Product Description

Just before noon on January 20, 2001, the most powerful and arguably most ambitious man in the world relinquished the public stage, reluctantly, at the young age of fifty-four. Having endured infamous scandals and impeachment, President Bill Clinton left office with record approval ratings—and embarked on an uncertain journey. Since then Clinton has moved in and out of the shadows of this "exile," leaving the millions who knew him to wonder: How has this man of such outsized talent and passions adjusted to leaving power?

Based on more than 150 interviews with the former president's friends, associates, and sometime enemies, Clinton in Exile takes readers from Clinton's last hours in office, through his indulgent personal life and well-publicized humanitarian efforts, to his front-of-camera and behind-the-scenes coordination of his wife's presidential campaign.

What is the status of his relationship with Hillary? What would be his role if they were to return to the White House?

What happened behind closed doors that may have influenced the pardon of Marc Rich?

Who is the woman rumored to have been Clinton's postpresidency girlfriend?

What does Clinton privately acknowledge to be the greatest mistakes of his presidency?

What's happened to the Clinton-Gore relationship since they left the White House?

What is the nature of Clinton's relationship with George H. W. Bush?

Noted biographer and journalist Carol Felsenthal has spent two years investigating these questions among many others, and her reporting gives a fascinating and textured portrait of this complex man.

Clinton in Exile is the definitive biography of one of the most towering, intriguing, and deeply controversial figures of our time.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Postpresidency, Bill Clinton is as intriguing as ever. Having left office under the cloud of the Monica Lewinksi scandal and his controversial pardon of Marc Rich, Clinton spent a few lonely years in the new family home in Chappaqua, New York. He regained his bearings as a highly paid, extremely popular speaker and executive of a charitable foundation, with wider esteem outside the U.S. than at home. But journalist Felsenthal presents a man haunted by missed opportunities and obsessed with his legacy. She details struggles with his memoirs and his health. She also analyzes Clinton’s prickly relationship with Jimmy Carter, reconciliation with Al Gore, friendship with the first President Bush—solidified by their joint efforts to raise tsunami relief funds—and Clinton’s renewed appeal as a political advisor. His old friends complain that the new FOBs are among the uber-rich who can offer access to corporate jets and money to finance the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. Felsenthal, who talked to more than 175 friends, associates, and enemies of Bill Clinton, offers insight into Clinton’s role in the 2000 presidential election and the current election, where he delicately attempts to help his wife without overshadowing her, even amid rumors of continued infidelity and speculation of his role in a Hillary administration. Completely fascinating. --Vanessa Bush --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Felsenthal has the scoop -- Slate

"Felsenthal sheds light on the motivations and misgivings of the former president, pulling back the curtain on a leader who has been simultaneously labeled brilliant and reckless." -- Denver Rocky Mountain News

"For sheer reading pleasure and a brilliant picture of a complex woman, pick up Power, Privilege, and the Post: The Katharine Graham Sory. In my view, it has already won a prize for one of the best biographies of this, or perhaps any, year." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on POWER, PRIVILEGE, AND THE POST

"Terrific." -- San Francisco Chronicle, on POWER, PRIVILEGE, AND THE POST

"The freashest and most insightful study of a major American newspaper since Gay Talese’s The Kingdom and the Power." -- Chicago Sun-Times, on POWER, PRIVILEGE, AND THE POST

About the Author

Carol Felsenthal is a journalist whose in-depth magazine articles about numerous political figures have received wide acclaim. She is also the author of several highly praised biographies on such high-profile figures as Alice Roosevelt Longworth, S. I. Newhouse, Jr., and Katharine Graham. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.