Bill Clinton

"I wrote this book because I love my country and I'm concerned about our future," writes Bill Clinton. "As I often said when I first ran for President in 1992, America at its core is an idea, the idea that no matter who you are or where you're from, if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll have the freedom and opportunity to pursue your own dreams and leave your kids a country where they can chase theirs."

Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy

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Matthew Royal

I grew up in a conservative Republican Christian fundamentalist home, and in 1992 when I was in 2nd grade, Bill Clinton was the enemy. He was trying to tax and spend the United States into the poor house, and wanted Big Government in every area of life, taking away our freedoms and jobs.

What a shock to read this book. Bill Clinton is advocating government programs, yes, but in ways that intelligently target real problems in measurable ways. Bill Clinton is a rationalist, and opposes ideological stances that deny the failures of their ideas' outcomes. Listening to the audiobook on my commutes, I found myself cheering Clinton on in his zeal for analyzing what works, and found his perspective on those early 90s political battles enlightening and refreshing. 

As a Libertarian today, I do not believe the answer to all of our problems is to have government carefully manage everything, but I do agree with President Clinton that we must respectfully engage with those who disagree -- with a shared bedrock of rationalism and data analysis -- in order to restore and maintain our economic and civic health.

Jeni Enjaian

I enjoyed this book. It helped immensely that the narrator was the author himself. When a book is written by a well-known personality, it's always a plus to have the author narrate the book. Then the reader is listening to the author's voice reading the author's voice (aka narrative.) The reader also needs to keep in mind that this is not a work of objective fact. If one approaches it looking for that, one will come away highly disappointed. This book is more like a really long essay in which Clinton postulates possible solutions to the economic downturn.

I recommend this book to all who want to be informed about current events and can read works of opinion with a grain of salt.

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