Bill Clinton

July 1, 2003
The author of JFK: Reckless Youth can surely take on the equally reckless Clinton. This first of two volumes examines Clinton's start.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2003
Hamilton, who took on the early years of John F. Kennedy in " Reckless Youth "(1992), now looks at the life of Bill Clinton from birth through his ascendancy to the presidency, with a second volume to follow. Similar to " Reckless Youth "in style, this is as much a psychological portrait and picture of an era as it is an examination of the facts and motivations of Clinton's life. In some cases, facts seem as mutable as motivations: Hamilton convincingly speculates that William Blythe was not Clinton's father. While relying heavily on works such as David Marannis' " First in His Class" (1995) and Gennifer Flowers' explicit " Passion and Betrayal "(1996), Hamilton bolsters his secondary sources with numerous interviews, though most are not with familiar names. His premise, though not new, is intriguingly spun: Clinton, the classic pulled-himself-up-by-his-bootstraps kid, the child of an alcoholic home, a chronic people pleaser, had a fatal flaw--his ambition overrode his morality. And yet, in spite of his premise, Hamilton is surprisingly sympathetic to his subject, placing Clinton's foibles against America's culture wars. (Would the Clintons' companionate marriage have raised eyebrows in Europe? he asks.) Hamilton's fleshed-out picture shows how easily Bill Clinton could charm, empathize, manipulate, and disappoint. A very readable addition to the growing Clinton bookshelf.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)