However, that same voice might tire readers as Clinton applies his penchant for minute details to a distractible laundry list of events, from his youth through the years of his presidency. I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts, and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good that people can’t be judged only by their worst or weakest moments that harsh judgments 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. What makes My Life remarkable as a political memoir is how thoroughly it is infused with Clinton’s unassuming, charmingly pithy voice: and JFK) and the events that shaped his presidency (Waco, Bosnia, Somalia). He offers an equally energetic portrait of American history, pop culture, and the evolving political landscape, covering the historical events that shaped his early years (namely the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr.

My Life is autobiography as therapy–a personal history written by a man trying to face and banish his private demons.Ĭlinton approaches the story of his youth with gusto, sharing tales of giant watermelons, nine-pound tumors, a charging ram, famous mobsters and jazz musicians, and a BB gun standoff. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes and failures, including his dedication to educational and economic reform, his war against a “vast right-wing operation” determined to destroy him, and the “morally indefensible” acts for which he was nearly impeached. His book payments have sputtered out as well, declining from $4 million in 2007 to just $29,000 in 2015.An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton’s My Life is a refreshingly candid look at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband, and public figure. In 2015, he was far more grounded, earning roughly half as much as a speaker.

In 2007, the year Hillary fought Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, Bill was traveling to places like Norway, Korea and Germany, earning $9 million from speaking engagements. Its publisher, Simon & Schuster, paid her $12 million from 2013 to 2015. Her book Hard Choices was released in June 2014, perfect timing for the election season.

But in 2015, she made $1 million from speaking and $3 million from writing. In 2007, the last time Hillary was gearing up for a presidential race, she earned only $123,000 as an author and nothing as a speaker. She earned $9 million in speaking fees in both 20. Although Hillary’s earnings lagged during her years in the Senate (2001-09) and President Obama’s cabinet (2009-13), she quickly made up for lost time after leaving public office.

My Life by Bill Clinton