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Book Review: Clinton in Exile

By combining unbiased facts with opinions both for and against Clinton, author Carol Felsenthal allows readers to form their own judgments.

Review by Valerie Kramer Davis

Monday, July 07, 2008

Clinton In Exile: A President Out of the White House
By Carol Felsenthal
HarperCollins, May 2008
400 pages

Review:
Despite the all-consuming media coverage of Hillary and Bill Clinton during the 2008 presidential primaries, curiosity still surrounds the former President, often categorized as a "rock star" rather than a political figure. "If you had 125 world leaders...and Bill Clinton was in the room...most people would be really excited to go meet Bill Clinton," says editor Patrick Creadon, a close follower. He "would even walk away with the honors. There is a glow around Bill Clinton...and that's why I say history will be very good to him."

After countless hours of research and 167 interviews, author Carol Felsenthal presents the chronology of our 42nd president after he left the White House in January 2001. By combining unbiased facts with opinions both for and against Clinton, Felsenthal allows readers to form their own judgments. For example, regarding Bill Clinton's post-presidency work abroad: he "is now in some ways a man without a country," says one journalist who knows the president well. "Others would more accurately call him a citizen of the world," says Felsenthal. Many believe he will follow "in the footsteps of Jimmy Carter...in being probably a more important leader and figure in his post-presidency than even while he's president," says Susan Davis, chairperson of Grameen Foundation USA.

Not surprisingly, Bill Clinton's history of infidelity and the controversial decisions he made while in office are still met with much disapproval, even from people closest to him. "I don't think it's any great mystery that what happened in the second term obviously created the shadow [over] a lot of the good things that I think President Clinton did," says Leon Panetta, Clinton's former chief of staff. Yet Clinton's methods of manipulating, in good ways and bad, have undeniably advanced his career: "You could take his strongest critic. Put him alone in a room for five minutes and he likes Bill Clinton," says Larry King. "I've never met a political figure like that."

Without a doubt, Felsenthal captures the complexity of the former president. "He's just a unique human being, as unique in politics as Muhammad Ali or Barry Bonds are in sports," says Bob Clifford, a Bill Clinton supporter who supported Obama through the 2008 primaries. One friend of Bill Clinton describes him as the smartest, most interesting man he has ever met: "He's off the charts; he's almost a different species...but he's also the most narcissistic human being I've ever met."

Rating:

- Review by Valerie Kramer Davis.

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