Book Description:
Astute, even handed and keenly intelligent, THE NATURAL is the only book to read if you want to understand exactly what happened during Bill Clinton's presidency, and how the decisions made during his tenure affect all of us today. We see how The White House functioned on the inside, how it dealt with the manoeuvres of Congress and the Gingrich revolution, and who held power and made the decisions during the endless crises that beset the administration. Klein's access to the White House over the years as a journalist gave him a prime spot from which to view every crucial event, both political and personal, and in the case of Monica Lewinsky both, and he sets then forth in an insightful, readable and completely engrossing manner. THE NATURAL is stern in its criticism and convincing with its praise, and will cause endless debate. It is a book that anyone interested in contemporary politics, in the functioning of the largest democracy in the world, whose decisions affect us all, should read. /Content /EditorialReview EditorialReview Source Amazon.com Review /Source Content <I>Primary Colors</I> author Joe Klein offers a nonfictional take on his favorite subject, Bill Clinton, whom he describes as both 'the most talented politician of his generation' and 'the most compelling.' Klein is of two minds when it comes to the man from Hope: he is at once disappointed by Clinton's failure to achieve greatness, but also a defender of what Clinton did do. He can be unremittingly harsh about the 42nd president's personal shortcomings: 'Bill Clinton often seemed the apotheosis of his generation's alleged sins: moral relativism, the tendency to pay more attention to marketing than to substance, the solipsistic callowness.' Yet he also credits Clinton with running 'a serious, substantive presidency' whose chief success was dragging 'Washington toward a recognition that a revised form of government activism might be appropriate in the anarchy of an instant economy.' Klein is a smart and engrossing writer, and <I>The Natural</I> is an honest liberal's best effort to explain eight controversial years. Readers who supported Clinton will discover new insights into why he didn't accomplish more; those who opposed him will gain a sharper understanding of why he remained so popular with the public. <I> John Miller</I>
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