A Woman in Charge
Author | Carl Bernstein |
---|---|
Language | English |
Subject | Hillary Clinton |
Genre | Biography |
Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | June 5, 2007 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
Pages | 640 |
A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton is a biography of Hillary Clinton, written by Carl Bernstein and published on June 5, 2007 by Alfred A. Knopf.
Background
Bernstein spent eight years working on the book.[1] He is said to have interviewed around 200 people in connection with his research.[1][2] He did not receive cooperation from the Clintons for the project.[2]
The existence of the work was first announced by publisher Knopf on April 23, 2007, with a scheduled publication date of June 19, 2007.[1]
A Woman in Charge was released at the same time as another mainstream biography of Clinton,
Beyond scheduling, there was some feuding between the publishers. The editor in chief of
Release
A Woman in Charge was published while
Once the books came out, while there were many items of interest, there were no blockbusters that would constitute political damage.[7] A Clinton spokesman said, "Is it possible to be quoted yawning?" and that, "these books are nothing more than cash for rehash."[3] Media Matters for America had no major objections to it compared to Her Way,[8] aside from criticizing Bernstein on some grounds, such as falsely claiming during interviews for the book that he had revealed that Clinton had failed the D. C. Bar Exam, when in fact she had revealed it herself four years prior.[9]
The general consensus was that while Gerth-Van Natta's book was somewhat negative towards its subject, A Woman in Charge was rather positive, notwithstanding that both were mainstream works.[6] As The Washington Post wrote, "Unlike many harsh books about Clinton written by ideological enemies, the two new volumes come from long-established writers backed by major publishing houses and could be harder to dismiss."[3]
Critical reception
Many critics reviewed A Woman in Charge and Her Way in tandem.[2][3][10] Reviews for A Woman in Charge were generally mixed-to-positive.[7]
Reviewing the book for The New York Times, historian Robert Dallek asserted that the book presented "a [reasonably] balanced and convincing picture" of Clinton ... [but] also has its limitations. ... Bernstein includes too much recounting of familiar details about the Clintons' past."[10] He concluded that the Bernstein work was more neutral than the more negatively framed Gerth-Van Natta account.[10]
Professor Linda Colley of the London Review of Books said that the book was "well-written" and "considered", especially in contrast to Gerth-Van Natta's.[2] Several reviewers noted that A Woman in Charge had next to nothing about Clinton's Senate career.[7] The Rocky Mountain News wrote that "Carl Bernstein's much-hyped unauthorized biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton, A Woman in Charge, is neither a bomb nor a bombshell ... he disappoints [in] devoting about 20 pages to her years in the U.S. Senate and a scant three pages to her decision to run for president. It's as if he lost steam in his eight-year labor and then rushed to print as she became a presidential front-runner."[7]
Elizabeth Kolbert of The New Yorker argued that Bernstein was trying to prove that Clinton is "really no worse than you think she is. ... Even as he chronicles one fabulous misstep after another, he describes the former First Lady as 'well-intentioned' and 'principled,' motivated by deep religious faith and a passionate sense of caring."[11] Kolbert illustrated with a case in point, when in pointed contrast to Gerth-Van Natta, Bernstein writes that Whitewater was "overblown almost from the moment The New York Times first wrote about it."[11]
Commercial performance
Knopf had initially announced a first printing of 350,000 copies.[1] As publication approached, this was revised to a print run of 275,000.[3]
Despite considerable publicity, initial sales of A Woman in Charge were modest, with
A CBS News end-of-year survey of publishing "hits and misses" included A Woman in Charge in the "miss" category and suggested that its total sales were in the range of 55,000–65,000 copies.[13] Its sales fell far short of the initial printing and may have been impacted by the simultaneous release of Gerth-Van Natta's biography of Clinton.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e ""A Woman in Charge," maybe - Off the Shelf".
- ^ a b c d Colley, Linda (August 16, 2007). "Linda Colley reviews 'A Woman in Charge' by Carl Bernstein and 'Hillary Clinton: Her Way' by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta". London Review of Books. 29 (16). Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Baker, Peter; Solomon, John (May 25, 2007). "Books Paint Critical Portraits of Clinton". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2016. Washington Post.
- ^ a b Donadio, Rachel (February 3, 2008). "Essay - Why Does It Still Take So Long to Publish a Book?". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d "Hillary books vie for votes - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com.
- ^ a b c d Rainey, James (June 23, 2007). "Not many votes for Clinton bio". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Reviews of books on Hillary Clinton". Books Blog. timesunion. June 10, 2007. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ Research (May 30, 2007). "Jeff Gerth, meet Judith Miller". Media Matters for America. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ "On Today, Bernstein omitted key fact in purported disclosure of Clinton's D.C. bar exam failure: It's not news". Media Matters for America. October 10, 2007.
- ^ a b c Robert Dallek (June 5, 2007). "Book Review: Her Way and A Woman in Charge". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Kolbert, Elizabeth (June 4, 2007). "The Lady Vanishes". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ http://www.hawes.com/2007/2007.htm Hawes Publications Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 2007
- ^ Italie, Hillel (December 18, 2007). "Books: Hits And Misses In 2007". CBS News. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
External links
- Author's website page for book Archived November 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Excerpt from the book Archived October 31, 2016, at the Wayback Machine