The CLINTON ENIGMA : A FOUR AND A HALF MINUTE SPEECH REVEALS THIS PRESIDENT'S ENTIRE LIFE

by David Maraniss

A biographer of President Clinton analyzes the President's speech concerning Monica Lewinsky, and argues that it epitomizes Clinton's life

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

112 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and the author of four critically acclaimed and bestselling books, When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton, They Marched Into Sunlight War and Peace, Vietnam and America October 1967, and Clemente The Passion and Grace of Baseballs Last Hero. He is also the author of The Clinton Enigma and coauthor of The Prince of Tennessee: Al Gore Meets His Fate and "Tell Newt to Shut Up!"

David is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the Pulitzer for national reporting in 1993 for his newspaper coverage of then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton. He has won several other notable awards for achievements in journalism, including the George Polk Award, the Dirksen Prize for Congressional Reporting, the ASNE Laventhol Prize for Deadline Writing, the Hancock Prize for Financial Writing, the Anthony Lukas Book Prize, the Frankfort Book Prize, the Eagleton Book Prize, the Ambassador Book Prize, and Latino Book Prize.
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Reviews

[Pattie aka Grand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously, I unique book. Not history per se but more if a political analysis of Clinton’s mea culpa speech following his National speech admitting to the Lewinsky affair. Clearly the author is no fan of Clinton. Clearly too this analysis takes in a new light in the world of Trump, almost 25 years after the book was written.

[GrangerDanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this at a flea market right after the '16 elections and I thought, 'eh, I don't know much about Bill, why not read this essay'. I have bought a number of books at flea markets, on a whim, and most of them I have either forgotten to read or tried and didn't get through, because let's face it: it sadly doesn't always pay off to buy dusty books. But man was I lucky this time around.

This book is extremely well written, and I loved the structure of it, analyzing Clinton's speech and making parallels with his life and his character. David Maraniss' knowledge of his subject is clear (he did afterall write a Clinton biography before that) and his understanding of the then-president's personality trait and history makes this a great (and easy) read.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle pretty much says it all: "A Four and a Half Minute Speech Reveals This President's Entire Life." Maraniss is Clinton's biographer (Head of His Class) and this slim volume is a great encapsulation of everything he has learned and observed about the former President. The speech in question was Clinton's "apology" speech where he kind of, but didn't really, tell the country he was sorry about Miss Lewinsky. 110 pages

[Nicolas Name · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many passages in this book that seemed to have influenced the political show series House of Cards, and the relationship of the two leading characters.

110 pages. Slim, an easy read filled with fascinating insights. Would recommend.

[Judith Guyot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but not very interesting.

[Brian S. Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart book.

[Mike]

Maraniss nails it again!