My personal library includes hundreds of books on Presidents and the Presidency. On rare occasions, I will read a book about a President that is so good or so interesting that it will lead me into a phase where I can't help but seek more books about that President. This is not something that happens too frequently, but when it does happen, it is because I didn't want the book that I originally read to end and then I am disappointed because few of the other books on that President can match up. I can't remember the last time that this happened -- until last night, when I finished Michael Takiff's A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him (2010, Yale University Press).
A Complicated Man is an oral biography which covers the remarkable life of the 42nd President. A seemingly exhaustive undertaking, Takiff interviewed 171 people who have known Clinton at some point in his life -- friends, family, colleagues, enemies -- some who were actually all of those things. As you might expect with Clinton, opinions differ wildly about his ability, his flaws, his potential, and his legacy. Through it all, we are reminded that Bill Clinton is indeed Complicated, but that he is also one of the most fascinating figures in American History.
Some people say that authors don't "write" oral histories; that they instead rely on the words of other people. While it's true that these 171 people help tell Bill Clinton's story, this book is outstanding because of Takiff's ability to fill in the blanks, educate the reader on the issues and events that everyone is talking about, organize their thoughts and recollections into chapters, and structure a narrative that is eminently readable. A Complicated Man would not be the treasure that it is without Takiff's direction. He asked the questions which allowed for Bill Clinton's story to be fully, honestly, candidly told by people who knew him intimately -- some of whom happened to be among the most powerful people in the world.
Another strength of Takiff's that I really appreciated in A Complicated Man is that he's not merely an observer. Yes, he relays the history and the facts, but he also helps the story flow by pointing out Clinton's accomplishments and failures, sometimes with an editorial flavor. With humor, he helps lighten the mood at times. With a sense of Clinton's importance, Takiff compares the 42nd President with his successor and points out how very quickly (and unfortunately) our country and our world changed once Clinton left the White House.
There is a tradition of solid oral history books on Presidents and the Presidency, but nothing comes close to Michael Takiff's A Complicated Man. This is one of the best efforts on Clinton's life in years, and it is the best oral history book ever written about a President of the United States. A Complicated Man is a story about somebody who came from nowhere and exceeded all expectations while somehow simultaneously squandering his potential. Clinton is an amazing human being -- a brilliant, energetic, deeply-flawed, boneheaded political magician. By telling Clinton's story with the help of the people who knew him best, we see what Clinton gave us and how much more he probably could have done. Taylor Branch's The Clinton Tapes tried to introduce us directly to Clinton, but where Branch failed, Takiff succeeds.
A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him by Michael Takiff is available now. You can order it here on Amazon in Hardcover, or download it right now for the Kindle . Michael Takiff's website is www.michaeltakiff.com and it includes bonus features about A Complicated Man.
