A Woman In Charge

Jan 10, 2025 6:35 AM

Author:Carl Bernstein

A Woman In Charge

A Woman in Charge reveals the true trajectory of Hillary's astonishing life and career. From a staunchly Republican household and apparently idyllic Midwestern girlhood - her disciplinarian father here revealed as harsher than she has acknowledged - we see the shaping of a brilliant girl whose curiosity was fuelled by the ferment of the 1960s and a desire to change the world. During her student years, she was already perceived as a spokeswoman for her generation. Then, at Yale Law School, she met and fell in love with Bill Clinton, cancelling her own dreams to tie her fortunes to his.

Bernstein clarifies the often amazing dynamic of their marriage, charting both her political acumen and her blind spots, and untangling her relationship to the great controversies of Whitewater, Troopergate and Travelgate. And then, in the emotional and political chaos of the Lewinsky affair we see Hillary standing by her husband - evoking a rising wave of sympathy from a public previously cool to her and in effect, Bernstein argues, saving his presidency. It helps carry her into the Senate: her time has come. As she decides to run for President, this self-described 'mind-conservative and heart liberal' has one more chance to fulfill her long-deferred ambitions.

Bernstein has interviewed some 200 of her colleagues, friends and enemies and was given unique access to the candid record of the 1992 presidential campaign kept by Hillary's best friend, Diane Blair. Marshalling all the skills and energy that propelled his history-making Pulitzer prize-winning coverage of Watergate, he gives us a detailed, sophisticated, comprehensive and revealing account of the complex human being and political meteor who has already helped define one presidency and may well become the woman in charge of another.

Reviews

Of the two Watergate journalists, Bernstein is the brighter, wilder and wittier. His picture of Hillary is a convincing and full one

—— Sunday Telegraph

A window on the juicy years of political ferment and feminism... it provides some fascinating insights into Hillary's political growth

—— The Times

A brilliant piece of journalism - impartial but packed with minute, telling details. It's also a fascinating portrait of a marriage: the gloves are very much off, but Hillary still emerges as an exceptional, complicated figure in her own right

—— Olivia Cole , Independent on Sunday, Books of the Year

The work of a legendary investigative journalist... Bernstein has laboured mightily

—— Observer

Painstaking, sensitive and elegantly written

—— Economist

A remarkably revealing portrait

—— Wall Street Journal

[Carl Bernstein] has not lost his reporter's touch, and A WOMAN IN CHARGE has already refocused serious questions - and supplied new information - about Hillary and Bill Clinton

—— Washington Post Book World

Stands as a model of contemporary political biography . . . Bernstein has produced an excellent book: thorough, balanced, judicious and deeply reported

—— Los Angeles Times

Carl Bernstein presents a... balanced and convincing picture of Mrs Clinton

—— New York Times

A WOMAN IN CHARGE revisits in revealing and compelling detail the spiritual and fleshly perils that shaped the [Clintons'] journey

—— New York Observer

A first-rate biography of Hillary Clinton, well written, imaginatively researched, balanced and sensitively conceived

—— Times Literary Supplement

The power of government is crucial for driving the economy forward. But only if it retains capacity. Mazzucato and Collington have written a brilliant book that exposes the dangerous consequences of outsourcing state capacity to the consulting industry-and how to build it back. A fascinating look at the biggest players in the game and why this matters for all of us.

—— Stephanie Kelton, author of THE DEFICIT MYTH

A powerful indictment of a dubious industry. This book should be read around the globe, and kickstart a debate that's long overdue: Do we really need all those consultants?

—— Rutger Bregman, author of UTOPIA FOR REALISTS and HUMANKIND

The Big Con documents, in precise detail and with panoramic vision, all the ways that the consulting industry has insinuated itself into the systems that govern and control our lives. Private companies, public charities and trusts, states, and even the international order have all handed mission-critical functions over to management consultants. Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington document the harms that result, as consultants exploit the public while stripping their clients of expertise and even the capacity to learn. This bill of particulars serves a profound master purpose: to demonstrate that we cannot outsource governance over our lives and still hope to remain prosperous, democratic, and free.

—— Daniel Markovits, author of THE MERITOCRACY TRAP

A management consultant,' the quip runs, 'is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time-and then keeps the watch.' This is the very least of the confidence tricks perpetrated by the global consulting industry it turns out. Another common saying is that 'nobody ever got fired for hiring McKinsey.' With the publication of The Big Con, they just might.

—— Brett Christophers, author of RENTIER CAPITALISM

Doggedly researched and elegantly written, this is a fascinating entry point into a critical yet underreported issue

—— Publishers Weekly

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