My Life
Tonight I have finally finished Bill Clinton's memoir "My Life". It took me an incredibly long time to finish in part because it's 1000 pages and in part because I am a slow reader when I read for leisure. Before reading the book I had always liked Clinton, being a Democrat and all. Having now finished it I find myself liking him even more and actually even admiring him (I know that sounds strange. I don't admire everything about him certainly). It could be that Clinton is the most convincing and persuasive politician in history and I the most gullible of readers. Some probably would say that. I think however that this is more attributable to the fact that I found his memoir to be an incredibly open and private look into his life, his personality, his strengths and weaknesses.
One thing that I've learned is that, with today's media, politicians and especially presidents don't ever get the chance to tell their side of the story to the people when controversies break, or at least the people are very unwilling to accept their side as honest. I grudgingly admit that this is true even for George W. Bush. In reading Clinton's book I learned an awful lot about all the controversies of his Presidency that I had never heard about before. I also learned a lot about things Clinton did that never got any publicity. Just as nowadays the news programs don't carry headlines such as "New School Opens in Iraq," all of Clinton's positives were overshadowed by the frenzy surrounding his "scandals."
I guess the best things I got out of the book were: (1) I felt as if I was getting to know Clinton as a person, not just as a politician, and (2) the book for me provided a unique look at America and why it is such a great country. Clinton's story is definitely an inspiring one, having been born a poor country boy in Hope, Arkansas, his dad having just been killed in a car crash, and then rising all the way to President of the United States. Those kind of stories have always interested me a great deal.
Clinton's book to me also was an interesting look at political philosphy, and I think he does a good job differentiating how he views politics and the world as opposed to his Republican rivals. At the same time I was amazed at how complimentary and non-confrontational he was towards his enemies who did everything in their power to pull his presidency down. He has great things to say about Reagan, Bush I, Dole, Bush II, even Newt. About the only person he could not find something nice to say about was Kenneth Starr. This of course is very understandable.
I didn't really mean for this to turn into a book review. I was just really drawn in by the book and in a contemplative mood now that I've finished it, so I wanted to write something about it. Somehow when I sit down to write these entries they turn out far different than I envision. Anyway, read the book if you get a chance. Even if you are a Republican. I would only recommend going in with an open mind, but also with some skepticism. He's very convincing and if you don't go in skeptical you may find yourself a bigger Clinton fan than I am.
Back to Civil War books for me, Dr. Weitz's new book on Confederate Privateers. Looking forward to reading it for two reasons: (1) he thanks me in the front pages for the less than hour work I put into it, and (2) it's much shorter than Clinton's book, so it shouldn't tie up my next couple of months.
One thing that I've learned is that, with today's media, politicians and especially presidents don't ever get the chance to tell their side of the story to the people when controversies break, or at least the people are very unwilling to accept their side as honest. I grudgingly admit that this is true even for George W. Bush. In reading Clinton's book I learned an awful lot about all the controversies of his Presidency that I had never heard about before. I also learned a lot about things Clinton did that never got any publicity. Just as nowadays the news programs don't carry headlines such as "New School Opens in Iraq," all of Clinton's positives were overshadowed by the frenzy surrounding his "scandals."
I guess the best things I got out of the book were: (1) I felt as if I was getting to know Clinton as a person, not just as a politician, and (2) the book for me provided a unique look at America and why it is such a great country. Clinton's story is definitely an inspiring one, having been born a poor country boy in Hope, Arkansas, his dad having just been killed in a car crash, and then rising all the way to President of the United States. Those kind of stories have always interested me a great deal.
Clinton's book to me also was an interesting look at political philosphy, and I think he does a good job differentiating how he views politics and the world as opposed to his Republican rivals. At the same time I was amazed at how complimentary and non-confrontational he was towards his enemies who did everything in their power to pull his presidency down. He has great things to say about Reagan, Bush I, Dole, Bush II, even Newt. About the only person he could not find something nice to say about was Kenneth Starr. This of course is very understandable.
I didn't really mean for this to turn into a book review. I was just really drawn in by the book and in a contemplative mood now that I've finished it, so I wanted to write something about it. Somehow when I sit down to write these entries they turn out far different than I envision. Anyway, read the book if you get a chance. Even if you are a Republican. I would only recommend going in with an open mind, but also with some skepticism. He's very convincing and if you don't go in skeptical you may find yourself a bigger Clinton fan than I am.
Back to Civil War books for me, Dr. Weitz's new book on Confederate Privateers. Looking forward to reading it for two reasons: (1) he thanks me in the front pages for the less than hour work I put into it, and (2) it's much shorter than Clinton's book, so it shouldn't tie up my next couple of months.