Hillary Rodham Clinton

What Happened

“An engaging, beautifully synthesized page-turner” (Slate). The #1 New York Times bestseller and Time #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most personal memoir yet, about the 2016 presidential election. In this “candid and blackly funny” (The New York Times) memoir, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. She takes us inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. “At her most emotionally raw” (People), Hillary describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. She tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. In this “feminist manifesto” (The New York Times), she speaks to the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics. Offering a “bracing... guide to our political arena” (The Washington Post), What Happened lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future. The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign, now with a new epilogue showing how Hillary grappled with many of her worst fears coming true in the Trump Era, while finding new hope in a surge of civic activism, women running for office, and young people marching in the streets.

Megan Parrott

Thank you to Hillary Clinton for being so brave—still. “Things are going to be hard for a long time. But we are going to be okay. All of us.”

Lord Aragorn

A rational analysis of the 2016 election with, ultimately, a message of hope for the future. Took a long time to read (listen) but well worth the time.

Matthew Royal

Hillary Clinton sounds like she went through a year-long mourning process following her political loss in 2016. It's much faster than my mourning process would have been had I failed at such a huge goal, and it's definitely faster than the mourning process of my boyfriend, who is a registered Democrat and voted for her. But because she is a machine, and everything must have structure and purpose, this book is her process's inevitable output: a volume which tries to make sense from her loss and make salves for the wounds of her tribe.

She humbly thanks her supporters, talks a bit about her own post-loss self-care protocol and encourages others to have their own, reminds us that setbacks aren't terminal and that progress isn't always a linear program, points out new and old problems, identifies incremental steps towards improving them, and asks us to persist.

My biggest takeaway from her thoughts is that being grateful, and coming away from a bad experience with something learned, is a choice -- just as wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. We have to reflect and attempt to process our experiences objectively in order to grow that way. Oddly, listening to her self-reflective process is fruitful for my own free-associative creative process.

Hillary Clinton has synthesized the data and extracted its wisdom with maximum efficiency. She is upgraded and ready to meet the challenges of a Trump-led government, recharging her base and calling for inter-party compatibility protocols consisting of human decency and mutual respect. No matter what you think of Hillary, she has transformed "Abort, Retry, Fail" into "Resist, Insist, Persist, Enlist."

The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller 'A compelling read' - Financial Times 'A sporadically absorbing, pleasingly vengeful and often darkly funny account of one woman's bid for presidential history.' Sunday Times 'Her new book is more gossipy, it is meaner, more entertaining and more wrong-headed than anything she or her speechwriters have written before.' Observer 'What Happened is highly entertaining. It is spirited, well-written and informative.' Guardian 'In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I've often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I'm letting my guard down.' - Hillary Rodham Clinton, from the introduction of What Happened For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet. In these pages, she describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterwards. With humour and candour, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet - the rituals, relationships and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics. She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on democracy by a foreign adversary. By analysing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect their values and democracy in the future. The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign and its aftermath - both a deeply intimate account and a cautionary tale.

Maddie

Enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look into her campaign, and appreciated her analysis of the complex political situation in the US (and around the world) today. Don't read if you don't want to relive the 2016 election.

Elda Mengisto

"I ran for President because I thought I'd be good at the job. I thought that of all the people who might run, I had the most relevant experience, meaningful accomplishments, and ambitious but achievable proposals, as well as the temperament to get things done in Washington" (39).

Ah, Hillary Clinton. Possibly the most polarizing woman in the United States right now; among those on opposite ends of the political spectrum, there's always something about her which makes people tick. Something about her actions, her policy stances, or a bunch of other things, ensnare her into an eternity of judgement, of a desire to obscure her.

That being said, I do recognize where she was wrong: the ties to corporations, the hawkish foreign policy, the private e-mail server. While she forged a progressive party platform during the 2016 Democratic Convention, I thought it could've been a little more so in terms of a more peaceful foreign policy and greater economic equity. That's why I was on the fence between her and Jill Stein during the general election.

Opinions aside, I thought it was a good book.

It starts off with a prologue of the inauguration, and then begins her arc with what Hillary has been doing as Secretary of State, and her decision to run. It then follows her on the campaign trail, along with some of the people she has met along the way, and how she wanted to make this country better should she have been elected. 

Naturally, she does put herself on the moral high ground; when discussing about one would have to do with their flaws (fixing mistakes vs. rejecting them), she responds with "I've always tried to do the former. And, by and large, so has our country, with our long march forward a more perfect union" (46). In contrast, she talks of Donald Drumpf "lashing out, demeans, and insults others--often projecting by accusing others of doing what he himself has done." (46). This is seen throughout all the campaign pages, where she describes herself having ideas that Drumpf doesn't have. However, she doesn't discuss about why Drumpf voters were attracted to him until the chapter "Why", which makes it hard to see why she would be better. She also neglects discussing about the policies of Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, only mentioning them in passing. With all the campaign research she had done, one may wonder if she should've included them in that book.

There was also the question of her policies in comparison to that to Bernie Sanders, who was the more progressive of the two potential Democratic candidates. She once mentions that "It was beyond frustrating that Bernie had a monopoly on political purity and that he had set himself up as the sole arbiter of what it meant to be progressive, despite giving short shrift to important issues such as immigration, reproductive rights, racial justice, and gun safety" (230). Surely, she recognizes Bernie Sanders' goals and why they were important, which she uses universal health care as an example. Yet I wonder what made her want to go the gradual path, rather than advocate for revolution. It's especially curious considering her call for turning the impossible possible in politics.

However, she does have good things to contribute: I am touched by the stories of different people she met on the campaign trail--one of which included Bo from West Virginia. I'm amused by her side comments and images, such as her analogy at the beginning of "Those Damn Emails"

"Imagine, you're a kid sitting in history class thirty years from now learning about the 2016 presidential election, which brought to power the least experienced, least knowledgeable, least competent president our country has ever had. Something must have gone horrible wrong, you think. Then, you hear that one issue dominated press coverage and public debate in that race more than any other. 'Climate change?' you ask 'Health care?' 'No,' your teacher responds. 'Emails.'" (289). 

Her comments about how the emails dominated discussion of the campaign, along with her concerns over Russia's ability to hack elections, and where to go forward are ultimately illuminating and interesting to see.

Overall, What Happened turned out to be better than expected, in terms of an arc about the election. Hillary does put herself on a high ground in terms of being realistic yet idealistic, controlled, strategic, and a bit overconfident at times. And I don't think she should run again; instead, the Democratic Party should seek further progressive candidates and run them under said banner. Yet I see a good analysis and memoir, though I don't know how she would establish her legacy (8/10).

Latitude Tamarind

This was a 15-hour audiobook. HRC is a great audiobook narrator. Some parts of this I got really choked up at. Other parts, HRC momsplained feminism and history to me. I would not read this long book again.

Alex Q

A lot of blame is laid here, but shouldn’t it be? A lot of shit happened last year (not all Hillary’s fault) and it’s important that we work so that it doesn’t happen again. At the end of the day, this book isn’t changing anyone’s mind. If you like Hillary, you'll like this book. If you hate Hillary, you'll hate this book. I happen to really like Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Julie Weber

Loved this one, very inspirational. Audiobook is good because she reads it but I will be picking up a physical copy to highlight and annotate

Alianor Chapman

I took a long time with this book. It met my expectations and exceeded them in some key areas. This book is a reflection on the 2016 election and it is so much more. Hillary takes responsibility for losing the election in nearly every chapter of the book so I'm honestly not sure what people are talking about when they say she denies her own responsibility. 

For those who generally don't like Hillary's politics, it would be wise to skip the Frustration section of the book. 

This book does a subtly fantastic job of reflecting on women in power. I imagine many other memoirs from politically prominent women will touch on some of the the themes Hillary mentions. I look forward to reading their books as well. 

As much as I love the sections detailing the back-end workings of the political machine, my favorite sections were about Hillary's relationships to other people in her life and her faith. I was also raised Methodist so it was lovely to be reminded of some of the church teachings even though I left faith long ago. There are several sections celebrating the women in Hillary's life. It's a joy to read about her friends and see how to support women who step into the arena. I gleaned quite a bit of knowledge from her friends! 

I will read sections of the book again. It was nice to hear from HRC as a public figure once more. I cried a lot. It was inspiring. Happy that I savored the process.

Caroline Lewicki

UGH. WOW. I'm so blown away by this book.

I will preface by saying I do not want to get political in this review, nor am I Hillary's number 1 fan. But this book gave so much insight and intellect on the 2016 Election, I couldn't put it down.

Clinton really covers the whole scope of the election season and presents all of the events leading up to the vote as they were. It was helpful to hear it all chronologically, because it can be so hard to follow everything as it's happening. I thought she did a really nice job of highlighting each pivotal event that led up to Donald Trump's presidential victory. 

She does do a bit of slamming, but in a very poised way. I don't think she truly threw anyone under the bus but she certainly puts out the call for everyone to do more, do better, and do for others. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the election, what happened, and how Hillary Clinton sees it from her perspective. Remember when you're reading this that it truly is HER PERSPECTIVE. If you don't like her, you're likely not going to like her anymore after reading this. But it did give me a bit more understanding into what went on in the election.

Jason Long

If you paid attention to the race at all, hardly anything in this book will be surprising. She basically recounts her policies and the insanity that transpired in the news every day. In my opinion, she doesn't really dive much into what happened... which is, like, the whole premise of the book.

Omar

When I started, I didn't expect to give this book anything more than 3 stars. But, here I am. 

The book is an important read for those like me who, after the election madness, recoiled away from politics and have just been hoping that their worst fears from the presidential election rhetoric doesn't materialize. 

I've been watching politics from the sidelines since the election. I've been reading just a single daily summary of the top news from the previous day, and unplugging for the rest of the day. Rarely do I go into details of what's happening. I haven't made a single political contribution since election day and rarely talk about the current issues. In general, I got tired from it all. 

Now, "What Happened" was both frustrating and helpful to get out of that rut. No, I don't plan to be active in politics right away. However, listening to Hillary Clinton's recollection of everything that happened does remind me of issues that are crucial to fix to ensure that our government is fair to all people, represents the people, and works in our best interest. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, and a political system in which the one with the most money reaches the most people. Those are just 3 major problems with our existing political system. 

The book also helped me better appreciate Clinton's deep understanding of our current situation as it relates to foreign powers such as Russia. 

I know that the book is one-sided and biased, but it is informative and well-written, it gives a full recount that is logical and coherent, and that counts for a lot in a world in which logic seems to have be depleted from politics.

Kerry Gibbons

I mean, it was good I guess. She’s more relatable for me now. But I got really really incredibly tired of hearing about her emails and how tired SHE is of hearing about her emails.

It’s okay but no big revelations, no great advice for moving forward... it doesn’t feel that this book contributes anything new to the conversation.

Cat H

A great perspective to politics that I haven’t considered or experienced. Eye opening and candid views on electoral campaigning. I love Hilary so maybe I am biased, but I also learned new things about her and how it shapes her world. Highly recommend 4.5 stars!

Jade Flynn

4.5/5 One of the most graceful, resilient, dignified, heroic and selfless women in the world. And my personal idol. We are stronger together and we are moving onwards together. I'm still with her two years later.

(read along with audiobook narrated by HRC)

Dana Musser

Erin 

 Bruna Acioly Leão

I am not american, but I am a fan of Hillary Clinton (I was a fan just because of what she represented, without even knowing her, after reading her story, I feel I am a true fan) and this audiobook made me tear up, get angry and feel empowered as a woman all at once. 

I thought the whole e-mail/Russian controversy thing was too ridiculous (not that I think that she wasn't telling the truth, but that it is just too much something that it would only happen in the USA, so it flew over my head), but other than that, I devoured this audiobook (I had to put Hilary at 2x speed, but that's because I needed to listen to it more at a pace akin to my actual reading).

PS. I just wish Brazil had a Hilary. Then I could at least have some hope.

What Happened

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