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A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him
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 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.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2010
8 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Michael Takiff
4 books1 followerMichael Takiff is an independent scholar and oral historian whose writing has
appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post (on HuffPo, see his recent piece "Bill Clinton Feud With Rachel
Maddow Springs From a Legacy Full of Contradictions"). A graduate of Yale University and a former comedy writer and comedian, Takiff is the author of the oral history Brave Men, Gentle Heroes: American Fathers and Sons in World War II and Vietnam. Brave Men, Gentle Heroes was chosenby the Washington Post as a Critics Pick and was praised as a superb oralhistory (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), a major contribution (Library
Journal), and a stirring collection (AARP Magazine).Michael Takiff lives in New York City. More information about him and A Complicated Man, includinglinks to video and audio recordings of interviews, go to http://michaeltakiff.com/."
appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post (on HuffPo, see his recent piece "Bill Clinton Feud With Rachel
Maddow Springs From a Legacy Full of Contradictions"). A graduate of Yale University and a former comedy writer and comedian, Takiff is the author of the oral history Brave Men, Gentle Heroes: American Fathers and Sons in World War II and Vietnam. Brave Men, Gentle Heroes was chosenby the Washington Post as a Critics Pick and was praised as a superb oralhistory (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), a major contribution (Library
Journal), and a stirring collection (AARP Magazine).Michael Takiff lives in New York City. More information about him and A Complicated Man, includinglinks to video and audio recordings of interviews, go to http://michaeltakiff.com/."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 11, 2012
I generally enjoyed reading this comprehensive book on Clinton, ranging from his childhood to his post-presidential years. The author had quite an undertaking, interviewing more than 170 people who knew/know him and getting insights and opinions that vary wildly, ranging from total devotion to abject hatred. I learned that Clinton's greatest strength was perhaps his empathy toward others, followed closely by his incredibly high intellect. His weaknesses? Perhaps some arrogance. A bit of a temper. Oh, and women. Yep. There's quite a lot about Paula Jones and Monica Lewkinsky in here. Perhaps a bit too much, but that's just my opinion. I'll be honest. I'm a huge Clinton fan. I think he's the best president I've seen in my 45 years on earth. He oversaw an amazing time during American history, presiding over the greatest economic boom ever. He sought Middle East peace accords, fixed the Bosnia and Kosovo crises, enacted controversial welfare reform, and so much more. I love the man. So it hurt me when I saw some of the really overly dramatic criticisms leveled at him by haters. Some people just genuinely hate him more than anyone on earth and make no bones about it. While the book is fairly balanced overall, I do think it spent quite a bit of time on his weaknesses and failings and not enough time on his successes, but as I said, I'm biased. I would have given this book five stars, but the final few chapters encompassing his post-presidential years basically trash him to hell and back and that really pissed me off royally. Very jaded. It ends with a couple of questions and an odd statement: "Can he overcome his outsized flaws so that his outsized talents can work to maximum effect? ... Maybe now Bill Clinton will finally live up to his potential." I didn't like that. So Clinton didn't end a world war. That's really not his fault, and yet that's actually held against him in this book. He never fulfilled his potential because there was not a major war or depression to fix -- this is actually said in the book. That irks the hell out of me! He did a damn good job under the worst possible personal circumstances with a rabid Republican Congress and hateful media out to destroy him daily. I admire him for that. So, anyway, overall a pretty good read, yes, but like I said, the final few chapters leave me with a sour taste in my mouth. Pity.
November 23, 2018
Very good job by the author to present the life and presidency of Bill Clinton through the words of those close to him--both friends and rivals. This reader greatly appreciates the attempt to give an impartial, balanced view of Clinton and this approach succeeds in large part. As one may imagine, it is quite difficult to find a biography of Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, or Donald Trump that is not over-the-top positive or negative.
While the approach of oral history largely succeeds, a few things would have made this excellent book even better. First, he author is very good at connecting interview excerpts together by his own introductions, summaries, etc. It reads quite well. However, I believe the author would have served his own stated purposes well if he took a more formal tone. One example is a description of Ken Starr on pg. 326. "Starr's moralistic tone, his doughy, unexpressive face, his flat, nasal voice, his self-righteous commends doled out mornings at his Virginia curbside as he took out the garbage...".
Another is the out-of-place, angry pot-shots at George W. Bush on pp 394-395. "Instead of a budget surplus...trillions squandered on upper-income tax cuts and an unnecessary war...Instead of judicious use of America's armed forces, an ill-begotten, counterproductive war, entered into deceitfully and conducted unforgivably."
To include the public's disapproval of Ken Starr's personal conduct is fair. To contrast Bush's administration with Clintons (or even what one imagines Al Gore may have done) is legitimate. But, if the author sought to include harsh words about Starr, Bush, and others, he would have better served the purpose of his book (a more-objective look at Clinton) by either tempering his words or by placing such sentiments in the mouths of others. I imagine the author could've gotten an interesting critique of he asked, say, Barney Frank or Terry McAuliffe about Starr or Bush.
Second, the author wonders, throughout the book, why people "hate" Bill Clinton so thoroughly. Yet, he neither interviews nor seems to ask this question of those who hold a thoroughly negative view of Clinton. Lucianne Goldberg and Dick Armey each articulate their personal dislike for Clinton and thereby shed light on the question. Yet, other Clinton critics are spoken of in the book (Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich, Jim McDougall, Dick Morris) but not interviewed. Others are interviewed (Bob Dole, Bob Barr, John Sununu, Henry Hyde), but seeminly not asked about the question.
Finally, while an biographer cannot include every event and detail of the subject's life, it is notable that the Branch Davidian incident in Waco receives barely a footnote and the 2000 Elian Gonzalez matter is absent.
In all, this is a very well-done, even-handed biography of a very contriversial man. The author's approach and use of oral history serves the subject well and(above criticisms aside) is very well-executed. Recommended.
While the approach of oral history largely succeeds, a few things would have made this excellent book even better. First, he author is very good at connecting interview excerpts together by his own introductions, summaries, etc. It reads quite well. However, I believe the author would have served his own stated purposes well if he took a more formal tone. One example is a description of Ken Starr on pg. 326. "Starr's moralistic tone, his doughy, unexpressive face, his flat, nasal voice, his self-righteous commends doled out mornings at his Virginia curbside as he took out the garbage...".
Another is the out-of-place, angry pot-shots at George W. Bush on pp 394-395. "Instead of a budget surplus...trillions squandered on upper-income tax cuts and an unnecessary war...Instead of judicious use of America's armed forces, an ill-begotten, counterproductive war, entered into deceitfully and conducted unforgivably."
To include the public's disapproval of Ken Starr's personal conduct is fair. To contrast Bush's administration with Clintons (or even what one imagines Al Gore may have done) is legitimate. But, if the author sought to include harsh words about Starr, Bush, and others, he would have better served the purpose of his book (a more-objective look at Clinton) by either tempering his words or by placing such sentiments in the mouths of others. I imagine the author could've gotten an interesting critique of he asked, say, Barney Frank or Terry McAuliffe about Starr or Bush.
Second, the author wonders, throughout the book, why people "hate" Bill Clinton so thoroughly. Yet, he neither interviews nor seems to ask this question of those who hold a thoroughly negative view of Clinton. Lucianne Goldberg and Dick Armey each articulate their personal dislike for Clinton and thereby shed light on the question. Yet, other Clinton critics are spoken of in the book (Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich, Jim McDougall, Dick Morris) but not interviewed. Others are interviewed (Bob Dole, Bob Barr, John Sununu, Henry Hyde), but seeminly not asked about the question.
Finally, while an biographer cannot include every event and detail of the subject's life, it is notable that the Branch Davidian incident in Waco receives barely a footnote and the 2000 Elian Gonzalez matter is absent.
In all, this is a very well-done, even-handed biography of a very contriversial man. The author's approach and use of oral history serves the subject well and(above criticisms aside) is very well-executed. Recommended.
May 22, 2017
Good book - interesting format to tell a "life story" this way, as more of an analysis of the man, with loads of personal insight.
Gotta say it is so painful to read all this again and just relive - again and again and again, as the world would have it - the Clinton hatred (stems from jealousy?) and all the nonsense that partisan Republicans do in the face of successful liberal politicians.
(This book came out several years before the shitshow of 2016)
Gotta say it is so painful to read all this again and just relive - again and again and again, as the world would have it - the Clinton hatred (stems from jealousy?) and all the nonsense that partisan Republicans do in the face of successful liberal politicians.
(This book came out several years before the shitshow of 2016)
October 24, 2019
Interesting book about a complex, talented, flawed man who made mistakes before the entire world. Written in 2010, nine years after he was in office, this is the story of Bill Clinton told in the words of more than 150 friends, colleagues, rivals, and probably some enemies too.
December 20, 2019
This book is fantastic. A wide-ranging and very humane look behind the scenes, at a truly complicated man.
January 2, 2019
If you are a Bill Clinton fan this is one of the best biographies I’ve read in awhile about a former President. Told by his friends and family that know him best.
August 10, 2012
From my review originally published in AND Magazine
My personal library includes hundreds of books on Presidents and the Presidency. On rare occasions, I will read a book about a President that is so good or so interesting that it will lead me into a phase where I can't help but seek more books about that President. This is not something that happens too frequently, but when it does happen, it is because I didn't want the book that I originally read to end and then I am disappointed because few of the other books on that President can match up. I can't remember the last time that this happened -- until last night, when I finished Michael Takiff's A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him (2010, Yale University Press).
A Complicated Man is an oral biography which covers the remarkable life of the 42nd President. A seemingly exhaustive undertaking, Takiff interviewed 171 people who have known Clinton at some point in his life -- friends, family, colleagues, enemies -- some who were actually all of those things. As you might expect with Clinton, opinions differ wildly about his ability, his flaws, his potential, and his legacy. Through it all, we are reminded that Bill Clinton is indeed Complicated , but that he is also one of the most fascinating figures in American History.
Some people say that authors don't "write" oral histories; that they instead rely on the words of other people. While it's true that these 171 people help tell Bill Clinton's story, this book is outstanding because of Takiff's ability to fill in the blanks, educate the reader on the issues and events that everyone is talking about, organize their thoughts and recollections into chapters, and structure a narrative that is eminently readable. A Complicated Man would not be the treasure that it is without Takiff's direction. He asked the questions which allowed for Bill Clinton's story to be fully, honestly, candidly told by people who knew him intimately -- some of whom happened to be among the most powerful people in the world.
Another strength of Takiff's that I really appreciated in A Complicated Man is that he's not merely an observer. Yes, he relays the history and the facts, but he also helps the story flow by pointing out Clinton's accomplishments and failures, sometimes with an editorial flavor. With humor, he helps lighten the mood at times. With a sense of Clinton's importance, Takiff compares the 42nd President with his successor and points out how very quickly (and unfortunately) our country and our world changed once Clinton left the White House.
There is a tradition of solid oral history books on Presidents and the Presidency, but nothing comes close to Michael Takiff's A Complicated Man . This is one of the best efforts on Clinton's life in years, and it is the best oral history book ever written about a President of the United States. A Complicated Man is a story about somebody who came from nowhere and exceeded all expectations while somehow simultaneously squandering his potential. Clinton is an amazing human being -- a brilliant, energetic, deeply-flawed, boneheaded political magician. By telling Clinton's story with the help of the people who knew him best, we see what Clinton gave us and how much more he probably could have done. Taylor Branch's The Clinton Tapes tried to introduce us directly to Clinton, but where Branch failed, Takiff succeeds.
A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him by Michael Takiff is available now. You can order it here on Amazon in Hardcover, or download it right now for the Kindle . Michael Takiff's website is www.michaeltakiff.com and it includes bonus features about A Complicated Man.
My personal library includes hundreds of books on Presidents and the Presidency. On rare occasions, I will read a book about a President that is so good or so interesting that it will lead me into a phase where I can't help but seek more books about that President. This is not something that happens too frequently, but when it does happen, it is because I didn't want the book that I originally read to end and then I am disappointed because few of the other books on that President can match up. I can't remember the last time that this happened -- until last night, when I finished Michael Takiff's A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him (2010, Yale University Press).
A Complicated Man is an oral biography which covers the remarkable life of the 42nd President. A seemingly exhaustive undertaking, Takiff interviewed 171 people who have known Clinton at some point in his life -- friends, family, colleagues, enemies -- some who were actually all of those things. As you might expect with Clinton, opinions differ wildly about his ability, his flaws, his potential, and his legacy. Through it all, we are reminded that Bill Clinton is indeed Complicated , but that he is also one of the most fascinating figures in American History.
Some people say that authors don't "write" oral histories; that they instead rely on the words of other people. While it's true that these 171 people help tell Bill Clinton's story, this book is outstanding because of Takiff's ability to fill in the blanks, educate the reader on the issues and events that everyone is talking about, organize their thoughts and recollections into chapters, and structure a narrative that is eminently readable. A Complicated Man would not be the treasure that it is without Takiff's direction. He asked the questions which allowed for Bill Clinton's story to be fully, honestly, candidly told by people who knew him intimately -- some of whom happened to be among the most powerful people in the world.
Another strength of Takiff's that I really appreciated in A Complicated Man is that he's not merely an observer. Yes, he relays the history and the facts, but he also helps the story flow by pointing out Clinton's accomplishments and failures, sometimes with an editorial flavor. With humor, he helps lighten the mood at times. With a sense of Clinton's importance, Takiff compares the 42nd President with his successor and points out how very quickly (and unfortunately) our country and our world changed once Clinton left the White House.
There is a tradition of solid oral history books on Presidents and the Presidency, but nothing comes close to Michael Takiff's A Complicated Man . This is one of the best efforts on Clinton's life in years, and it is the best oral history book ever written about a President of the United States. A Complicated Man is a story about somebody who came from nowhere and exceeded all expectations while somehow simultaneously squandering his potential. Clinton is an amazing human being -- a brilliant, energetic, deeply-flawed, boneheaded political magician. By telling Clinton's story with the help of the people who knew him best, we see what Clinton gave us and how much more he probably could have done. Taylor Branch's The Clinton Tapes tried to introduce us directly to Clinton, but where Branch failed, Takiff succeeds.
A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him by Michael Takiff is available now. You can order it here on Amazon in Hardcover, or download it right now for the Kindle . Michael Takiff's website is www.michaeltakiff.com and it includes bonus features about A Complicated Man.
February 1, 2019
On balance, I think this is a fair book about the 42nd President. Like most leaders and especially of accomplished individuals, he is complicated and for all his strengths, there are weaknesses. However, at the end of the day, I believe he is at his core a good person who tries to do the right thing despite battling demons.
January 2, 2022
Continuing my Presidential biography project, this was a good one. I enjoyed the way the author tells the story through the words of people who knew him. Every event has more than one perspective. Clinton is here, warts and all but I have a new respect for him.
July 15, 2012
Takiff tells the ex President's story through interviews with people who knew him or worked with him throughout various stages of his life. It's a somewhat balanced book, because the people interviewed run the gamut of FOB (friends of Bill, long-standing acronymn), Clinton haters and those in the middle. I think about 1/4 of the book gave me an insight into events or philosophies of Clinton I did not already know.
However, there is one disconcerting fact about how this book was written. The author states from the start that he will be calling President Clinton 'Bill' throughout the book to make it seem more personal? As it turns out, I found this distracting. Even using his last name would have been more appropriate. I would be very interested to know if this bothered anyone else.
The title does nail my perception of Clinton. If you are a political junkie, it's worth a read.
However, there is one disconcerting fact about how this book was written. The author states from the start that he will be calling President Clinton 'Bill' throughout the book to make it seem more personal? As it turns out, I found this distracting. Even using his last name would have been more appropriate. I would be very interested to know if this bothered anyone else.
The title does nail my perception of Clinton. If you are a political junkie, it's worth a read.
July 5, 2015
Good biographies are the ones that show the complexity of their subject, revealing strengths and weaknesses in a nice balance. Michael Takiff does that in this book, which is indeed a very good biography. Bill Clinton is a fascinating figure for a lot of reasons, and Takiff does a nice job addressing those reasons by framing this book as an oral biography by those who knew Clinton well. This book doesn't provide a final answer on Clinton's legacy, but it does raise a lot of interesting questions and delivers some surprising anecdotes. I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about America's 42nd president.
May 17, 2012
I thought this was a very interesting book. It goes through Clinton's life from childhood through post-presidency years. The author interviewed a lot of people and this is a compilation of their comments/thoughts on Clinton. The neat part is that he didn't just talk to people who like Clinton, but also to people who really disliked him. So it was interesting to get more than one perspective on the man.
December 22, 2015
This not a 'proper' biography, with little written narrative, and much interview excerpts. Difficult to recommend this, as you really need to already know the key events in his story to get the most out of this
December 10, 2010
I think this is a very true portrayal of Clinton. He is everything people think of him: giving, compassionate, selfish, and arrogant all in one.
June 3, 2011
A light fun book to read, not too much new in it.
November 9, 2011
Think Clinton is an interesting person, did not care for how the book was set up... people just giving their thoughts about him... and everyone has an opinion... and that is just mine ;-)
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January 22, 2016This was a very interesting portrait of Bill Clinton because it gave points of view from friends AND enemies. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I really enjoyed reading it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews