A Woman in Charge

The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton

By: Carl Bernstein

Narrated by: Dick Rodstein

Carl Bernstein’s stunning portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton shows us, as nothing else has, the true trajectory of her life and career with its zigzag bursts of risks taken and safety sought. Marshaling all the skills and energy that propelled his history-making Pulitzer Prize reporting on Watergate, Bernstein gives us the most detailed, sophisticated, comprehensive, and revealing account we have had of the complex human being and political meteor who has already helped define one presidency and may well become, herself, the woman in charge of another.

In his preparation for A Woman in Charge, Bernstein reexamined everything pertinent written about and by Hillary Clinton. He interviewed some two hundred of her colleagues, friends, and enemies and was allowed unique access to the candid record of the 1992 presidential campaign kept by Hillary’s best friend, Diane Blair. He has given us an audiobook that enables us, at last, to address the questions Americans are insistently - even obsessively - asking about Hillary Clinton: What is her character? What is her political philosophy? Who is she? What can we expect of her?

As she decides to run for president, her husband now her valued aide, she has one more chance to fulfill her ambition for herself - to change the world.

©2007 Carl Bernstein (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“A Woman in Charge . . . stands as a model of contemporary political biography . . . Bernstein has produced an excellent book: thorough, balanced, judicious and deeply reported . . . He offers a three-dimensional portrait of a person with enduring strengths (discipline, tenacity, a sustaining religious faith) and weaknesses (excessive secrecy, a tendency to self-righteousness and a habit of nursing grudges)…Bernstein almost always finds new facts and telling details…[His] account benefits enormously from remarkably candid on-the-record assessments of both Clintons by intimates such as close friend Jim Blair and Betsey Wright, Clinton’s gubernatorial chief of staff in Arkansas.” (Ronald Brownstein, Los Angeles Times)

“Serious, well-researched and fair…A Woman in Charge is . . . painstaking, sensitive and elegantly written.” (The Economist)

“A remarkably revealing portrait.” (Byron York, The Wall Street Journal)

More about Bill, White Water, and Monica than Hillary

This book wasn't exactly what I expected. I throughly enjoyed the first few hours when the author spoke primarily about Hillary's upbringing and her high school through law school years. The Arkansas years were also pretty interesting, but after the Clinton's made it to the White House in 1992, the author seemed consumed with primarily talking about the White Water investigation and then the Monica Lewinsky scandal and barely touched on Hillary's time a senator before her 2008 campaign. Not exactly what I expected and couldn't decide if I wanted to give it a 3 or a 4 star.

Hillary & Bill, the good the bad and the ugly

This book walked me through Bill & Hillary's difficult years of their lives in Washington. I feel like I know what motivates both of them much better. Their intelligence & work ethic to make life better for all of us is heroic. Their weaknesses are those of mortals. I now know more about both of them worts and all. I'm very glad I read this book.

Short review of the book "A Woman in Charge"

The narrator was really quite good, but I think I might preferred a woman narrator. Her story is interesting, but not exciting enough for the length of the book. This book helped me keep my high opinion of Hillary during a time when she was being unfairly maligned.

The woman

I really loved this book. I think she is really under rated. It made me see what type of background she came from and the live and loves she had with Bill. This is by far one of my top 10 books..

Interesting, Enlightening---if it's true

What made the experience of listening to A Woman in Charge the most enjoyable?

Quite an account of her life, thoughts and actions. I'm always a bit wary of these biography type books. How accurate and real are they. But, even if only some is true, it is quite interesting all the things that we thought we knew but really didn't know at all. Hillary R Clinton is a remarkable woman who has made good and bad decisions. It was worth the read...if you are interested.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Woman in Charge?

when her old friend that she had sort of abandoned, in my opinion, committed suicide.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO! Way too much to take in.

Fair and balanced - for real!

Carl Bernstein's biography of Senator Clinton presents something that no other biography of her has done before - a completely balanced and unbiased look at her life. It is neither pro nor con - but, rather, a extremely well written and captivating story about the most fascinating woman in American politics today.

Good read!

Although this book was a little too long,
I thought it gave a very informative insight
about the Clintons live's and what happened
in the 8 years they were in the White House.

in depth and well-written

Insightful and beautifully, elegantly written. (I wish Carl Bernstein would write more books.) Not all books are written for the ear, but this one is. The book covers an awful lot of ground, but it didn't lose me once. The narrator's voice is soothing and even, very listenable.

If you're looking for a glowing and favorable portrait of Hillary, this might not be it. On the other hand, if you're looking for Hillary bashing, this isn't it either. Bernstein paints her fairly and clearly as the remarkable, though imperfect, woman that she is.

Focuses on Hilary's failures as a first lady

Would you try another book from Carl Bernstein and/or Dick Rodstein?

I thought I was getting an in-depth study of every period of hilary's life, and although the book does try to do that by devoting a chapter to periods like childhood, college, and etc, half of it was spent on her time as the first lady. The narrative was great though, but I probably wouldn't have bought the book.

phenomenal

This book paints such a fascinating picture, written objectively and accurately by a literary giant.