Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History

Gr 10 Up— More objective and even more comprehensive than Cynthia Levinson's Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You Can (HarperCollins, 2016), this volume covers many aspects of Hillary Clinton's life and achievements, from her Illinois childhood to the early days of her current presidential campaign. Blumenthal focuses on the formative experiences that shaped Clinton's beliefs and how those principles have guided her actions throughout her life and influenced her choices about her education, work, marriage and family life, and political career. Clinton is presented as an intensely private person in a public life, and Blumenthal objectively discusses the contradictions between Clinton's beliefs and some of her actions and examines the many controversies and scandals that have been a part of the Clintons' lives since their early years in public service. Blumenthal's bibliography includes a wider spectrum of sources than the Levinson title and includes Clinton's books and statements, papers and memoirs from the Clinton archives, and sources critical of Clinton. Small photos supplement the text, and "Drawn and Quartered" sidebar reproductions of negative and positive editorial cartoons illustrate public perceptions of Clinton's personality, life, and work. With 36 dense chapters, this book reads more like an adult work than a YA title and is occasionally dry. Its primary audience will be report writers and students who are highly interested in Clinton or politics.