leasummer's review against another edition
5.0
Listening to this was emotional for me, I teared up a lot. It gives the inside, personal view of what happened and how we got to where we are. Literally in her words and her voice what she feels. Very powerful.
nerdyrev's review against another edition
4.0
I have thought about how to begin this blog post for a little while now. Do I begin with how I voted in the election? Do I write about how Bill Clinton was the first candidate I ever voted for? Do I put some kind of asterisk next to everything I will write?
What I decided to do is write why I purchased the book. None of us can deny that when one talks about HRC, everyone has an opinion of her. She has been in the political spotlight on a national level since Bill Clinton became candidate Clinton and then President Clinton. In my state, HRC's legacy continued as she became our state Senator (the first First Lady to have a political career post White House days). Then she ran for President, became Secretary of State, and then ran for President again. I have to write this- no matter what your opinion of her is, you have to respect the accomplishments that she has made. This is the reason I purchased the book. No one compares to HRC when it comes to her political career. She broke all kinds of ceilings and was a forerunner for candidates who are women. I wanted the book to get an insight into her life, post political career (as it is looking like that is the case).
This book is so many things and at 500+ pages, it should be. It covers what it was like to lose the Presidency after winning the popular vote, what it was like to run against Trump and Obama, what it means to be a woman in politics, what it is like to be in the spotlight for so long, etc. This book is raw and is nothing like what it is being painted as.
The book is being painted as a blame book. I am not going to lie, there is some blame at others, but I found much more self blame. There were plenty of sentences that focused on whether or not she had done something correctly or if she had just tweaked something. In the parts that blame others, it comes from a rawness in her reflection. She has reason to be angry. She has been under a hate machine since 1992 and had all sorts of criticism, critique, and lies spread about her. I would be pretty angry at times too.
Yet, with some minor anger passages, there are many more passages about the love she has for her grandchildren, her need for self care, and just being alive and trying to live a normal life in the midst of a spotlight searching out every mistake and problem. That made this a powerful book. After reading it, I turned to my wife and said "I wish I saw this Clinton on the stage instead of what was presented to me." In that statement, I realized I too had bought into some of the attacks.
With everything typed, I do think this book could have been trimmed a bit. A whole section on life of the road was almost unnecessary as she divulges which is the best hot sauce. Those parts seemed a bit tedious. Overall though, I thought it was a good insight into her mindset including her frustrations, her joy, her life, and presented all in a very real and raw way. In this book is HRC the woman and person and not HRC the candidate. I really enjoyed it.
I gave this one 4 stars.
millerryan97's review against another edition
5.0
Even as a strong Hillary Clinton supporter till the election, I have to admit I was very nervous about this memoir. I knew there would be strong criticism of its publication, but I was nervous and excited to see what the Democratic nominee had to say. And I was very pleased when I turned the last page. It wasn’t all about the current President, but it tackled all of the social issues surrounding the election. I really enjoyed how she showed a behind the scenes look on the taxing life of a presidential nominee, as well as talk about her personal life. It was a very honest, astonishing, heart wrenching, yet hopeful look on what happened and what we can do moving forward.
leannaaker's review against another edition
4.0
News bulletin: Hillary Clinton is a real person, with real flaws, and real emotions. I suspect this isn't news to most of us. I enjoyed this read, particularly her critical look at the 2016 election at the end of the book.
leowilko's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
A long read, but filled with interesting insights about how a campaign works and personal insights from Clinton as a human/woman. A couple of interesting quotes and arguments. Incredible how resilient she has been and is following a defeat. Very powerful and impressive
One argument I really didn't enjoy was that in one chapter she argued that women 'do it all' (and therefore men don't do enough)... And then in the next chapter she hails Bill Clinton and some other men who are excellent Dads, supportive husbands, etc. Sweeping generalisations in the first chapter don't help make her case to men, and that's a major weakness.
One argument I really didn't enjoy was that in one chapter she argued that women 'do it all' (and therefore men don't do enough)... And then in the next chapter she hails Bill Clinton and some other men who are excellent Dads, supportive husbands, etc. Sweeping generalisations in the first chapter don't help make her case to men, and that's a major weakness.
ecorbitt's review against another edition
5.0
The truth breaks through
Reading this book was tough. I often felt like I was forced into mourning all over again. But nothing since the election has invigorated, inspired, of enraged me more than finally reading the truth without the miasma of shoddy reporting blocking my view. The real shame of this book was knowing how close we were to having this incredible woman lead us further into the future and how frustratingly simple it was deceive Americans enough to vote against themselves.
Reading this book was tough. I often felt like I was forced into mourning all over again. But nothing since the election has invigorated, inspired, of enraged me more than finally reading the truth without the miasma of shoddy reporting blocking my view. The real shame of this book was knowing how close we were to having this incredible woman lead us further into the future and how frustratingly simple it was deceive Americans enough to vote against themselves.
karimorton33's review against another edition
5.0
Love, love, love! It was so nice to read coherent thoughts put together by an intelligent person - unlike what has been happening and is happening with Trump. I do believe that the United States and the world lost out on the great President that Hillary Clinton would have been.
Being from Canada I wasn't able to vote in the 2016 election, but I was a supporter of Hillary. My friend and I were in the US (NYC no less) during the election and were so hopeful that we would see history happen and be able to experience it firsthand. NYC was a different city than what I knew after Hillary's loss; people were talking to each other on the streets and subway, and the protests and solidarity started right away. It was amazing to see the aftermath, but would have been even more amazing if Hillary had won.
Now on to the book review!
All the reviews that say that Hillary never took any blame and just blamed everyone and anything else for her loss are just baloney. Clearly those people didn't read or understand the book. In multiple places Hillary talks about her own personal shortcomings, while also weaving in the other factors that probably caused her to lose the election. Some of the more in-depth political analysis was over my head, but in general I could understand that politics are complicated and no one thing caused Hillary to lose - there were multiple players that when put together resulted in the outcome we saw.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and wanted to read it all at once but also savour it. I especially enjoyed Hillary sharing about her family, her campaign team, and her hopes for the future of America and the world. I'm grateful that she wrote this book, for herself and for us, her supporters.
Being from Canada I wasn't able to vote in the 2016 election, but I was a supporter of Hillary. My friend and I were in the US (NYC no less) during the election and were so hopeful that we would see history happen and be able to experience it firsthand. NYC was a different city than what I knew after Hillary's loss; people were talking to each other on the streets and subway, and the protests and solidarity started right away. It was amazing to see the aftermath, but would have been even more amazing if Hillary had won.
Now on to the book review!
All the reviews that say that Hillary never took any blame and just blamed everyone and anything else for her loss are just baloney. Clearly those people didn't read or understand the book. In multiple places Hillary talks about her own personal shortcomings, while also weaving in the other factors that probably caused her to lose the election. Some of the more in-depth political analysis was over my head, but in general I could understand that politics are complicated and no one thing caused Hillary to lose - there were multiple players that when put together resulted in the outcome we saw.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and wanted to read it all at once but also savour it. I especially enjoyed Hillary sharing about her family, her campaign team, and her hopes for the future of America and the world. I'm grateful that she wrote this book, for herself and for us, her supporters.
maricat82's review against another edition
5.0
Hearing this read by Secretary Clinton herself was pretty awesome, so I recommend the audiobook version.
This book was like a deep conversation with a really wise and accomplished mentor. It's also a bit like those conversations you have with yourself after a frustrating meeting or day at work where you rehash what you wish you'd been able to say in the moment.
As a progressive Hillary supporter who has been struggling through this first year of Trump's alleged presidency (ugh) and watching a lot of brilliant political minds get caught up in rehashing the 2016 primary instead of taking on the garbage pile in front of us, I really appreciated hearing Clinton's perspective, her lessons, and her encouragement to keep going.
This book was like a deep conversation with a really wise and accomplished mentor. It's also a bit like those conversations you have with yourself after a frustrating meeting or day at work where you rehash what you wish you'd been able to say in the moment.
As a progressive Hillary supporter who has been struggling through this first year of Trump's alleged presidency (ugh) and watching a lot of brilliant political minds get caught up in rehashing the 2016 primary instead of taking on the garbage pile in front of us, I really appreciated hearing Clinton's perspective, her lessons, and her encouragement to keep going.
mapppy's review against another edition
3.0
even if you don't agree with a lot of her viewpoints, it's worth seeing how a campaign is run, especially the 2016 election. Overall the events that occurred in the 2016 election changed the world and shaped the near future, seeing everything unfold from an outside perspective instead of hearing some crazy headline every morning was very interesting.