A review by cptnmarv41
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

4.0

Really excellent read if you can bear to live through it all again. If you can bear to go through all the details again and shake your head hundreds of times at how it all maddeningly played out. It's not perfect. At times she veers off track from the topic at hand, but thankfully never for very long. And there's also some inconsequential things in here that definitely made me raise an eyebrow, so I'll mention them. Example, how she casually mentions purchasing the house next to theirs to have for family and friends who visit. While clearly they are people of means, that's the kind of thing that makes some people perceive her as out of touch. I don't know many people who own two homes next to each other. And at one point she mentions Bill chewing on a cigar - and I was immediately like - REALLY - you want to bring that association back up? I would have left that detail out, but that's just me. LOL. Anyway, beyond these little quips, the heart of the book is excellent. I'd love to see how future generations, far removed from all this craziness, react to the sordid details behind this election. I guess it probably depends what happens from here. Does the Presidency revert back to "normal" or does our Democracy go further down the rabbit hole? Maybe this book will be looked back as a seriously negative turning point in our country that we never recovered from. It's possible. This book could definitely serve as a really strong reminder that without vigilance, similar tactics will be implored again and again to undermine us. And even if you're a Trump voter, if you're not seriously concerned about Russian interference in the American voting process, you have a real short sighted perspective. That kind of stuff isn't exactly partisan in nature, and we're all at risk. But we all remember the score, here. Emails. Not that I believe that anyone was ever actually concerned about the security of our country - they just wanted an excuse to paint Hillary in a bad light - but even if they were - that sure seems mighty silly nearly 18 months into Trump Land, and all his controversies doesn't it? The media certainly played their role, glamorizing and amplifying Trump disproportionately. And Anthony Weiner - did that guy ever do anything good, ever? Third party candidates and the people who voted for them. The Bernie or Bust people. Social Media infiltration. All of that amounted to 77,000 votes that swayed the whole thing - unbelievable the damage that has been done to our country over 77,000 votes. I'll never get over it. I can't imagine how she will. But it was very intriguing to have her walk us through those first dark days, and what came next. I admire her for highlighting her own mistakes too, and owning up to them. It's funny, I do sometimes think about what would have happened if Hillary had won, and I think I know. Trump wouldn't have let the result go, and would have claimed voter fraud, and it would have been a ridiculous mess just declaring a winner. And they would have fought Hillary's agenda at every turn and made it almost impossible for a 4th straight Democratic victory. In a crazy way, maybe Trump is a blessing in disguise. I've never seen Republicans more beat down and disillusioned than right now, and I've never seen so many people engaged in the process, to the point where there are several new faces running for office now that maybe never otherwise would have. And likewise when it comes to simple voter registration. Chances are you know people who have marched for something in the past year. Or maybe you did, yourself. If anything good came out of all of this - it's that stuff. I mean, the Dems won a seat in Alabama, for Pete's sake. That's really something. November 2018 looks like it'll be pretty remarkable. Hopefully. But, in the end, the message is clear and positive. What do we do? We move forward. Wise words from an excellent book.