My Life (Bill Clinton autobiography)
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| Image:My Life Bill Clinton.jpg 1st ed. cover | |
| Author | Bill Clinton |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Bob McNeely (photograph) Carol Devine Carson (design) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Knopf Publishing Group (Random House) |
| Publication date | June 22, 2004 (hardback) |
| Pages | 1008 |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0375414572 |
My Life is a 2004 autobiography written by former President of the United States Bill Clinton, who left office on January 20, 2001. The book was published by the Knopf Publishing Group at Random House on June 22, 2004, and set a worldwide record for single day non-fiction book sales according to the publisher;[1] the book sold in excess of 400,000 copies. He had received what was at the time the world's highest book advance fee, believed to have been worth US$12 million; at the announcement of media personality Oprah Winfrey's future weight loss book, it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken this record.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Summary and themes
My Life covers mostly chronologically the life of Bill Clinton, growing up in Hope, Arkansas, moving to Hot Springs, Arkansas where he attended school and had learned the tenor saxophone, which would find its way into a peripheral role in his public appearances. His interest in politics eventually lead him to the governorship of Arkansas, and later, the presidency of the United States. Along the way, Clinton offers anecdotes of ordinary people he had interacted with over the years.
Early in Clinton's life, he recalls listening to family's stories of others and learning "that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgements can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain."
Following his defeat for second term as governor, Clinton remarks, "the system can only absorb so much change at once; no one can be all the entrenched interests at the same time; and if people think you've stopped listening, you're sunk."
[edit] Writing process
Clinton spent about two and a half years on the book. He gathered material for four months, wrote an outline, "and then I wrote for two years and two months." He was assisted in writing the book by Justin Cooper. "I wrote it out long hand, left blanks for research, he'd do the research, put it in the computer, print it out, and then we'd edit it. Every page in this book has probably been gone over somewhere between three and nine times." The original draft for the book was written completely in long-hand. "[There were] twenty-two big, thick notebooks."[3]
[edit] Reaction
Clinton's former advisor Dick Morris wrote a rebuttal named Because He Could, criticising My Life. In the book, Morris presented what he believed to be factual inaccuracies of different events depicted in My Life.[4]
The audio book edition, read by Clinton and published by Random House Audio, won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. This was the second time he had won the award; in February 2004, Clinton (along with former leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and actress Sophia Loren) won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the Russian National Orchestra's album Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks. In 2007 Teletext carried out a survey of British readers, the results of which revealed that 30% of respondents had purchased My Life, but had either not read it, or had begun to read it but had not finished it.[5]
[edit] Editions
As well as full-volume hardback, paperback and audio editions, the book has been divided into two MMPB volumes; My Life: The Early Years Vol. I (ISBN 978-1400096718) and My Life: The Presidential Years Vol. II (ISBN 978-1400096732).
[edit] References
- ^ Alfred A. Knopft (2004). Bill Clinton's My Life sets one day, non-fiction sales record. Retrieved June 22, 2006.
- ^ Glaister, Dan. "Oprah Winfrey book deal tops Clinton's $12m", The Guardian, 22 May 2006.
- ^ Late Show with David Letterman, The, aired August 3, 2004.
- ^ Suellentrop, Chris. "His So-Called Life", The Washington Post, 26 December 2004.
- ^ Staff writer. "Harry Potter book 'often unread'", BBC News Online, 2007-03-12. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
[edit] External links
- Random House My Life pageur:مائی لائف
Bill Clinton | ||
|---|---|---|
| Politics | Presidency (Foreign policy · Clinton Doctrine) | |
| Impeachment | Lewinsky scandal · Hearing | |
| Post-presidency | Clinton Foundation · My Life · Presidential Center and Park · Giving | |
| Family | Hillary Clinton · Chelsea Clinton · Virginia Clinton Kelley · Roger Clinton Jr · Roger Clinton Sr · William Jefferson Blythe Jr | |
