fullygoldy | Books: My Life by Bill Clinton

This is another audio book I tried out. Our local branch of the library has a really small selection of audio books on CD, and this one looked interesting enough to try. It is read by the author, and I think that's a really good thing. Clinton has a really nice speaking voice anyway, so he was very pleasant to listen to over 5.5 hrs of CDs, and I'd like to think that his reading would put all the emphasis in the right places, so that we really get to hear what he intended when he wrote it, instead of having to live with some professional reader's interpretation.

The book covers Clinton's birth, childhood and adulthood through his presidency, plus about a year afterward.

When I mentioned having just finished this to

bzdchris, she asked, "what did you learn that was most surprising?" This is a really good question to ask after reading a non-fiction book. I think the most surprising thing was to come away realizing that Clinton is a borderline idealist. He is definitely a highly optimistic person, and I think this must be what really helped him all along to stand up to his foes. I was also surprised to learn that many of the people who made his life miserable during his political tenure actually apologized to him afterward. "What good is a private apology when the injuries were so public?" you may well ask. I think Clinton derived a great deal of satisfaction from his private apologies. It does sound like his knowing he was in the right about something, and having his fiercest opponent on that subject privately apologize was completely validating for him. Clinton says he was raised to always find the good in everyone, and allows that on some days and with some people it's a very difficult thing to do, but he always tried.

Clinton also speaks candidly about his fears and anger that stem from his childhood, and how he tried to control these by stuffing them down and hiding them even from himself. It wasn't until late in life that he even began to recognize or understand how these things really shaped and controlled him. Obviously, these aren't world-shattering revelations, but I think it's interesting to see how someone so smart and successful can be blind to huge parts of himself, and yet succeed. Imagine what someone could accomplish with all those brains, talent *and* self-awareness!

There were no huge revelations. He was pretty candid about Monica Lewinsky without being at all descriptive or graphic. He said he felt stupid and ashamed for himself and guilty about how it affected her life, and really miserable about how it affected his relationship with Hillary and Chelsea. He claims he slept on the sofa for a good many months (months that included couple's counseling) after he finally told Hillary the truth. In addition to the stupid problem he brought on himself, he also felt guilt and regret towards all his friends who were hounded by the press and during the Whitewater debacle, people who were proven to have committed no greater crime than being his friends before he was president.

My favorite parts were when Clinton was talking about his entry into political action, his meeting with JFK, how keenly he personally felt the events of the 60s. Other than his upbringing, this time period has to be the source of much of his idealism. How he met Hillary and convinced her to marry him is also pretty cool.

Tonight I saw the Jimmy Carter biography on CD, and almost picked it up, on the basis of having enjoyed "My Life." I decided to save that for another time though. Another neat thing about getting audio books for driving is that I tend to get stuff that I'd never read otherwise. Mainly because I just settle for what is right there on the shelf instead of looking ahead and reserving something already on my list.