A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton

A Woman in Charge is a wonderfully written book. As a good journalist Carl Bernstein wrote a story that was absolutely fascinating about the most dynamic and important couple in recent US history. In reading this book I understood the true nature of the partnership between Hillary and Bill. I also understood at least from Bernstein's point of view how the relations in a marriage can shape history. Unfortunately because the book does stops really with the White House years we do not get his assessment of how Hillary has changed. I read this book in the hope it would help me make up my mind on who to vote for and because it did not cover the Senate years it did not help. There are several fascinating insights in the book. The first for me was how even early on Hillary had the ability to attract people to her. In high school and college and finally law school she clearly stood out as an extraordinary person. People were drawn to her because of her intellect and ability to get things done. Second as she grew she sincerely felt herself to be a partner in a venture whether in Arkansas or in Washington. Bill was the front man and the dreamer. She was behind the scene with the ability to get things done. She was a person who saw a goal, was convinced she knew how to achieve it and then would stop at nothing to achieve it. In short she was a dangerous person, not unlike our current president. Third and more hopeful she seems to have the ability to learn from her mistakes and to grow. It is a shame that Bernstein does not spend more time on her Senate career. The most interesting point was the dynamics between Bill and Hllary. I got the feeling that Bill is a force of nature. Brillant but undisciplined but totally charming. HIllary could not control him but worked at it never endingly and accepted her role. He also was attached to her in an interesting way that is hard to understand. They really were joined together and were not really independent. The last point is the problem with books that are based upon interviews. It is so difficult to know how credible the book is when you do not know all the sources. In summary it is a great story about a remarkable woman. It is a well done effort and very enjoyable.

I found this book hard to put down. It is a well researched, even handed biography---and a book everyone should read considering that Hillary is a serious candidate for the presidency. Bernstein has done a stellar job here---he does not seem to have an axe to grind--and leaves no stone unturned in his endeavor to make Hillary someone we can understand. Take note of the footnotes and bibliography--they are extensive. It's a gripping tale--and kept my interest every step of the way.

Carl Bernstein, a journalist who, along with Bob Woodward, won a Pulitzer Prize for their Watergate coverage, has written a detailed, even handed account of the life of Hillary Clinton. This is no political screed. It's neither a left-wing hierography deifying her, nor a right-wing diatribe demonizing her, but a well thought out, well-researched, even handed account of her unusual life as an active first lady and politician. For those looking for a substantive and informative work on Hillary Rohdam Clinton, this is it.

Wow! is what my initial response to this book. Hillary Clinton has always been a character that puzzled me a lot. I had exactly the same questions that Bernstein had. Who is "really" Hillary Clinton? What is her character? What is her political philosophy? What can we expect of her if she becomes our next President? Is she an opportunist? Does she deserve our votes? At a time when almost everyone thinks that Hillary is one arrogant opportunistic politician who married and remained with Bill Clinton to advance politically and obtain power, Bernstein sees it from a different angle and definitely brings out a clear and balanced portrait of this complex personality. What makes this book unique is the candid and undisputable facts that Bernstein refers to. I was especially blown away by the rare findings that was revealed through Hillary's best friend, Diane Blair and Betsey Wright, Clinton's gubernatorial chief of staff in Arkansas. Bernstein reveals that throughout Hillary Clinton's years in the White House, the characteristic of her approach was to view politics as war. (One aide in the 1992 presidential campaign told Bernstein, "She's happiest when she's fighting.") and she refused to read newspapers during the White House years. Bernstein tells us with excellent facts the reasons that made her change all of these attitudes that would not have suited her future endeavors. Bernstein has definitely produced an excellent book: thorough, balanced, and deeply reported facts that has certainly decrypted the complex character of one of the most compelling figures in the world today who helped define one presidency and may well step into another that all of us keep a close eye on. Five stars 5/5. N.Sivakumar Author of America Misunderstood: What a Second Bush Victory Meant to the Rest of the World

Comprehensive, detailed and surprisingly easy to read, this biography of Hillary Clinton should be read by anyone who has a vote in any of the upcoming Democratic primaries and, if she wins that party's nomination, anyone planning to vote in 2008. Sure, many people claim to already know all they need to about Mrs. Clinton, but reading this book you really start to understand her. And whether you love her or hate her, your opinion just might be changed. An amazingly interesting book, "A Woman in Charge" is divided into three sections. The first 70 pages cover Clinton's childhood in Chicago and college years. The next 100 recount her years in Arkansas. The remaining 350 focus on Hillary's experience as First Lady, with just a few devoted to her time as a senator. From a young child's love of earning Girl Scout merit badges, to a 14-year-old Goldwater Girl's trip to see Martin Luther King, to a modern senator's remarkably unique reason for voting for authorized force against Iraq (she said it would make "war less likely"), there's never a dull moment. And thanks to interviews with more than 200 Clinton associates and more than 500 footnotes, every sentence rings true. The book doesn't offer any juicy gossip, but does have lots of intimate behind-the-scenes detail. Hillary's first college boyfriend supplies Bernstein with the letters she wrote to him (what a jerk!), in which the 18-year-old freshman describes herself as "a progressive, an ethical Christian and a political activist" who is nevertheless "outrageous... as outrageous as a moral Methodist can get." Later on, Bernstein reveals that Bill Clinton asked Hillary to marry him many times before she finally said yes, and that once in Arkansas he told her he had fallen in love with another woman and wanted a divorce, which she refused. Toward the end of the book, the author recounts a moment during the peak of the Lewinsky crisis, when Stevie Wonder met Hillary at a White House dinner and insisted on taking her to a private room to perform a song he had written for her -- about forgiveness. What impressed me most about "A Woman in Charge" is how well it is written. Though every chapter is meticulously well documented, each explains its often-complex story in a clear and engaging style. You can picture yourself in the Yale dorm room when, in 1968, the politically active junior hears of Martin Luther King's assassination and pounds the wall, screaming "I can't stand it anymore! I can't take it!" And you can't help but cringe when you read of Hillary's first meeting with Virginia Cassidy Blythe Clinton Dwire -- Bill's mom -- after the charismatic woman with the "white-striped hair and fondness for fast men, fast horses, red lipstick and false eyelashes" had driven up to New Haven from Arkansas in 1972: "Virginia thought Hillary was a fright," Bernstein writes, "her hair badly cut (she had chopped it herself that semester, to save money), no makeup, and jeans, her preferred posture tending toward