My Life (Bill Clinton Autobiography)
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''My Life'' is a 2004
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
written by former U.S. president
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. It was released on June 22, 2004, around three years after Clinton left office. The book was published by the Knopf Publishing Group and became a bestseller; the book sold in excess of 2.3 million copies. Clinton received a $15 million (equivalent to $ million in ) advance for the book, the highest such fee ever paid by a publisher.


Summary and themes

In ''My Life'', Clinton covered his life chronologically, beginning with his early years in
Hope, Arkansas Hope is a city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Hope micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which in ...
, and his family's move to
Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...
, where he attended school and learned the
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...
. It later had a peripheral role in his political public appearances. He had an early interest in politics, which he pursued in college. He eventually ran for and won the Governorship of
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
, and later, the
Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
of the United States. Along the way, Clinton offers anecdotes of ordinary people he had interacted with over the years. Early in Clinton's life, he recalls listening to his family's stories of others and learning
that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain.
Following his defeat for second term as governor, Clinton remarks, "the system can only absorb so much change at once; no one can beat all the entrenched interests at the same time; and if people think you've stopped listening, you're sunk." In a political battle, he said that one should wait for an attack from his opponent, then counterpunch as strong and as fast as possible. Early gaffes in Clinton's political career were a result, he believed, of taking too long to respond to attacks.


Writing process

Clinton spent about two and a half years on ''My Life''. He gathered material for four months, wrote an outline, and spent two years and two months writing the book. Clinton advisor Justin Cooper assisted him throughout the writing of the book, transcribing his handwritten drafts onto his computer and providing him with notes, quotes and data. "I wrote it out long hand, left blanks for research, he'd do the research, put it in the computer, print it out, and then we'd edit it," Clinton said. "Every page in this book has probably been gone over somewhere between three and nine times." The original draft for the book was written completely in long-hand. " here were22 big, thick notebooks."Clinton, Bill. '' The Late Show with David Letterman'', CBS, August 3, 2004. The book was edited by
Robert Gottlieb Robert Adams Gottlieb (April 29, 1931 – June 14, 2023) was an American writer and editor. He was the editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and ''The New Yorker''. Gottlieb joined Simon & Schuster in 1955 as an editorial ass ...
. Clinton solicited him after being impressed by
Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, wh ...
's autobiography '' Personal History'', which Gottlieb had edited.


Reaction

At 1,008 pages, the memoir was chided for its length, with comedian
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
joking, "I have to confess, I did not finish the entire book; I'm on ... page 12,000." Similarly, then-President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
joked that it was "10,000 pages long." In 2007,
Teletext Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipped television sets. Teletext sends data in the broadcast signal, hidden in the invisible vertical blanking interval area at the to ...
carried out a survey of British readers, the results of which revealed that of the respondents who had purchased or borrowed ''My Life'', 30 percent had either not read it, or had begun to read it but had not finished it. Clinton's former advisor
Dick Morris Richard Samuel Morris (born November 28, 1948) is an American author, commentator, and former political consultant. A friend and advisor to Bill Clinton during his time as Governor of Arkansas and since his 1978 run, Morris became a political ...
wrote a rebuttal named ''Because He Could'' (2004), criticizing ''My Life.'' In his own book, Morris presented what he believed to be factual inaccuracies of different events Clinton depicted in ''My Life.'' White House intern
Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...
was also highly critical of the book, particularly the passages in which Clinton writes about his affair with her, saying that she had thought he would "correct the false statements he made when he was trying to protect the presidency." Clinton earned US$30 million as of April 2008 from the sales of ''My Life'' and his follow-up book, '' Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World''.


Reception

On
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, the book received a 41 out of 100 based on 32 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On '' Bookmarks Magazine'' September/October 2004 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (2.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary stating, "You just need to wade through the myriad names, dates, and details of this "big puffy plum cake of an autobiography" to make sense of his panoramic story (''New York Times Book Review'')". ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the book out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish": ''
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'', ''
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'', and ''
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'' reviews under "Pretty Good" and ''
Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'', ''
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'', '' Independent On Sunday'', and ''
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'' reviews under "OK" and ''
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'' review under "Rubbish".


Editions

In addition to the full-volume hardback that was initially released, several other editions followed, including: a limited deluxe edition that was numbered, slipcased, and autographed (); trade paperback; abridged audio (read by Bill Clinton); unabridged audio (read by Michael Beck); and a mass market paperback edition separated into two volumes. The
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
edition, read by Clinton and published by Random House Audio, won the 2005
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best Spoken Word Album. This was the second time Clinton had won the award; in February 2004, Clinton (along with former leader of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
and actress
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...
) won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. They were narrators for the
Russian National Orchestra The Russian National Orchestra () was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City and in Israel. History The RNO's first recording (1991 ...
's album '' Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks''.


See also

* List of autobiographies by presidents of the United States * ''Citizen: My Life After the White House''


References


External links


Official webpage
at Random House {{Authority control 2004 non-fiction books Alfred A. Knopf books American autobiographies Books about Arkansas Books about Bill Clinton Books about the Clinton administration Books by Bill Clinton British Book Award–winning works Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album Political autobiographies Political memoirs Books written by presidents of the United States Post-presidency of Bill Clinton