near perfect -- a mixture of promise and promiscuity that just feels right. Over and over, Baruth nails the details from the shape of Clinton's hands to Carville's nearly freakish power of recall (which is hilariously and ingeniously "explained"). Baruth understands both the people who shape political change and those charged with telling and thereby shaping their stories. The X-President is an enormously entertaining book that, like one of its central characters, ultimately questions what is is. Baruth here calls and pockets a difficult bank shot. His readers prove to be the winners.
Rating: 
Summary: Utter claptrap
Review: This is the sort of novel that's impossible to enjoy if you don't share the author's politics. In a clumsily imagined future world, James Carville (CNN's noted gasbag) is a two-fisted action hero man of action; George Stephanopoulos is one of the greatest minds of his generation; and Bill Clinton is hated because, darn it, he just wasn't liberal enough. Were this a broad farce, along the lines of "Police Squad" films, then this might just be a rollicking good read. Sadly, Philip Baruth seems to want the reader to take this nonsense fairly seriously. "The X President" is a bit similar to the Ben Afflect thriller "Paycheck", but without the wit, talent or an ending that makes sense. In the beginning of the book, Professor Baruth makes attempts to be a bit even handed with his politics. At the end, Philip literally has Rush Limbaugh having an affair with Carville's wife, and he doesn't bother to hide his contempt of people who have the bad taste to disagree with his politics. The tone of the novel reminds one of the lessor works of Gilbert and Sullivan ("The Grand Duke", perhaps), but without the wit, talent or an ending that makes sense. In the year 2055, America has been sued because we allow cigarettes to be sold. We lose the lawsuit, refuse to pay, and a war breaks out. A decision is made to change history to avert this war. Does the US government send war records, to allow our military to defend this country effectually? Nope. Visit the White House, prove that they're from the future, and ban the sale of cigarettes? Not really. Does anyone even consider the possibility that this war has nothing at all to do with cigarettes, and if they were banned, these people would still find an excuse to fight? Not even mentioned. What our heroes do is send a hot chick to have sex with the teenaged version of Bill Clinton. Then, after he have sex, two fisted war hero James Carville brings the teenaged version of Bill Clinton to visit the 1996 version of Bill Clinton, and they rap or something. Meanwhile Carville, Stephanopoulos, and a Clinton historian go to Las Vegas and talk a LOT about Sammy Davis, Jr. Frankly, much of the book is about a historian from the future explaining to two fisted action hero James Carville and Boy Genius George Stephanopoulos the difference between Reeces Peanut butter cups and Mallo bars. I would suggest that Philip Baruth attempt talking to someone, anyone, who holds a political belief which is different than his.
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