I am always fascinated with the Clintons. From Bill's exploits to Hillary's statement (after the Sept. 11th attacks) that she understands hatred because of reaction to her now forgotten health care plan, the former first family are like a grisly car accident that reaches the end of its first decade, and we still cannot help but watch.

"Clinton: Portrait of Victory" is a breathless mash note to the then new chief executive, chronicling Clinton's primary and general election wins. The entire book features black and white photography by P.F. Bentley, a photographer I am not familiar with, but who does a very good job.

Reading this book in one sitting, I was struck at the hopeful tone the pictures and essay author strike right off the bat. Roger Rosenblatt's prologue does nothing more than beat the poor reader over the head about how important it is that these are not those ultramodern "color" photos, but b&w portraits. Rosenblatt equates Clinton to a god, and b&w photos to eternal soul searching through the eyes of the photographer.

The photographer had unlimited access to the Clintons and his bold staff, but the book does not open any new doors to the first family. Subjects wring hands, anonymous crowds surge to their media made hero, and anyone who voted against him gets a little ill. You could cut out the pictures of Clinton, insert any other politician, and you would have the same book. The essayist (Rebecca Buffum Taylor) breathlessly tells us how hard it is to campaign, how hard everyone worked, and how hard it is to win. Clinton is shown in candid moments with his family and staff, yet they still feel staged, as if the subjects knew this would make a really cool book if he won, and a tragic tome on honorable defeat if he lost.

Some of the captions are unintentionally funny. Printed below a picture of Clinton enjoying a big cigar (obviously not his last): "Clinton allows himself one small indulgence...". Ah, those small indulgences he would allow himself over the following two terms.

I have given "On Aging" to a dozen people,and made it mandatory reading in the department that I manage. Saw this one on the shelf at the bookstore and couldn't wait! Well, it's not nearly what "On Aging" is. Was he in a hurry to get something in print? Sorry, I still love the man, but this just isn't up to his standards.

I recommend his much witter book on aging

Roger Rosenblatt is a preternaturally shallow man, and in this volume he has assmbled more of his ilk to pratter endlessly on a rather simple minded notion: That people acquire things to fill spiritual voids.

He's got some heavy hitters here, like WIlliam Greider, a man who proves that you can be a brilliant reporter and yet still be an idiot when it comes to analysis. Most of them are quite taken with their own ideas, and like Roseblatt think quite a lot of what they have to say.

But in the end it's all rather tiresome and banal.

This book consists of a series 13 new essays by well-known writers on the topic of consumerism, together with an introduction by Roger Rosenblatt. About half the essays are sermons on the demons of consumerism and consumption. Mixed in with the diatribe are some interesting more informative pieces on such topics as competitive spending (Juliet Schor), youth consumerism (Alex Kotlowitz), ecology (Bill McKibben), publishing (Andre Schiffrin), and housework (Jane Smiley). Bharati Mukherjee contributes an Indian immigrant's view on consumerism, which hints at the lack of concern or comprehension about hyper-consumerism held by the population of one of the world's largest developing countries. If you are interested in consumerism (or preparing your own sermon on the topic), you may find some material of interest in this book.