Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton

When Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton was published in 2003, it was a highly anticipated book. It was thought Ms. Clinton would discuss in depth the many problems that plagued her husband's administration.

With all the hoopla going on about the upcoming presidential election and Ms. Clinton being a Democratic front leader, I decided to read this book. I was very disappointed. The book gave no new insights into her early life or the time she spent as first lady.

The book basically was all about Ms. Clinton patting herself on the back and blaming others for her problems.

She said she had reservations at first about marrying her husband because she didn't know if she wanted to move to Arkansas of if she would fit in there. Yet, other biographers of her say she hesitated because she doubted that Mr. Clinton would be faithful. He dated other women when they were engaged and she suspected this trend would continue after they were married.

Ms. Clinton blames the Republicans for the downfall of her health care program. She says they didn't want it to succeed because it would make President Clinton look like a hero. Not wanting him to achieve that status, the Republicans worked hard to make sure the program didn't happen.

According to Ms. Clinton, Whitewater and Travelgate were both blown out of proportion by the Republicans in an effort to derail President Clinton's administration. She says they were totally innocent in both cases.

Ms. Clinton claims the windfall profit she made trading commodities was due to her astute financial insight and had nothing to do with insider trading. She blames the press for suggesting otherwise.

Other first ladies conduct their duties from the East Wing, yet Ms. Clinton, as first lady, had offices here as well as in the West Wing, which she doesn't fully explain why this was. Was it so she could, as some biographers suggest, she could keep an eye on President Clinton and the women coming and going from his office or because she was more involved in policy making than she is willing to admit? (It is highly possible that in 2009 Ms. Clinton will be able to claim the Oval Office as her own.)

Ms. Clinton glosses over President Clinton affairs with other women. While admittedly this is a painful subject for her to talk about, a true autobiography should tell of the good times as well as the bad.

The only thing she says about Monica Lewinsky is that she was angry and hurt with her husband for lying to her. (He had adamantly denied he had had an affair with Monica to both her and the American public.) She goes on to say that it isn't her story to tell, yet it greatly influenced Ms. Clinton's life and the publics perception of her.

She says she was confident the Senate wouldn't find President Clinton guilty of the impeachment charges. Yet she must have been extremely worried that there was a possibility this would happen. If he was kicked out of the White House, she would be out also.

If you're looking for a book that gives some insight into Hillary Clinton and what makes her tick, Living History isn't the book for you.