Democrat, Republican, or Independent, it doesn't matter - "It Takes A Village" has a good message and touches upon a variety of issues regarding our society and children today. Though she does offer some Pollyanna anecdotes about her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea, the book is an enjoyable read and offers some great insights to how our country can rally together for our children.

Mrs. Clinton uses the analogy of the village as a place where the common good of all members, especially the children were taken into consideration and given priority as an investment to the village's future....she compares other nations and uses examples of how their social programs are focusing on children and how successful they appear to be. Mrs. Clinton also incorporates stories of her childhood and the era she was raised in; she does not boast but rather helps us to see how our society has changed and how desperately we need to make provisions to ensure some basics are again instituted in our culture. Mrs. Clinton stresses the importance of adults as role models, how neighborhoods have come together to push crime out of and reclaim their community, how important it is to have safe places to play and stresses the need for bipartisan support in government regarding our children and their education. The need for governmental supported programs for after school, etc. is also mentioned, and that the majority of the changes should start in the home. Mrs. Clinton makes us acutely aware of the media assault that are children are subject to, and that violence, sex and rape have become commonplace via television, music lyrics, and video games.

Mrs. Clinton also touches upon other timely subjects such as gun control, health care, and enhancing public policies to support parents and caregivers. It is evident in reading "It Takes A Village" that Mrs. Clinton has a message: that we need to come together as a society and raise our children collectively and with prudence as an investment in our future.

First, of the reviews I've read, far too many of the negative ones were from those who obviously didn't read the book. Those who severely damned it, most likely wouldn't have given Mrs. Clinton the pleasure of their having bought her book. Also, these reviews offer nothing more than a mere, simple-minded critique of the book's title.

While I can certainly agree with the opinion that Mrs. Clinton's book does include, to some extent, mild political propaganda regarding social programs, we must keep in mind that the work is a collection of Hillary Rodham Clinton's personal views. It's absolutely pointless for anyone to share his/her views in a book without supporting those opinions--thus creating propaganda. It's a no-brainer that the author would back up his/her views only with the facts that best support the opinions while shying away from those that do not.

As far as the title of the book is concerned, it certainly DOES take a village to raise a child, and as Mrs. Clinton points out, the village WILL raise the child, with or without the parents. Those parents who carefully guide their children in what they see as the best direction have much better control over the extent the village raises their children. Therefore, those who fail to take an active role in their childrens' lives are essentially leaving the job to the community, which definately has more than its fair share of negative influences and role models that tend to serve as predators waiting for the misguided or the unguided. The two choices we as parents have are either to guide our children around the negative influences and toward the positive ones, or to allow our children to wander without us through a labyrinth of the above-mentioned "predators" which include violence, recreational sex, substance abuse, reckless conduct, and other immoralities. This is only the beginning! The cycle continues and feeds on itself to populate the "village" with even more of the negative influences, thus making it even more difficult for the best of parents to guide their children in the right direction.

If it were possible for only the mothers and fathers to raise the children, the world would be almost perfect as even the most uninvolved parents have the best intentions. Unfortunately, far too many leave the job strictly to the village. Our children are raised with or without us. The numbers of prisons, crisis centers, psychiatric units, and adult literacy programs are only a few products of only the village raising our children.

My leanings are more right than left but I would take issue with anyone who actually read this book (not just decided to berate the title because you don't like the author) and didn't conclude that Hillary Clinton is every bit a proponent of "family values" as the most right-wing republican.

Mrs. Clinton gives the reader a compelling portrait of her vision for America's Children. To all the rocket scientists who'se reviews made the bold statement "It takes a Mother and Father to raise a Child" you are completely missing the point and obviously didn't read paragraph one of the book. In no way does Clinton devalue parental roles she simply acknowledges that at other people have effects on a child's well being. Children rely on safe neighborhoods, good teachers, readily available health-care and many other facets of "The Village" to be raised properly.

Within the book Ms. Clinton introduces a whole litany of social programs some of which I agree with (better health education and diets in school's to combat obesity, required marital counseling, ) and some of which I don't (socialist medicine and Charter Schools--the former will never fly in this country and the latter are proving to be a flop). Reasonable people can disagree, and while I don't see eye to eye with Clinton on some issues her objective is noble and her writing is enjoyable. FOr the record if Chelsea is any indication--Hillary Clinton is an excellent Mom.

There's little middle ground in this country when it comes to Hillary---I've heard the most vile and disgusting things uttered about her and I've seen her almost worshipped. I like to think I can be part of that middle ground--a right-winger who appreciates the intelligent passionate argument that she brings to the table.

Much as I treasure the right of free speech and a free press in our country, I have real reservations about anyone assigning themselves the job of being the biographer/interpreter of a political figure.

After reading Gail Sheehy's latest book, I've got to say I lost respect for her. Although well-written, as usual, throughout I felt "creepy-crawly" to imagine what a connection would be like with a well-known writer who takes it upon her self to tell us who Hillary Clinton "really is," after establishing a personal friendship with her subject. As a friend, I would never speak to her again again. I would feel most certainly used. I would feel that my life was simply useful to her as a means to exploit me for profit and celebrity. This strong feeling overrode, for me, my appreciation of the book's good writing.

It looks like the book will receive wide reading and recognition. I would say to the reader, keep in mind, this book was written for entertainment and money, disguised as "educational and compassionate." After the flurries settle down, I wish the best possible outcome for Hillary.

Hillary's Choice by Gail Sheehey 2000

A Balanced Portrait (five stars)

I think Gail Sheehey has done a remarkable job of combining her interviews, the second hand sources and published materials in preparing this portrait of Hillary Clinton.

This book most certainly will raise Hillary's ire because it is not entirely flattering, yet it is not a condemnation of Mrs. Clinton either.

I think Sheehey is quite fair in her overall account of Hillary Clinton's life.The book was an excellent read and kept me engaged as a reader.

Mrs. Clinton is certainly no innocent in the political world and in her personal relationship with Bill Clinton.

I have to remark that my views of Mrs. Clinton have wavered over the years of the current Presidency. At the start I had the impression she was an overbearing individual who indeed did want to engage in a co-presidency with her husband. Our system is not designed for a co-presidency and we elected Bill Clinton for the position, not Bill and Hillary. As a result I found her to be a bit hard to take as the first term went through its first two years.

I did support her wide-ranging vision for a National Health Care Plan and was sorry to see it fail for political reasons.

As she was taken out of the loop (at least publicly) in seeming to be at the helm of the country with Bill Clinton, I found her public behavior more appropriate.

Over the years my attitude toward Hillary has waxed and waned. This of course is how I interpreted this woman from how I saw her through the eyes of the abundant media stories about her.

I believe Sheehey offers a substantive and psychologically well nuanced portrait of Hillary. Overall, I don't feel much sorrow or admiration for the woman. She is an individual who wants to play in the big leagues and she has indeed had that opportunity. She hasn't been softened by the experienced -- rather, she seems to be an angrier and yet more determined politician who certainly doesn't intend to end her stature as a woman of high visibility with the close of her husband's publicity. She wants more -- for reasons I can't quite fathom.

All in all, I believe the Clintons are both highly dysfunctional people who continue to overachieve in order to hide their own scars. It appears they will do so at any cost; sadly using the currency of other human beings without much regard.

While there have been accomplishments during this Presidency, I am certain that this country has not deserved what it has been dragged through as a result of two unhealthy individuals with enormous amounts of power.

Daniel J. Maloney

I have had the dubious pleasure of reading and rereading quite a number of works addressing the life and times of Hillary Clinton.
While I am not a great fan of Billie, I must admit to sort of an admiration for Hillary. Be-that-as-it-may, I enjoyed this book. It was well written and I thought pretty well ballanced. Many of the "facts" presented, will have to be tested by time, but for now, I feel they are probably as close to the truth we will get.
Ms Clinton is certainly one of the more fascinating individuals of our times and I am quite sure history will continue to judge her as such. She is an interesting subject. In many ways, she is us. The author of this book is an interesting writer and between the author and the subject, we get a very interesting story. Thank you Ms Gail for writing it.

The book is yet another giving us additional insight into Hillary Rodham. I question the need to dissect such people. There willingness to place themselves into the arena of political public humiliation in the name of leadership says far more than any analysis. At the same time, are we so blind to believe what keeps her with her husband, a husband who betrays the vows of their marriage almost beyond what he promises the nation? She helps ease the burdens of greatness, whether that greatness turns into a heroic legacy, infamy of deeds without excuses or just plain becoming a national joke. In any and all events, Hillary has stood by and eased his burden by sharing it. They raised a fine young woman and for all the faults, allegations and innuendoes it is hard to argue that bad parents raise bad children, Chelsea is a product of something, any all critics must admit, it may be the bonds of the marriage of Bill and Hillary. This does not excuse all of the lies, misinformation or abuse of power, bad like life no one is all bad all the time. Good reading so long as you read all books about Hillary.

I just had to reread, The First Lady ,to try again to understand what makes this very intelligent woman tick. Why does she stay with this guy, The President? The Flaherty boys open a window to the opportunistic soul that seems to drive our first lady. Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, et al. all make a little more sense after this window has been unlocked and opened. A great quick read!

HELLO, I FOUND THIS BOOK TODAY AND FOUND I COULD NOT ORDER IT YET. IF ITS ABOUT BUDDY 1ST MUTT, ITS GOT TO BE MORE THAN GOOD. IT SEEMS MR. CLINTON IS TAKING THE DOG TO AK. I MYSELF WOULD ORDER IT, YET FIND IT ODD, THAT NO AMZSON PREVIEW IS AVAILBE. HOPE TO SEE IT AVAILBE SOON.

Basically a collection of her answers and speeches, that she has presented all over the US. Her views on American lifestyles and how important a secure family is to a child. Hillary Clinton's years at Wellesley. It is a no nonsense kind of book. Written in a very down to earth style.

A real disappointment in the non fiction area. Andersen portrayal of the Clinton's and their marriage leaves a lot to be desired. While Andersen does cover the scandals and portray Bill as a weak, womanizing man, he fails to reveal anything new. The Book is certainly for those who want more of the tabloid trash. This book lives in baseless innuendos and hopeful partial truths. The writer' style is good, but his ability to capture the reader will leave you regretting your purchase. The book has some interesting areas, Hillary's affair with Vince Foster, Clinton undisclosed medical records, but these are far and few between any real reporting. Andersen tries desperately to get the reader to look at the Clinton's as a normal family and he fails miserably. I think you would do better to save your money and wait for the movie. While Andersen may want the reader to think this cover new and undisclosed material, you find it shows you nothing new at all. The emperor's clothes are really off with book.

There has never been a marriage more controversial in the American public eye than this dynamic duo. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have been rumored to have questionable personal lives since Bill was the Arkansas governor. While this has certainly been proven true, "Bill and Hillary" acts in the same fashion as "Year of the Rat" by Triplett and Timperlake in that it pulls all the punches and makes connections and assumptions that are iffy at best. While there is no doubt both Bill and Hillary Clinton have been proven to be not- so- faithful to their wedding vows, the idea that Bill engaged in cocaine use and street- side sex with a prostitute could not be based on anything more than hearsay. The accusations are certainly interesting, but much of them seem to be no more than sleazy yellow journalism.

Basically a "tell more book" because everything in the book just reinforces the scandals we all heard about. There is lot of detail covering the escapades of Clinton, but most of everything had already surfaced.

The marriage is a business partnership. Hillary needed Bill to get to the top (in the political world only) as she was her own smart person without him. He needed her, knew she was smarter and could help his career. They were a poor match for each other, so it was understandable that they have a "partnership marriage."

Bill's family life is best described as "twisted family history" filled with violence, promiscuity, adultery, divorce, bigamy, poverty, illegitimacy, and plenty of addiction. Hillary's father is said to have run his family "like a drill sergeant mentality that extended to corporal punishment." Easy to see why Hillary was "devoted" to him and understandable as to how she could be so "cold blooded" and dispassionate about love and true marriage.

Yes, Bill is and always has been a WHORNEY, pathetic soul who is addicted to sex! And Hillary has spent her life covering up or battling the press for him. I think Bill Clinton played with his own mind "trying to keep things from Hillary" but deep inside HE knew he could do whatever he wanted and she wasn't going to do a thing about it!

I can't get over his "jogging" shenanigans: He pretends to go out for his jog, has the taxpayers' troopers drive and follow for a block or two, gets a quickie on the road or someone's house, then drives back to the mansion, huffs and puffs into the office/home as if he did a jog! He gives Joggers a bad name!

Hillary and Bill - Quite a goonball pair! .......MzRizz

This is not your typical Hillary bashing book. Recommended by a local talk radio host, I'm glad I picked it up. Ms. Ingraham has shown her talents extend past the camera as this work is packed full of interesting insights and some great humor. It confirms what I have thought all along, that Hillary's life is much more about Bill than herself and that on her own merits, she has not accomplished all that much. I did not give it a 5 because I would reserve that for an outstanding work, and this is something less than that. However, I would not hesitate to pass this along to a friend as it makes for a nice read and a positive message for women. Unfortunately, I doubt many of the other reviewers that slammed this book actually took the time to read it. Its' message for the American woman crosses party lines.

The paradox in the one-star reviews is delightful: in the name of feminism and enlightened progress, the anti-Ingraham dittoheads make baseless ad hominem attacks against the author and belittle her reasoning and her impressive academic credentials while mocking her beauty and and trying to shift focus on the men who putatively control her every move (query: why is the Left so obsessed with Scaife?). Talk about reactionary and "sexist." The truth is, this book is a solid, well-researched, well-articulated attempt to take Hillary Clinton's policy prescriptions on their own terms. Only the Left persists in endorsing the flawed logic that a writer's (or a prosecutor's) presumed motives supercede what he or she has to say. Read this book for yourself--and if you don't like it, make a serious argument on policy grounds and not a screeching whiny diatribe.

This book is chock-full of insightful analysis and useful facts for anyone who cares about the integrity of the American political system. Is Mrs. Clinton really the best we can do in New York Democratic politics? Beyond that, does she have a record of achievement that entitles her to a Senate seat or role model status? Ingraham sees Hillary's leftist ideology as offering women nothing but a series of traps of dependency. After all, if women are truly strong and independent, they don't need Hillary or N.O.W. or some other victims' group to "protect" their rights. This isn't another tome of hate against Mrs. Clinton, it's a book that unpacks her ideas, and scrutinizes the effects of those ideas on society at large. Hillary's campaign rhetoric might sound moderate these days (she "cares" about EVERYTHING deeply), but what Laura shows us brilliantly in this book is that in the end, Hillary's policies would just have us replace Big Brother with Big Sister.

I bought this biography because I have always been fascinated with Hillary Rodham Clinton's role in her husband's administration. I was hoping for an objective look at her contributions to policy, instead, this novel is full of acrimonious allegations and innuendo. It seems that the author is completely unable to separate HRC the person from her politics. This book is horribly slanted and I would not recommend to someone who truly desires insight into either one of the Clintons.

Joyce Milton provides a very objective account of the personality, actions, power, and influence of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Unlike some books that I have recently read, Milton presents the reader with an refreshingly unbiased depiction of Mrs. Clinton. I finished the book with a greater sense of understanding and knowlegde of the events, scandals, and rumors that have surrounded the First Lady -without feeling biased by the author's personal viewpoint. I recommend this book to anyone interested in First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As a strong woman who has always had trouble understanding why a well-educated woman who is supposed to be at least as strong as I am would stay in such an abusive relationship, this book provided more than enough reasons.

This book is a must-read for those who do not understand why women with much less education and promise for their futures would make a similar decision, despite continuing abuse.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is much more socialist than I ever would have guessed. She has a head stuck firmly in the 60's, coupled with the attention span of a 5-year-old whose Ritalin ran out a week ago. Her ignorance of the economic realities of life are appalling, and her inability to understand how sweeping revisions of the social structure will adversely affect those least able to adjust to those changes is equally disturbing -- and flabergasting!

While differing views of various people interviewed for this book may be a turn-off by some readers, one need only look at the spectrum of emotions elicited by Hillary's husband to understand how people can see one human being through so many different prisms and come to so many different opinions of what they have seen.

I would recommend this book to anybody who is a news junky, Clinton-watcher -- on either side of the issue of them as human beings, or just interested in a good read with more than a bit of spice.

And hatred is easy.

It would be easier for some people to swallow if all of our first ladies were "polite, stand behind your man" southern ladies.

I HAVE READ THIS BOOK AND FIND IT TO BE VERY INFORMATIVE. IT TAKES COURAGE TO BELIEVE THE TRUTH AND WHILE I DON'T KNOW THAT IT IS TOTALLY ACCURATE I BELIEVE THE AUTHOR HAS HONESTLY TRIED TO WARN THE PUBLIC. I HAVE READ SEVERAL OF MARRS BOOKS AND ENJOYED EACH. TODAY'S HEADLINES CERTAINLY SUPPORT SOME THINGS IN THE BOOK. MAR.15, 1999

Mr. Marrs successfully declares that those women (Hillary and her [White House feminists]) are up to no good. He also documents his work very carefully. The book is very easy to read and has some nice pictures too. Cool!

I detest the conduct of Bill Clinton. I disliked some things about this book. Primarily, that the author threw a ton of stuff against the wall, to see how much of it would stick. In doing so, some does, and a lot doesn't. Therein lies the problem: making accusations which lack substantiation or a volume of compelling circumstantial evidence, helps rather than hinders the Clintons. The book relies too much on rumor and innuendo to truly succeed. I have gained much better information and enjoyment from the Slick Willie books, the Year of the Rat book, Dave Marrannis First In His Class, No Surprises, and even The Clinton Chronicles book. The book's redeeming value is that you will read some things you probably haven't before, and a few of them have credible facts and evidence. These are in the minority, however.