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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Why did I re-read this book? Perhaps because Hillary Clinton has, say, a 70% of being our next president, and I thought it would be valuable to compare what she wrote 20 years ago to what she focuses on in her speeches and stated priorities today. But mostly I read it because I'm working on a history of communitarianism, and while Hillary Clinton was never any kind of political theorist, much less a communitarian one, her language in this book is simply drenched with a certain kind of progressive, "Third Way," 90s-style, left-communitarian civic concern. Whether it be school uniforms, day-care centers, family planning, early-childhood nutrition, community service, or just about anything else, you can see in Clinton's presentation of what she thought was most important for American families to focus upon--back then, before her service as a senator and then as Secretary of State, her strongest grounding was in issues of legal advocacy on behalf of children--a constant emphasis on such virtues as education, discipline, sexual responsibility, and tolerance, and a constant emphasis upon making expert use of the resources of the modern state and marketplace to deliver (though paternalistic policies, if necessary) the ability to make exactly those choices which families need to make if they are to raise their children. Given that my wife and I have made pretty much those same choices ourselves, I really can't complain about almost anything that Clinton recommends: I like all of it! But I can't help but feel uneasy about how easily, how costlessly, she imagined it all being packaged together. It would be unfair to tag Clinton with criticisms of ideas which she hasn't spent much, if any, time advocating over the past 15 years, but still, it is worth remembering: she was, at one time anyway, the very archetype of the culturally traditional, economically neoliberal, paternalistic progressive, and it's worth wondering how much of that remains within her today.
While the underlying theme of the book is still relevant - maybe more so now than ever before, the outdated data was like a speed bump I couldn't get over.
This book has some great ideas about taking care of children. How churches should be open throughout the week to provide after school care and that preschool should be affordable. Written in the 90’s she does promote a lot of her husband’s policies and it’s amazing how little progress has been made 30 years. I came away thinking dang, she would have made a great president.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
It's not that the book is bad, per se, it's just dated.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This book has been on my shelf for a long time; I found it at my mother's house a couple of years ago. I read it mostly to get rid of it, but now I am thinking of keeping it. Although some of it is dated (it was published in 1996), most of Hillary's opinions are universal and backed up by studies and statistics and historical references. She also includes anecdotes from her own childhood, along with Bill's and Chelsea's. For me, much was common sense, but still interesting. The book is well-written, unlike some others I have read by political and other famous people. Perhaps that is because Hillary is a lawyer by profession. The chapters are well-organized, each with a specific theme.
"The anthropologist Margaret Mead felt that exposure to religion in childhood was important, because prayer and wonder are not so easdy to learn in adulthood." (172)
"the willingess to compromise in the interest of maintaining stability enabled our nationto become not only a world power but also a pluralistic society promoting unprecedented tolerance for individual rights and freedoms." (311)
"The anthropologist Margaret Mead felt that exposure to religion in childhood was important, because prayer and wonder are not so easdy to learn in adulthood." (172)
"the willingess to compromise in the interest of maintaining stability enabled our nationto become not only a world power but also a pluralistic society promoting unprecedented tolerance for individual rights and freedoms." (311)
I was hoping for more policy thoughts and less social pressure to solve systemic issues with raising children.
Overall I genuinely enjoyed this book.
As for drawbacks, there were a few points I don't agree with Hillary on. Although I do agree that the media is too flooded with violence and sex, I don't think there should be regulations against it. This is especially true with her stance on Video Games. We are indeed seeing the fallout of the violence our media has given us young kids growing up, but I believe a bigger onus is on the media at large, a topic Hillary did touch upon and I applaud her for doing so.
Other than that one area, the book was extremely well written, well researched, and well executed. It does suffer just a bit from the time it was published, and is dated. But reading it at the end of 2018 was a very strange combination of nostalgia from the 1990s, prophetic warnings (some good, some bad, and many seeing fruition), and a celebration of where we have come from and where we were going.
As I started 2018 with Hillary's last book, it only seemed fitting to end it with her first book. A great way to wrap up 2018 and begin 2019.
As for drawbacks, there were a few points I don't agree with Hillary on. Although I do agree that the media is too flooded with violence and sex, I don't think there should be regulations against it. This is especially true with her stance on Video Games. We are indeed seeing the fallout of the violence our media has given us young kids growing up, but I believe a bigger onus is on the media at large, a topic Hillary did touch upon and I applaud her for doing so.
Other than that one area, the book was extremely well written, well researched, and well executed. It does suffer just a bit from the time it was published, and is dated. But reading it at the end of 2018 was a very strange combination of nostalgia from the 1990s, prophetic warnings (some good, some bad, and many seeing fruition), and a celebration of where we have come from and where we were going.
As I started 2018 with Hillary's last book, it only seemed fitting to end it with her first book. A great way to wrap up 2018 and begin 2019.
Although I really liked this book I suspect it is a bit of "preaching to the choir"...people who are inclined to read this book probably aren't the ones who "need" to hear the message. This would make great required reading for high school students, sociology classes, and parenting classes.
Great information! Wish I had read it sooner! Would love to see an update/sequel! Children are our future!