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Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Read, Author clearly a hard core Hillary fan.
Review: I purchased this book so that I could learn what being on the "Advance Staff" was all about. Also I wanted to read something from the perspective of a relatively unknown staffer, one that wasn't being either touted or persecuted by the mainstream media. (Prior to this book I'd never heard of the author, though he apparently was on O'Reillys show.) In general, the book was interesting, though at times I thought it a quite partisan, and often came away with the feeling that the author had more than an employee/employer interest in Mrs. Clinton. (Maybe a bit of a crush on FLOTUS there Mr. Halley??) For that reason, I tended to take some of the book with a grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read, Author clearly a hard core Hillary fan.
Review: I purchased this book so that I could learn what being on the "Advance Staff" was all about. Also I wanted to read something from the perspective of a relatively unknown staffer, one that wasn't being either touted or persecuted by the mainstream media. (Prior to this book I'd never heard of the author, though he apparently was on O'Reillys show.) In general, the book was interesting, though at times I thought it a quite partisan, and often came away with the feeling that the author had more than an employee/employer interest in Mrs. Clinton. (Maybe a bit of a crush on FLOTUS there Mr. Halley??) For that reason, I tended to take some of the book with a grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: Some books on politics aren't just political hype.
Review: I saw an interview with Patrick Halley on the Fox News O'Reilly Factor and Halley convinced me to read this book -- just by being needled by O'Reilly. He's an undistinguished seeming man -- could be a Secret Service Agent and blend into the crowd. His voice has an even timbre, and his eyes are steady and true. He wasn't nervous - showed every sign of being an experienced public speaker. I believed every word he said - and it wasn't really much more than you've read in the cover blurb or the amazon reviews above. It wasn't just that he said he first signed on to be Hillary's front man because she's (quoting here from his own words in that interview - which I scribbled down as he spoke) "really different." It was the way he said it. Matter of fact. Not really trying to convince you that she's "different" -- but explaining why he ditched his whole life to go on the road with a political figure knowing full well what he was getting into. He wouldn't have done that for most any other political figure. But Hillary wasn't like the others -and after one small taste of what it would be like working for Hillary, he wanted to work for her. Now, personally, I have little use for Hillary. As a writer, both fiction (put my name into the amazon search slot to see a list)and nonfiction (Biblical Tarot and Star Trek Lives! also available here), I have listened to her speeches and watched her delivery. She presents herself as I would present a character of mine that I didn't want anyone to believe. So I watched this interview with Halley very, very closely. I have never seen anyone else say such positive things about Hillary in such a convincing way. Living in New York, I did see a lot of Hillary - and a lot of coverage on her. What Halley was seeing was very different from what I had seen. You could read the book a dozen times and still not be convinced the impression Halley says he had gotten of her is true -- after all, anyone can type words onto paper, craft and hone them until they seem sincere. Halley could just be looking for another job -- or he might have been paid to say nice things about Hillary because nobody else wants to. But I was convinced he meant it. He might be wrong, but I think he believed every word. When probed about Hillary's response to the eruption of scandal, Halley said, "She's a very strong person (...) she realized it was important to carry on with the Clinton Agenda." He saw her as committed to Bill and Bill to her. It didn't sound like a coverup to me. Asked about how he could guarantee the crowds the press wanted to see at Hillary's appearances, -- did he pay people to show up and hold signs? Halley said that he never paid people to show up and hold signs, but he did pay for the buses. He went out of his way to make the point that the bussed in crowd was there mostly for the convenience of the press -- so they'd be sure they could get their shot and make their deadlines. He said that the Press is the prism through which people are viewed, and he seemed to consider that it was his job to give them a clear view of Hillary to pass on to the Nation. When asked at the end of the interview if she will run for the Presidency, he answered with perfect politician's aplomb that he hopes she will run. That was the only point where I felt there was some more to be said that he wasn't saying. Read this book -- if she plans to run as we all expect she does, this book will be the first advance campaign gambit. People should also read this book if they don't yet know the difference between what a candidate says from the podium and what is really happening. If you don't understand politics as show-business (something I learned about while traveling to collect material for Star Trek Lives!) you really need to read this book. If you already understand what politics really is, and politicians never fool you, then you don't have to read this book, but you should remember that Halley - who worked with Hillary under the most trying circumstances, thinks she is a steady and strong person. What would she have done if she were sitting in the Oval Office when the Twin Towers came down? I think that's the question this book is giving you the material to answer for yourself. Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and Honest
Review: Just finished this book. I found it to be a very honest account of Mrs. Clinton. A must read. I've always found it amusing that all the Clinton "haters" out there buy the books and read them!Interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Honest
Review: Mr Halley is simply a stooge for the Clintons; he is their response to Drudge they hate so much for having first revealed the Lewinsky story; needless to say, Drudge is as a disgusting a character as anyone trying to balance out his role in the media at the behest of the Clintons who know no limits so far as manipulating public response to their doings is concerned;
nice try, Mr Halley--put on a cap instead of Drudge's stupid hat and make a few bucks along the way... There is always a possibility that your stalwart support of Senator Clinton (D-New York)will yield a second-tier position in the future Clinton II administration.
Rating:
Summary: Hillary Rocks!!!
Review: Patrick S. Halley's book On the Road with Hillary is a terrific, rollicking, fun read. For Hillary fans, political junkies, or just folks who want to know what really goes on behind the scenes, this is a great book.
I'm not a political junkie but I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed it...Halley is a great story teller, and he tells a story as if you were in his favorite pub in Boston, with him regaling you with tales of a trip just completed, laughing over a glass of his favorite potion, Guinness stout.
Halley is one of the pople that set up appearances for political figures. He prepares successful appearances for Hillary all over the country, from isolated rural college campuses to big city parades and fund raisers. He visits umpteen countries, suffering the hardships of dining in Paris and visiting the poorest places in the world, including Mother Teresa's orphanage in Calcutta. Through it all he never loses the pinch me sense of wonder of a working class kid who makes it good on his native talents but still can't believe his good fortune.
One of the best parts of the book is getting to look at Mrs. Clinton as a real human being. Halley is an unabashed Hillary lover, and he is right up front about that. The thing I liked though is the book does show her as a real flesh and blood human being, and not the one dimensional figure we get through the media at times.
Halley has a real talent for finding trouble and then getting out of it, usually in a daring and funny way. Some of his best stories are about how he wound up buck naked in the lobby of Tokyo's finest hotel, in a losing test of wills with an enraged yak, and in a shoving match with President Clinton while an aghast Mrs. Clinton looked on. But everyone will have a different favorite from this book.
So Hillary bashers, down a quart of maalox and loosen up a bit! But for Hillary lovers, Hillary neutrals, people who like politics, or just people who like fun, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Fun introduction to Hillary as a real person
Review: This book is fun to read, and presents Hillary Rodham Clinton as a real human being rather than a power-hungry monster. Patrick Halley saw Hillary Clinton at the high points and low points of the Clinton administration, and by the end of the book still finds much to admire in the former first lady.
The behind-the-scenes stories from trips all over the United States and the world are humorous. Mr. Halley and Mrs. Clinton seemed to hit it off right from the start, and he presents an interesting insight into her personality and commitment to her political beliefs and various causes.
Rating:
Summary: A modern day Huck Finn
Review: Written by Patrick S. Halley, On the Road with Hillary is a must-read for political junkies, especially ones from Massachusetts, where partisan campaigns are played with the enthusiasm of contact sports. Halley cut his teeth working for local political figures like Chet Atkins, Ted Kennedy, Scott Harshbarger, Mike Dukakis, and Paul Tsongas. However, this behind-the-scenes look at Hillary Rodham Clinton's journey from Arkansas to the U.S. Senate transcends the inside baseball of Bay State politics as the author reluctantly agrees to become Hillary's advance man in September 1992. A modern day Huck Finn, Halley spends then next 10 years setting up trips in 25 states and 36 countries for one of the most admired and hated women in the world. On his journey with the Arkansas-Governor's-wife-turned-first-lady-turned-senator, Halley learns two things. First, he discovers to his surprise that Hillary isn't a prima donna, a militant feminist, or a political opportunist. "She's one of us." Second, after agreeing to go to New York for just a couple of days to do only one trip with Hillary, he learns something about himself. "That one short trip proved to be enough to get me to quit my job, sell my house, and run away to join the circus." This circus includes everything from keeping Hillary from bumping into Fidel Castro when both are booked into the same hotel in Switzerland, to getting into a shoving match with then President Bill Clinton during the New York State Democratic Convention in 2000. Along the way Halley sees a sunrise on the Sahara and winds up nude in a Japanese hotel lobby. In the spirit of total disclosure, I've known Pat for more than 20 years. I was editor of The Concord Journal and the political columnist for a chain of weekly newspapers back in 1978 when he became the executive director of the state Democratic Party - at the age of 24. He is an unforgettable character, but I never thought of him as a writer. However, after reading his first book, I've discovered that he is a gifted storyteller who has 29 remarkable stories to tell. ...But, don't blame me if this one short sample proves to be enough to get you to break a date, skip a meal, and pony up <the money> to read the next 28 chapters of this "ten-year roller-coaster ride through the American political landscape."
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