The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton

By Joe Klein

Book Overview

Joe Klein, best-selling author of Primary Colors and one of our most brilliant political analysts, now tackles the subject he knows best: Bill Clinton. Astute, even-handed, and keenly intelligent, The Natural is the only book to read if you want to understand exactly what happened-to the military, to the economy, to the American people, to the country-during Bill Clinton's presidency, and how the decisions made during his tenure affect all of us today.

Much has been written about Clinton, but The Natural is the first work to cut through the gossip, scandals, media hype, and emotional turbulence that Clinton always engendered, to step back and rationally analyze the eight years of his tenure, a period during which America rose to unprecedented levels of prosperity. Joe Klein puts that record into perspective, showing us what worked and what didn't, exactly what was accomplished and why, and who was responsible for the successes and the failures.

We see how the Clinton White House functioned on the inside, how it dealt with the maneuvers of Congress and the Gingrich revolution, and who held power and made the decisions during the endless crises that beset the administration. Klein's access to the White House over the years as a journalist gave him a prime spot from which to view every crucial event-both political and personal-and he sets them forth in an insightful, readable, and completely engrossing manner.

The Natural is stern in its criticism and convincing with its praise. It will cause endless debate amongst friends and foes of the Clinton administration. It is a book that anyone interested in contemporary politics, in American history, or in the functioning of our democracy, should read.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767914120
• ISBN13: 9780767914123
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Straight portrait of a presidential dissembler.

Absorbing, incisive account of what makes Clinton the Devil or a saint in opposing camps and why his wife Hillary seems destined for the White House.

Fair and balanced review of the Clinton presidency.

For someone who did not pay much attention to politics before 2000, I found this book very helpful. All I remember from the Clinton presidency is that the President seemed to be entangled in scandal constantly, and that the Republicans seemed to care far more about bringing him down in any way possible than about guarding the welfare of the country. Klein's breezily written book, while it does at points dwell on all of the scandal (how could it not?), fills in many of the lesser-known details about Clinton's vision and both his accomplishments and failures. I came away from this book feeling that the patchwork of disjointed memories I had concerning politics from 1992 to 2000 had now clicked into place in a coherent narrative. I also came away with a much better understanding of why most Americans think Clinton was a good President, whatever they might think about his personal character.

Great 1st Step

When I bought this book I had read some rather nasty reviews stating that the book was very left of center and nothing more then a 200 page campaign add. In all honesty that would not have been disappointing for me to read, but what I got was a book that did not shy away from the biggest disappointments of the Clinton Presidency. The author tries to provide a balanced look at the Clinton Presidency by given equal time to both the good and the bad. Sure the author leans to the left a bit but that did not make him pull up the rains at all when talking over the personal problems Clinton kept getting involved in.I think Klein did a very good job with the book, he is a funny and sharp writer that keeps you wanting to read the book in one sitting. I would also say that the writing style is not for the quick and easy reader, it makes you want to pay attention and think over the writing after you put the book down. My only real complaint is that I would have liked about twice as much volume. At a bit over 200 pages it does feel like it just gives a broad overview. Overall I found the book very enjoyable and interesting that anyone that is interested in President Clinton will find entertaining and useful.

A Balanced Perspective On Bill Clinton

I am tired of all of the Clinton-bashing. The man is not some stupid southern hick who fell into the White House. I don't care what the pundits and just plain Clinton-haters have to say, I as an average citizen believe he did a remarkably good job over his eight years in office.Indeed Clinton infuriated me at times with his shifting positions and his seemingly uncontrollable libido. He did some stupid and embarrassing things. Yet, he was real, "warts and all."For my money, he is the most human president we have had in many years. We have enough plastic politicians. In Bill Clinton, what we saw was a very brilliant, yet imperfect man, who had an enormously natural talent to serve the American people. He did a good job on our behalf. As Klein points out, Clinton is a "Natural!" Klein presents a very balaned portrait of a bright and complex man who did remarkably well despite his own humanity and the woes of having to deal with a publicly funded witch hunt for his entire eight years in office. A fast, fair and very readable book about an interesting man who finally has a life that he doesn't have to live under a microscope anymore.

Balanced, Smart and Knowledgeable

I've seen Joe Klein on TV a few times, and he seems a bit defensive about whether he's "pro" or "anti" Clinton. Klein perhaps is buying into the noxious Washington media habit of reducing all civics into two sides, a "left" or "right." To his credit, he doesn't fall into this trap in this book which was, for me, profoundly useful and insightful in explaining a presidency that was baffling to me. Clinton seems so smart and, at times, far-sighted -- his notions of guiding the U.S., for example, into a post-industrial economy, and yet, the sleazy, amoral side of him is just appalling. One of the many great things about Klein's book is that he explains what made Clinton great at times and awful at times. He skips past the usual media cant and shouting. It's a very readable, compelling book. I am amazed that I could learn this much about Clinton ever seeing all this media coverage of him for years. Yet little of it explained him. Klein doesn't so much tell us precisely how Clinton got this way as he does lay out how he was. I feel now, finally, as if I understood what Clinton really did well, and also just how disturbed and sad he was/is. It's a terrific and very, very smart piece of journalism. There are thousands of reporters in Washington, but most of them seem to be screaming at one another all of the time. Klein has actually and succinctly (and brilliantly) laid out the truth about the Clinton presidency. Silly people are always looking for bias on the "left" or "right" but this book is a lot of truth about a complicated, misunderstood and tragically messed up President.