This is a cracking book. I complained at the end of ,'An American Journey', that Mr. Hamilton had pursued the sexual scandals too far: this was not a mistake that continued into this book. Hamilton, skilfully, takes the reader through Clinton's first term as President in a manner that is neither patronising, or assumes too much knowledge of American politics.

Again, quoting my remarks after reading the first of these books, I hoped that I would end up with an understanding of the 'big ideas' of the Clinton Presidency: I did.

I would apologise to Mr. Hamilton for only awarding part one three and a half stars. When the two books are dovetailed, the effect is a thorough understanding of Bill Clinton the man, and the President. ( )

Although it is not Nigel Hamilton's fault, his Clinton biography suffers from the fact that there is a limit to the kind of sources a researcher has access to. Most of the story's key characters have yet to write their memoirs. A lot of official documents will remain classified for years to come. So it rarely gets really juicy. We are never flies on the wall. It is a good read though and we do get a good idea of how Clinton failed miserably in the first year or so simply by not running a tight ship; Clinton's indecision during the all important transition period is well described. Once in the White House he failed to control his wife Hillary who had come barging in demanding the vice president Al Gore's office - great stuff!! It was only when the Democrats lost the congressional elections in 1992 that Clinton finally gained the initiative and in turn defeated the Gingrich revolution. I look forward to the third volume of Hamilton's Clinton trilogy. ( )

Available