A complicated man : the life of Bill Clinton as told by those who know him / Michael Takiff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Takiff, Michael, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Clinton, Bill, 1946-.

Clinton, Bill.

Clinton, Bill, 1946---Friends and associates.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

Governors--Arkansas--Biography.

Governors.

Ex-presidents--United States--Biography.

Ex-presidents.

Interviews--United States.

Interviews.

United States--Politics and government--1993-2001.

United States.

Arkansas--Biography.

Arkansas.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (448 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Though Bill Clinton has been out of office since 2001, public fascination with him continues unabated. Many books about Clinton have been published in recent years, but shockingly, no single-volume biography covers the full scope of Clinton's life from the cradle to the present day, not even Clinton's own account, My Life. More troubling still, books on Clinton have tended to be highly polarized, casting the former president in an overly positive or negative light. In this, the first complete oral history of Clinton's life, historian Michael Takiff presents the first truly balanced book on one of our nation's most controversial and fascinating presidents. Through more than 150 chronologically arranged interviews with key figures including Bob Dole, James Carville, and Tom Brokaw, among many others, A Complicated Man goes far beyond the well-worn party-line territory to capture the larger-than-life essence of Clinton the man. With the tremendous attention given to the Lewinsky scandal, it is easy to overlook the president's humble upbringing, as well as his many achievements at home and abroad: the longest economic boom in American history, a balanced budget, successful intervention in the Balkans, and a series of landmark, if controversial, free-trade agreements. Through the candid recollections of Takiff's many subjects, A Complicated Man leaves no area unexplored, revealing the most complete and unexpected portrait of our forty-second president published to date.

Contents:

A Complicated Man

Front matter

Contents

Author's Note

Introduction: An Endless Argument

Part I. Local Hero, 1946-1987

1. Small Town Boy: Hope, Arkansas

2. A Big City (pop. 29,307): Hot Springs

3. Positive, Positive, Positive, Positive: Georgetown

4. Man of the World: Oxford and Yale

5. On the Move: An Arkansas Politician

6. Too Much, Too Soon, Too Bad: Rookie Governor

7. Out of the Woodshed: Exile and Return

8. Busy, Busy, Busy: Governor Again

9. Comfort Level: Bill and Black Arkansas

10. Not Bad, But . . .: Potential Unfulfilled

Part II. Rising Star, 1987-1992

11. National Democrat: Moving Toward the White House

12. Going for It: Candidate

13. Near-Death Experience: New Hampshire, 1992

14. All Roads Lead to Madison Square Garden: Nominee

15. A Bubba, Not a Bozo: President-Elect

Part III. Stumble, 1993-1994

16. Not an Admiral: Transition

17. Bedlam at Birth: Getting Started

18. Bill Asks, Colin Tells: The President, the Gays, the Military

19. New Kid in Town: Permanent Washington Greets the Clintons

20. Debt on Arrival: Recharting an Economic Course

21. A Casino for Jesus: The Budget Bill

22. The Yanks Are Coming: Navigating a Post-Cold War World

23. Trade War: Passing NAFTA

24. Heroic Measures: The Fight to Reform Health Care

25. Stand-Up Guys: Bill, Boris, Jiang, Fidel

26. Action, Inaction: Somalia and Rwanda

27. No Way to Run a Railroad: Fixing a Dysfunctional White House

28. From Humiliation to Celebration: Haiti

29. Picturing Peace: The Oslo Signing

30. Something Is Rotten in the State of Arkansas: Whitewater, the Scandal Begins

31. Golfing with Willie Mays: Bill Among Friends

32. Rebuke: The 1994 Midterm Election

Part IV. Recovery, 1995-1996

33. Picking up the Pieces: The Aftermath

34. Relevant: Newt versus Clinton

35. Pastor to the Nation: Oklahoma City

36. End of an Era: The Road Back

37. This Town Ain't Big Enough: Shutdown Showdown

38. Shalom, Chaver: The Death of Yitzhak Rabin

39. I'll Show You Mine If . . .: The Big Mistake

40. A Commander in Chief (Finally) Commands: Bosnia, Solved

41. Ballot-Box Missionary: Irish Troubles, Irish Votes

42. A Deal. With the Devil? Ending Welfare as We Know It

43. Slippery or Steadfast? Shapeshifter

44. Piece of Cake: Reelection

Part V. Humiliation: 1997-2000

45. Reckless, Stupid, Human: Wasting a Precious Gift

46. Big Bucks Bedroom: Scandal of the Year, 1997

47. Nailed! Linda and Lucianne

48. Pants on Fire: The Jones Deposition

49. The Bombshell Wears a Beret: Enter Monica

50. Scandal? What Scandal? Compartmentalization

51. The Puritan and the Pol: Starr versus Clinton

52. Respite: A Tour of Africa

53. Today's Word Is Is: The Grand Jury

54. Speech Defect: An Unapologetic Apology

55. Sine Qua Non: Ulster's Peacemaker

56. Softcore: The Starr Report

57. For Mature Audiences Only: A Committee, a TV Show

58. DeLayed Reaction: The Midterms and the Majority Whip

59. Impeach the Rapist! Fifty Boxes, Four Articles

60. Amazing: A Speech in Gaza

61. Bad Guys: Going After Bin Laden and Saddam

62. The Hypocrisy Police: Bob Livingston, Porn Star

63. It's Official: Impeached

64. It's About Sex: The Trial

65. Seventy-Eight Days: Kosovo

66. Down to the Wire: Camp David and the Clinton Ideas

67. In Denial: Bill Clinton and the Election of 2000

Part VI. Citizen Clinton, 2001

68. Parting Shots: Leaving the White House

69. Convening Power: The Clinton Foundation

70. Chasing a Buck: Making Multimillions Multinationally

71. Bill in a China Shop: Hillary for President, 2008

72. Unintended Consequences: Clinton-Era Deregulation and the Financial Crisis of 2008-2009

73. Envoy: A Visit to North Korea

74. And Now? The Future of Bill Clinton

Epilogue: Closing Argument

Speakers in A Complicated Man

Notes

Acknowledgments

Photo Credits

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781299463783

1299463789

9780300168884

0300168888

OCLC:

1024025638