Synopsis
Covering all aspects of America's controversial former President's wife, this comprehensive biography offers an unprecedented view of our first baby boomer First Lady, and provides a better understanding of lawyer, board member, and commision member Hillary Clinton.
Reviews
YA-An engrossing look at our First Lady. Radcliffe provides extensive detail about her life and philosophy. A description of her early years sets the stage for readers to see how and why she came to be the person she is. Beyond an impressive resume of accomplishments, this account provides a "behind the scenes" glimpse at the private individual as well as the constantly visible public figure. Interspersed throughout the text are candid interviews with family, close friends, associates, and Clinton herself. A woman to watch, a biography to read.
Linda Vretos, West Springfield High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From veteran Washington Post journalist and First Lady-watcher Radcliffe: a fulsome biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton that's long on quotes from F.O.H.'s and F.O.B.'s and short on any from those who might be a tad more objective. In less than sparkling prose, Radcliffe tells the story of a woman who's far too exceptional in her accomplishments to be trotted out for public consumption as just another working woman of the 90's trying to juggle family, career, and other commitments. Raised in a Chicago suburb, the future First Lady had parents who not only encouraged her to excel at academics and athletics but made no distinction between her and her two brothers. With this priceless advantage, she went on to achieve great things, not only in her education but in all the subsequent positions she's held. Radcliffe describes tales of how Hillary Rodham, a Goldwater supporter, changed during the turbulent late 60's at Wellesley to become a McGovern campaign-worker and a liberal Democrat. The author suggests, however, that Mrs. Clinton's liberalism is tempered by her Methodist up-bringing and religious readings: Her sense of human frailty has led her to reject ``sentimental liberalism'' and to adopt a more pragmatic response in working for justice and reform. ``I wonder if it's possible to be a mental conservative and a heart liberal?'' the First Lady once wrote. Her meeting with Bill Clinton at Yale; her decision to move to Arkansas (``My friends and family thought I had lost my mind. I was a little bit concerned about that as well''); her marriage; the campaign and the first hundred days of the presidency are also chronicled here. More a postcampaign bio than a probing assessment of a woman who doesn't need the White House to validate her. Still, a readable primer to fill in until the big book--and there must be one--comes along. (First printing of 75,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Controversial though she may be, Hillary Rodham Clinton is and will continue to be an important role model for many in the years to come. In this thorough account of her life up through the Clintons' first few months in the White House, it is clear that the First Lady is quite different from most of her predecessors. Her education; her work on various issues, especially children's advocacy and educational reform; and her political savvy are detailed objectively by Radcliffe. We don't learn many details of her private life, but we do see how she is similar to many women professionals trying to juggle career and family. An important book about the most powerful woman in America. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/93.
- Pamela R. Dau benspeck, Warren-Trumbull Cty. P.L., Warren, Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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