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American Rhapsody
If the Watergate scandal was a previous generation's National Nightmare, then maybe the Clinton scandal was our National Wet Dream, and who better to narrate it than the screenwriter Joe Eszterhas? In American Rhapsody, Eszterhas, whose credits include Basic Instinct and Showgirls, and Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse, for which he was nominated for a National Book Award, takes us through the events that threatened to topple a president and left most of the nation's citizens with, at the very least, a bad taste in their mouths.
Taking full advantage of his considerable journalistic and storytelling talents, Eszterhas gives us every fact, rumor, or innuendo surrounding the president's foibles in the context of late century American politics and entertainment. Here Washington and Hollywood do more than just flirt with each other; they share the same bed. From scandalmongers Matt Drudge (who began as a Hollywood gossip) and Ken Starr, to would-be president paramours Sharon Stone and Barbra Streisand, to his final, unimpeachable witness, Willard—none other than President Clinton's talking penis—Eszterhas gives us the goods on the story that nobody could stop talking about and, thanks to American Rhapsody, will be impossible to think about the same way again.
Taking full advantage of his considerable journalistic and storytelling talents, Eszterhas gives us every fact, rumor, or innuendo surrounding the president's foibles in the context of late century American politics and entertainment. Here Washington and Hollywood do more than just flirt with each other; they share the same bed. From scandalmongers Matt Drudge (who began as a Hollywood gossip) and Ken Starr, to would-be president paramours Sharon Stone and Barbra Streisand, to his final, unimpeachable witness, Willard—none other than President Clinton's talking penis—Eszterhas gives us the goods on the story that nobody could stop talking about and, thanks to American Rhapsody, will be impossible to think about the same way again.
468 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
7 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Joe Eszterhas
21 books25 followersJoe Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American screenwriter, known for films such as Jagged Edge, Music Box, Basic Instinct and Showgirls. Before becoming a screenwriter he was a journalist and has also written non-fiction books and memoirs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 26, 2016
This book has got to be the biggest pile of trash I've read but it's actually kind of entertaining for a while. Then all the politics and trashiness and whole chapters written from the point of view of Bill's dick named Willard (for crying out loud) just gets too much, too boring, and the whole story is so dated and who cares enough to read every little trashy pathetic detail of it for 417 pages (of a rather large book with smallish print may I add). Also the author spends half the book tossing himself off...we get it dude, you loved taking drugs, you loved random sex with whoever (while your wife was at home with the kids - 60's or not you're a scumbag and a scoundrel) and you wrote a few movies...bravo, I got it the first time you said it. By the 50th time I just wished you'd take your damn hand off it and got on with the trash talking.
On a side note I see Hillary is running for president in America at the moment.... which is part of the reason this was still slightly entertaining and readable. I bet Bill and Willard didn't see that one coming.
On a side note I see Hillary is running for president in America at the moment.... which is part of the reason this was still slightly entertaining and readable. I bet Bill and Willard didn't see that one coming.
April 19, 2017
American Rhapsody is a fascinating exercise in self-deception and Hollywood bias.
July 9, 2016
I am giving this a 4 star review because it's funny and it's fair, because no one walks away unscathed...and properly so.
This happens to be a great time to read this book, right before the 2016 elections, a good time to review who Nixon or Bob Dole or the Clinton's were (are...will be again).
From what I can tell, the research is flawless. And there will be no misunderstanding between when it's fact time and when it's fun time (such as the fictional Bob Dole talking about his defective Johnson , or when sexually frustrated Ken Starr screams out, 'I never cheated on my wife!')
The author starts from the perspective that he and Bill Clinton both kind of came up at the same time, they had access to plenty of drugs and sexual goodies throughout the seventies, but at some point everybody else kind of tapered off. But not ol' Billy.
The author's temperament kind of shifts from being pissed (at Bill, at the news media) to sympathetic (toward Bill, toward everyone of his generation). In fact, it was amazing to learn that Clinton and Bush and McCain all pretty much had the same version of the nineteen-sixties: they ran around with a lot of whores and ingested substances the altar their perceptions.
The book is TRULY laugh out loud funny. Surprisingly, the chapter by Bill Clinton's penis (you read that right) was not the most enjoyable part of the book -- that says a lot! And the book proves the old adage you get the government you deserve. We did.
This happens to be a great time to read this book, right before the 2016 elections, a good time to review who Nixon or Bob Dole or the Clinton's were (are...will be again).
From what I can tell, the research is flawless. And there will be no misunderstanding between when it's fact time and when it's fun time (such as the fictional Bob Dole talking about his defective Johnson , or when sexually frustrated Ken Starr screams out, 'I never cheated on my wife!')
The author starts from the perspective that he and Bill Clinton both kind of came up at the same time, they had access to plenty of drugs and sexual goodies throughout the seventies, but at some point everybody else kind of tapered off. But not ol' Billy.
The author's temperament kind of shifts from being pissed (at Bill, at the news media) to sympathetic (toward Bill, toward everyone of his generation). In fact, it was amazing to learn that Clinton and Bush and McCain all pretty much had the same version of the nineteen-sixties: they ran around with a lot of whores and ingested substances the altar their perceptions.
The book is TRULY laugh out loud funny. Surprisingly, the chapter by Bill Clinton's penis (you read that right) was not the most enjoyable part of the book -- that says a lot! And the book proves the old adage you get the government you deserve. We did.
March 23, 2008
Anyone who's a Hunter Thompson fan of gonzo journalism will love this book. I'd never heard of it but came across it while reshelving books in my high school library and it quickly pushed Lies My Teachers Told Me (a scathing indictment of the teaching of US history in America) to the back burner.
Joe Eszterhas, screen writer of the blockbuster commercial feature-length film Basic Instinct starring Sharon Stone and her infamous pantie-less scene, provides a close look not only at the Hollywood film industry but at the politicos swarming the landscape from JFK to Baller Bill Clinton. Couched in the narrative style of Rolling Stone, for which Eszterhas was a reporter, the rhetoric is teeming with cliches, often the mark of a writer of less than stellar worth, but I love the style. Ken Starr's chapter is especially chilling as a look at the conflict between a Puritanical approach to investigative legal practices vs. the Rock and Roll written genre that came out of Woodstock, 3 Mile Island, and the National Guard killings in Ohio during the Vietnam war protests. A quick read, but if the "f" word turns you off, pass it up.
Joe Eszterhas, screen writer of the blockbuster commercial feature-length film Basic Instinct starring Sharon Stone and her infamous pantie-less scene, provides a close look not only at the Hollywood film industry but at the politicos swarming the landscape from JFK to Baller Bill Clinton. Couched in the narrative style of Rolling Stone, for which Eszterhas was a reporter, the rhetoric is teeming with cliches, often the mark of a writer of less than stellar worth, but I love the style. Ken Starr's chapter is especially chilling as a look at the conflict between a Puritanical approach to investigative legal practices vs. the Rock and Roll written genre that came out of Woodstock, 3 Mile Island, and the National Guard killings in Ohio during the Vietnam war protests. A quick read, but if the "f" word turns you off, pass it up.
November 17, 2013
Damn do I wish I could select 3.5 stars. But I just can't give it 4. That being said, this book was pretty entertaining. Which is something I would expect coming from Joe Eszterhas. Say what you will about the his (in)famous material, the man does know how to write.
Joe, as he mentions in this book, used to write for Rolling Stone, and that flavor comes through loud and clear in this book. Joe also used to work with Hunter Thompson, and that influence comes through loud and clear to me as well, but Joe is no Hunter. Don't get me wrong, I really like the style, and was really entertained by the book overall, but it kind of drags for about 150 page. The parts that drag aren't bad, and it is not like there is a clear set of material in the book that should be cut or anything, I don't, I guess it was just a little much for me.
So I guess the most succinct way to put this would be Joe Eszterhas doing Hunter Thompson on the Clinton scandal. Just not Thompson's level or genius, but certainly entertaining. Read it if you're curious, but it won't be one of your new favorite books or anything.
Joe, as he mentions in this book, used to write for Rolling Stone, and that flavor comes through loud and clear in this book. Joe also used to work with Hunter Thompson, and that influence comes through loud and clear to me as well, but Joe is no Hunter. Don't get me wrong, I really like the style, and was really entertained by the book overall, but it kind of drags for about 150 page. The parts that drag aren't bad, and it is not like there is a clear set of material in the book that should be cut or anything, I don't, I guess it was just a little much for me.
So I guess the most succinct way to put this would be Joe Eszterhas doing Hunter Thompson on the Clinton scandal. Just not Thompson's level or genius, but certainly entertaining. Read it if you're curious, but it won't be one of your new favorite books or anything.
July 21, 2007
The only reason the guy that wrote this is famous is because he wrote that shitty movie Showgirls. The way he talks about it you'd think it was a classic. Maybe an assic. Hey-oh!! Regardless, it's an tabloid-y look into the Hollywood/political scene. Not good, but not horrible.
August 4, 2008
The author is unafraid to expound upon his own importance and to continually make judgments on his subjects. May have been juicy when the Clinton scandal was fresh, now it just feels tired and overblown.
January 28, 2016
It was an audiobook and filled my commute with plenty of entertainment. But it only increased my disgust with the regime, and Eszterhas wants to shock and entertain more than inform. I've tried to forget it.
June 7, 2011
Wow - the self-importance of this dude is astonishing. I did enjoy the penis dialogue at the end...
March 13, 2022
This book made me hate reading. I finally finished it because we had severe flooding which knocked out the power for a few days- and so I challenged myself to finish it before starting ANOTHER book. I will be honest - I skimmed a few bits and skipped a few pages of rambling and obsession with penises. I don't have a penis so I can't really relate to an obsession with one. I do like them - but they don't occupy my every waking moment. I'm not a boomer so I couldn't relate to the writers boomer renegade obsession, and 70s rebel idolisation. I was clearly not the audience for this book. I picked it up because I loved the idea of historical fiction set against the Clinton white house but the execution was not my cup of tea. I probably should have figured that as I also don't love the writers cinematic work. Lessons learned.
September 16, 2017
Interesting book and despite I'm sure much literary license a good insight to some of our recent presidents. You learn what a total degenerate Bill Clinton is. I had an idea but the truth is worse. Al Gore is a Bore. Total dullard. I did the audiobook which was extra fun bc there were hillbilly narrations for Clinton and a Texas slur for Bush. You read / hear this and wonder how do these people get elected. Insightful to the inside world of politics. The author has some good stories on Hollywood too. Certainly worth your time if you have any interest in politics.
September 14, 2019
A wild ride
I literally could hardly put it down. Politics, Hollywood, and gossip of all kinds. The Clinton Years as seen through a glass darkly. It was funny, horrifying and amazing at the same time. Joe writes with a pen dripping with poison, but you can t HELP enjoying the rollercoaster through Washington and the Hollywood Hills, who h are .more alike than you think.
I literally could hardly put it down. Politics, Hollywood, and gossip of all kinds. The Clinton Years as seen through a glass darkly. It was funny, horrifying and amazing at the same time. Joe writes with a pen dripping with poison, but you can t HELP enjoying the rollercoaster through Washington and the Hollywood Hills, who h are .more alike than you think.
April 10, 2022
This is a hilarious "Maybe it's really this way" creative non-fiction book about Bill Clinton, the man that Joe Eszterhas calls the first rock and roll president.
It's almost like a book version of a Christopher Guest mockumentary where no matter how far it departs from reality, it still rings true. (and probably is closer to the truth than people would want to admit).
October 6, 2025
I read this quickly. Why? Well it is probably because most of the us have lost the shock we had when it was first announced. We watched it unfold and many years later, it is part of our history. The author did a good job explaining it to the reader. I am not going to be political about the book. You read, decide what you think.
December 16, 2022
Truly bizarre although some interesting facts if true
January 5, 2024
Didn't think I'd enjoy it but it was pretty entertaining. Not sure how the author didn't get sued but what do I know.
December 30, 2016
I reread this book over the summer of 2016 and it is even better than I remember it from the first reading. It was also depressing to read it as Hillary Clinton was being nominated and seeking to become the first woman President. The Clintons were corrupt, morally bankrupt, willing to use their powers to cover up their abuses. Hillary certainly knew what was going on; the author is quite effective in arguing that her reported shock and surprise when Bill Clinton admitted he had lied about the Lewinsky affair was nonsense--she had staffers in the White House who reported to her, she moved people out of the White House, and she certainly knew what was going on.
Clinton comes across as someone who was reckless, who felt that sexual liberation meant he could have any woman he wanted, and who refused to control his personal life in order to advance issues that he was interested in.
The author is a great writer, has passages that exceed Hunter Thompson. The author tries to have it both ways--writing sexually explicit passages that talk of all his conquests--while suggesting that the men in power treated women so badly.
While the election of Trump was a disaster and anyone was preferable to him, the only good thing to come out of the election is that the Clintons are finally gone from public life. 24 years of having to deal with them was too much and I am glad we don't have to endure another four years of them in the White House.
Clinton comes across as someone who was reckless, who felt that sexual liberation meant he could have any woman he wanted, and who refused to control his personal life in order to advance issues that he was interested in.
The author is a great writer, has passages that exceed Hunter Thompson. The author tries to have it both ways--writing sexually explicit passages that talk of all his conquests--while suggesting that the men in power treated women so badly.
While the election of Trump was a disaster and anyone was preferable to him, the only good thing to come out of the election is that the Clintons are finally gone from public life. 24 years of having to deal with them was too much and I am glad we don't have to endure another four years of them in the White House.
December 3, 2015
I simultaneously loved and abhorred this book. Essentially, Joe Eszterhas, writer of 'Showgirls' and 'Basic Instinct', details the Clinton/Lewinsky affair but since Joe Eszterhas is insane it is equal parts baby-boomer grandstanding, repetitively hailing Clinton's sexual exploits as 'rock and roll', and film industry bragging (one chapter seemed to mainly be in the book as a way for Eszterhas to imply he fucked Sharon Stone). Some chapters are fictitious monologues from the point of view of Hillary Clinton, Nixon, and Bill Clinton's penis. I really can't fully convey how strange this book is. Worth reading if you like trashy stuff.
February 5, 2014
Believe it or not, this book created quite a buzz when it came out in 2000. Now, fourteen years later, with only 18 reviews, 164 ratings, and a site-wide rating of a paltry 3.19 (which is quite on the low end as things go on this site), it is obvious that this book made no lasting impression on American political culture. I would recommend this book to anyone still interested in the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, if such people exist.
August 16, 2007
Ok, not gonna get into a political broohahah here. And I realize most of this story, based on fact, was also ellaborated by the mind of the author, who is also a screenwriter ("Basic Insinct" and "Showgirls")... but the story of Bill and Monica, and Jennifer Flowers, and Hilary it's juicy and alarming. Who knew DC could be so sexy?
November 5, 2016
Sordid and seedy which climaxes (heh!) in a chapter told from the perspective of Bill Clintons penis. Thankfully this was the final chapter so I didn't feel to bad about stopping at that point when I realised who was narrating.
Gets an extra star for teaching me more than I knew about the Clinton sex scandal incident and a bit of a bio of all the players involved.
Gets an extra star for teaching me more than I knew about the Clinton sex scandal incident and a bit of a bio of all the players involved.
August 12, 2010
Crazy politics book about the Bill and Hillary Clinton White House years, told by the screen-writer of Hollywood films such as "Showgirls" and "Basic Instinct". Hilarious and somewhat shocking at times....
January 22, 2012
Deliciously salacious. Irresistible. Social commentary and keen observations about the players in politics and in the entertainment industry; but emphasizing this book's value as social commentary is like buying Playboy and claiming to be only interested in the articles.
July 3, 2007
this book is an insider perspective on the Industry. also dishes on a few actors and actresses and that makes it better.
October 9, 2007
I almost gave it three stars just for the monologue Clinton's talking penis (you can say penis on goodreads cant you???) delivers near the end but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
July 20, 2009
Wow, wow, wow. My mind has been assulted with information and I may never be the same..... Got this book from my Dad and it is something else.
April 20, 2009
it is sorta gross and lots of sex in here...and it is so weird...
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November 25, 2010Loved EVERY page of it!
July 23, 2010
a chapter or two away from being an absolutely great book.
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December 26, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11382061
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11382061
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews