Attractive, astute, confident, compassionate, forgiving, ambitious, schemer, icy, strong-willed, bitch, feminist, commie, and even the Antichrist. These are terms used to describe Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of the most colorful First Ladies of our lifetime. Like her or hate her, one must admit that she is the most intriguing woman to inhabit the White House since Jackie Kennedy.

“Living History” is a chronicle of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s life, from her humble but stable home in Chicago, her years at Wellesley and Yale, her time as First Lady of Arkansas and then of the United States, and finally, it ends with the beginning of her career in the Senate. It is more than an autobiography of Mrs. Clinton; “Living History” is a memoir of some of the most important events in the final decade of the last century.

Author: Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hardcover: 562 pages

Publisher: Simon and Schuster (June 2003)

Born to a conservative father and a Democratic mother, young Hillary moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts, where we first see glimpses of her leadership qualities that would make her one of the most powerful women in the world. As she moves to Yale to study law and encounters a handsome young Bill, her life is thrown into a roller coaster ride of politics, disaster, and triumph. As a young attorney, she watches President Nixon step down in disgrace amid the Watergate scandal. Little did she know that fate would almost thrust her husband into a similar situation.

Her marriage to Bill Clinton would soon land her in the Governor’s mansion in Arkansas. Bill would subsequently lose the next election only to win again the following term. It is at this point that the Clintons become proud parents of young Chelsea. From Arkansas, Bill Clinton would make a play for the highest office in the land.

Bill’s winning the Presidency and the role Hillary would play would test her resolve for years to come. As a young President serving his first term, ambitious Bill would lose his first major battle in the Senate in his efforts to pass a Healthcare reform Bill. Ever the glib lawyer, Mrs. Clinton argues convincingly for this bill, proposing that it would make quality healthcare affordable for every American.

Hillary is not made to take a backseat for anyone. As First Lady, she would fight untiringly and passionately for her causes of child welfare and women’s rights. Traveling around the world, she examines firsthand the plight of women all over the world. Hillary cites the plight of women in Pakistan, where Benazir Bhutto, a woman, could be elected to the office of Prime Minister while most other unlucky women were not allowed the ‘luxuries’ of an education or a career. She cites with feminine pride how some Indian women break their family’s tradition by starting a business themselves and become financially independent.

Unafraid to express her opinion, she argues for her stand on ‘pro-choice’, saying that it is not for the government to decide what a woman must do with her body. Two examples of unacceptable practices she cites are China, where the state may terminate a pregnancy, and Romania, where the state monitors the terms of its pregnant women.

Scandals enveloped William Jefferson Clinton’s Presidency from beginning to end. WhiteWater, ‘FileGate’, several ‘Bimbo’ attacks, and of course, good old Monica. Hillary addresses each one of these fearlessly and hits back hard at her and her husband’s critics. She lashes out particularly at Newt Gingrich and, of course, the ‘independent investigator’ Ken Starr.

About the Monica Lewinsky scandal, she makes no attempt to hide her anger towards Bill’s deceit. However, she does believe that Bill’s perjury in a civil suit does not constitute grounds for impeachment.

There is one final challenge Mrs. Clinton must take on towards the end of her husband’s Presidency. This is Senator Moynahan’s New York Senate seat. As her emotional wounds are healing, Mrs. Clinton makes a bid for position, facing challenging odds against her. She may have to contest mayor Giuliani. She has never been a New York resident, and of course, she must step out of the shadow of her husband’s personality. After a short spell of soul-searching, Hillary decides to run for the New York Senate and finally wins. Surely enough, we have not seen the end of the political line for Mrs. Clinton.

There were some parts of the book that must indeed be taken with a pinch of salt. For instance, Hillary claims that the Oklahoma bombing was a case of right-wing thinking taken to an extreme. There were also a few neglected issues. One that comes to mind is that there is no mention of Clinton’s arms deals with North Korea. Personally, I would like to know Hillary’s take on this issue.

This book is also a who’s who of several great personalities and leaders of our time like Mother Teresa, Tony Blair, Madeleine Albright, Kofi Annan, Jackie Kennedy, King Hussein, Queen Noor, Prime Minister Rabin, PLO Chief Arafat, and numerous others. It covers several great historic events of the

Clinton era like the signing of the Middle Eastern Peace treaty, the Economic boom never seen before, and of course, the impeachment of Bill Clinton. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is insightful, informative, educational, entertaining, and inspiring. It successfully softens Hillary’s icy image and offers a perspective of the world that could be seen only through her eyes.