Overview

In Bill and Hillary, one of our preeminent historians, William H. Chafe, boldly argues that the trajectory of the Clintons' political lives can be understood only through the prism of their personal relationship. From the day they first met at Yale Law School, Bill and Hillary were inseparable, even though their relationship was inherently volatile. The personal dynamic between them would go on to determine their political fates. Hillary was instrumental in Bill's triumphs as Arkansas's governor, and she saved his presidential candidacy in 1992 by standing with him during the Gennifer Flowers sex scandal. He responded by delegating to her powers that no other First Lady had ever exercised. Always tempestuous, their relationship had as many lows as highs, from near divorce to stunning electoral and political successes. Chafe's penetrating insights—into subjects such as health care, Kenneth Starr, welfare reform, and the extent to which the Lewinsky scandal finally freed Hillary to become a politician in her own right—add texture and depth to our understanding of the Clintons' experience together. Bill and Hillary is the definitive account of the Clintons’ relationship and its far-reaching impact on American political life.

Full Product Details

9780822357193

Table of Contents

Reviews

This is a deeply insightful and warmly empathetic portrait of personal ambition, a complicated marriage, and a powerful political partnership. --Alice Kessler-Harris, author of A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman

""A fascinating analysis of how Bill and Hillary Clinton's different family backgrounds and complicated marital history shaped their political fortunes."" -- Stephanie Coontz, author of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s ""In this mesmerizing account, one of the most astute historians of our era pulls back the curtain on the struggles and passions of the world's most powerful couple."" -- Elaine Tyler May, author of America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation ""For any reader seeking to unravel the Byzantine politics of the 1990s, Chafe's book is indispensable."" -- William E. Leuchtenburg, author of In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Barack Obama ""For those of us who worked with the Clintons, this book, by one of the nation's best historians, brings a keen eye and fresh insights to the intersection of their personalities and their exercise of power."" -- David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN and adviser to four U.S. presidents ""This is a deeply insightful and warmly empathetic portrait of personal ambition, a complicated marriage, and a powerful political partnership."" -- Alice Kessler Harris, author of A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman

Author Information

William H. Chafe is the Alice Mary Baldwin Professor of History, Emeritus, at Duke University and former president of the Organization of American Historians. He is the author of numerous books on civil rights, women's history, and politics, including Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina and the Black Struggle for Freedom, winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award; The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II; Never Stop Running: Allard Lowenstein and the Struggle to Save American Liberalism, winner of the Sidney Hillman Book Award; and Private Lives/Public Consequences: Personality and Politics in Modern America. He is coeditor of Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South, winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award and the Carey McWilliams Award.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available