Citizen My life after the White House

In this energetic if out of touch memoir, Clinton (My Life) paints his post-presidency as a whirlwind of globe-trotting, do-gooding, and private statesmanship. He recounts delivering humanitarian relief to disaster zones, undertaking informal diplomatic missions, and promoting innumerable social and environmental projects through the Clinton Foundation. Clinton still brims with empathy and exuberance (a William Jefferson Clinton day in Harlem "ended with all of us joining a jazz group in singing 'Stand By Me' "), funny stories (Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi proposed a marriage between his son and Clinton's daughter Chelsea, who nixed the union), wary defensiveness (he insists he never visited sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's island), and dazzling, somewhat iffy statistics ("More than 37 million people became actively engaged in efforts to promote climate change solutions," he reports of a Clinton Global Initiatives program). But he's tight-lipped about Democratic Party power plays--commenting neither on the party's sudden promotion of Joe Biden over Bernie Sanders in the 2020 primary nor its hasty ouster of Biden in 2024--and his empathy evaporates when it comes to Donald Trump's supporters, whom he characterizes as "mostly white working-class voters" mired in "rage-based tribalism." Such musings feel ill-timed in the wake of the recent election, when Trump increased his share of voters of color. As a self-portrait, it amounts to an inadvertent illustration of how modern liberalism's ardency and efficacy can be undermined by its elitism and myopia. (Nov.)

Beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Bill Clinton has covered quite a few bases since leaving the presidency at age 54 in 2001. He recounts them in his latest memoir in ways that can be charming and sentimental (especially involving his daughter, Chelsea, and his fond relations with fellow ex-presidents), occasionally preachy (about the deficiencies of the national press or the devolution of American politics), and sometimes wonky (distilling data and financials of his philanthropic efforts). Ever loquacious, he chronicles his global missions to extend humanitarian relief and American goodwill, offering tutorials on the history and plight of other countries. He devotes a chapter to Haiti, a place "full of promise and tragedy," revisiting the devastating 2010 earthquake that prompted him to leverage his clout and connections on behalf of a people he has revered ever since his first visit, on his 1975 honeymoon with Hillary Clinton. As for any insights into their relationship, most personal revelations are kept in soft focus; the sharper backstories involve his postpresidential diplomacy and the sorry state of domestic politics. The former president does run through his roles in his wife's campaigns, and he expands on what he thinks kept "as gifted a leader as I've ever met" from the Oval Office. His short answer: "The political media, Jim Comey, and Vladimir Putin deserve most of the credit" for Donald Trump's 2016 victory. If there is a common thread in the disparate stories of this appealing memoir, it is that Clinton, for all his pragmatism as 42nd president, came out of the rough-and-tumble of Washington as the idealist who was first drawn to public service. A bighearted look back by a former president who has not lost his fervor. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.