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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Very detailed and well thought out book. I enjoyed the audiobook and found it easy to listen to and informative, although repetitious. She's an inspiring woman and hard to believe she won the popular vote considering what she was up against. Crazy to think about all the red flags about Russia that weren't given enough attention and what has developed.
It was really hard to listen to this book against the backdrop of the never ending news cycle. It made me sad for what we could have had.
Where to start? I had a burning desire to read this book, something that doesn't happen often with non-fiction titles. Yet, when I discovered Hillary had written this book after her electoral college defeat, I needed to read it. I needed to know what she had felt and thought while on the campaign trail. I needed her perspective.
Need is such a strong word. It's greedy. But that's how I felt. I wanted to see inside this woman who had come so close to being our 45th president. I didn't want dry statistics and academic analysis. Not this time. I wanted something more visceral from her.
This book doesn't get melodramatic or hysterical; two emotional attributes so often maliciously used to describe women. When Hillary shares her emotional reactions to the events related to the 2016 presidential election, she expresses joy, anger, sadness, bewilderment, and frustration with poise and dignity. Not a lot of levity, though; the woman is no comedienne. This shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as Hillary is notoriously well-controlled.
In this book, she offers insight into her own mistakes. She also points to double standards and cultural mores that challenged her along the way. She addresses the obstacles still facing Democrats and offers her advice on how to move forward.
There were moments when my eyes glazed over. But there were so many more moments when something she wrote resonated. I ended up highlighting a great deal and even writing comments every now again. Definitely worth reading.
Need is such a strong word. It's greedy. But that's how I felt. I wanted to see inside this woman who had come so close to being our 45th president. I didn't want dry statistics and academic analysis. Not this time. I wanted something more visceral from her.
This book doesn't get melodramatic or hysterical; two emotional attributes so often maliciously used to describe women. When Hillary shares her emotional reactions to the events related to the 2016 presidential election, she expresses joy, anger, sadness, bewilderment, and frustration with poise and dignity. Not a lot of levity, though; the woman is no comedienne. This shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as Hillary is notoriously well-controlled.
In this book, she offers insight into her own mistakes. She also points to double standards and cultural mores that challenged her along the way. She addresses the obstacles still facing Democrats and offers her advice on how to move forward.
There were moments when my eyes glazed over. But there were so many more moments when something she wrote resonated. I ended up highlighting a great deal and even writing comments every now again. Definitely worth reading.
I am sure this was a very difficult book for HRC to write, however, I am also sure it was a cathartic experience. I appreciate her candor, her authenticity, and her honesty in reflecting on an experience that very few of us will ever have - running for the highest public office in our country. HRC's writing style is reminiscent of a friend relating a similar story of trying and coming up short.
Throughout the book HRC takes responsibility for her loss in the 2016 Presidential campaign in the United States. However, primarily in the latter part of the book, she does provide resources and data to back up the facts that forces were working against her. Forces that included diversion (aka the emails - Secretaries of State have often used private email accounts and as other sources will verify there wasn't too much in those emails to be concerned about) and even more disappointing the social media tactics used to prey on people's vulnerabilities and fears and sway their votes based on misinformation (again lots of sources beyond this book to back that up). It is so easy for us to just believe what we see or hear (especially on social media), rather than take the time to confirm or deny that what we heard was true.
Though HRC's book is mainly a reflection of what I am sure is not the highlight of an amazing career in public service, it is also a warning of how rapidly our democracies are trying to be derailed by people in politics who are more concerned with having and maintaining power, than good governance that is in the best interests of the majority of the people they serve and represent. This book has strengthen my resolve to encourage greater civility in politics and daily life, and to not be afraid to hold those in power accountable for the things they say and do.
Throughout the book HRC takes responsibility for her loss in the 2016 Presidential campaign in the United States. However, primarily in the latter part of the book, she does provide resources and data to back up the facts that forces were working against her. Forces that included diversion (aka the emails - Secretaries of State have often used private email accounts and as other sources will verify there wasn't too much in those emails to be concerned about) and even more disappointing the social media tactics used to prey on people's vulnerabilities and fears and sway their votes based on misinformation (again lots of sources beyond this book to back that up). It is so easy for us to just believe what we see or hear (especially on social media), rather than take the time to confirm or deny that what we heard was true.
Though HRC's book is mainly a reflection of what I am sure is not the highlight of an amazing career in public service, it is also a warning of how rapidly our democracies are trying to be derailed by people in politics who are more concerned with having and maintaining power, than good governance that is in the best interests of the majority of the people they serve and represent. This book has strengthen my resolve to encourage greater civility in politics and daily life, and to not be afraid to hold those in power accountable for the things they say and do.
You have to get past the first few chapters, but this book is an invaluable record of what transpired during the election. So many things happened in rapid succession, and so many things were placed completely out of sync by the press, that seeing it straightened out in the proper context is important, in order to have a clear view of how we got to where we are now, and how to look ahead to where we would like to be next. As the only female presidential candidate of a major party to come this close to being president of the U.S.A., to lose in such a strange and complicated way to one of the most unqualified and proudly immoral presidents the U.S. has ever had; this bears reading and contemplation by everyone involved, even if you disagreed with her platform.
(Edit: I have added a star to offset the non-reviews left by people who have not bothered to read the book, but have just left their political opinion of the author as their rating. This disadvantages anyone who expects the star system to be a rating of the book, so my rating is raised in hopes to make the rating more reflective of my actual rating (3 stars: a good read, but not one I would necessarily come back to after finishing).)
(Edit: I have added a star to offset the non-reviews left by people who have not bothered to read the book, but have just left their political opinion of the author as their rating. This disadvantages anyone who expects the star system to be a rating of the book, so my rating is raised in hopes to make the rating more reflective of my actual rating (3 stars: a good read, but not one I would necessarily come back to after finishing).)
I'm almost afraid of actually leaving a review. The "People Who Hate Hillary Eternally For No Reason" bunch can be pretty unpleasant. (This is my review, leave one of those and I'll remove it.) But this was better done than I imagined it could be. I really can't imagine a human being reading this and not feeling at least a little differently about the tragedy that happened last fall. This was heartbreaking at times, yes. I cried. Frequently. But it was also hardhitting about the problems the election uncovered. Yes, she assigns some blame to some of these factors, but the election didn't happen in a vacuum. The way the press covered the campaign, the Russian manipulation that we are daily finding out more about, the incredibly misguided attempts to throttle voter registration--all of those things matter. They will continue to matter long after Hillary is gone from the scene.
The thing I didn't really expect from this book was how hopeful and healing it was. I loved seeing how Hillary dealt with the feelings and the aftermath, how she honestly tells us the hard stuff and then, also, shows how she can move forward and how she is going to be OK, and then I know I can be, too, and there is still hope for our country to actually live its values in the future, even if it's going to be bumpy in the short term. I am so glad I did in fact read this.
The thing I didn't really expect from this book was how hopeful and healing it was. I loved seeing how Hillary dealt with the feelings and the aftermath, how she honestly tells us the hard stuff and then, also, shows how she can move forward and how she is going to be OK, and then I know I can be, too, and there is still hope for our country to actually live its values in the future, even if it's going to be bumpy in the short term. I am so glad I did in fact read this.
Insightful, heartfelt writing. She was truly the best candidate and is a very remarkable woman. Thanks, Hillary for your caring and giving spirit. Wish you the best.
I'm between 4 and 4.5. Nothing revolutionary but interesting to read the exact timeline of the Russia and email 'scandals' played out.