HRC: State Secrets And The Rebirth Of Hillary Clinton (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
A good read on Washington politics which emphasizes who said what and what was said behind closed doors. In certain respects, these kinds of books satisfy a type of political voyeurism which gives a sense of being in the know. Aside from the fact that the writing is not great (but at least it doesn't get in the way of good stories), the book provides what I assume is some sort of insight on the workings of Hilary Clinton and her universe. I cannot speak to the objectivity of the book but at times the book wavers between being a little critical to subtly fawning. I am glad I read the book as it has given me some sense of how Hilary operated as a Secretary of State (and I think I came away impressed -- although I still have some question about the overall objectivity of the book). Nonetheless, I also came away with a sense that Hilary is gradually becoming a bit of a political dinosaur in that she is operating with a traditional political operating system that, try as she might, cannot really upgrade to a different system. Obama has had a flawed presidency but he has shown us a new direction -- both in terms of political operations and personal disposition. Was he successful? Time will tell but he tried to do things differently and had mixed success. It isn't clear that Hilary can be any more successful with a traditional (yet formidable) approach. NOTE: I listened to an unabridged audio recording of this book. The narration was good and fit the conversational tone of the writing. Not the liveliest prose in the world, but the book does a good job of explaining some interesting recent history; the ever-evolving relationship between the Clintons and Obama, Hillary's successes and failures as America's chief diplomat, and, of course, what it all might mean for 2016. I'm not super-informed on the issue, but there is a clear and careful discussion of the Benghazi mess that helped me understand it better. Hillary comes off OK and the Republicans repeatedly calling for more investigations of it seem childish and desperate to throw mud at Hillary regardless of the facts. The material on Bill Clinton's (AKA the Big Dog, at least to some political operatives) desire for a Clinton family dynasty, and his maneuvering to make it happen, is especially engaging. Not bad, but not likely to be of interest to readers without a strong interest in politics.
What do You think about HRC: State Secrets And The Rebirth Of Hillary Clinton (2014)?
Well worth a read. Fair balanced. Changed a lot of my ideas.
—Keisha
