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My Life (Bill Clinton autobiography)
Encyclopedia
My Life is a 2004
autobiography
written by former President of the United States
Bill Clinton
, who left office on January 20, 2001. It was released on June 22, 2004. The book was published by the Knopf Publishing Group
; the book sold in excess of 2,250,000 copies. Clinton had received what was at the time the world's highest book advance fee, believed to have been worth US$12 million; at the announcement of media personality Oprah Winfrey
's future weight loss book, it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken this record. In April 2008, the Clintons' tax records confirmed that the advance for My Life was actually $15 million.
, moving to Hot Springs, Arkansas
where he attended school and had learned the tenor saxophone
, which would find its way into a peripheral role in his public appearances. His interest in politics eventually led him to the Governorship of Arkansas
, and later, the Presidency
of the United States
. Along the way, Clinton offers anecdotes of ordinary people he had interacted with over the years.
Early in Clinton's life, he recalls listening to family's stories of others and learning "that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain."
Following his defeat for second term as governor, Clinton remarks, "the system can only absorb so much change at once; no one can beat all the entrenched interests at the same time; and if people think you've stopped listening, you're sunk."
In a political battle, one should wait for an attack from his opponent, then counterpunch as strong and as fast as possible. Early gaffes in Clinton's political career were a result, he believed, of taking too long to respond to attacks.
. "I wrote it out long hand, left blanks for research, he'd do the research, put it in the computer, print it out, and then we'd edit it", Clinton said. "Every page in this book has probably been gone over somewhere between three and nine times." The original draft for the book was written completely in long-hand. "[There were] twenty-two big, thick notebooks."
wrote a rebuttal named Because He Could, criticizing My Life. In the book, Morris presented what he believed to be factual inaccuracies of different events depicted in My Life.
At 1008 pages, the memoir has been made fun of for its length, with Jon Stewart
joking, "I have to confess, I did not finish the entire book; I'm on ... page twelve thousand." Former President George W. Bush
joked that it was "ten thousand pages long."
In 2007 Teletext
carried out a survey of British
readers, the results of which revealed that of the respondents who had purchased or borrowed My Life, 30% had either not read it, or had begun to read it but had not finished it.
The audio book
edition, read by Clinton and published by Random House Audio, won the 2005 Grammy Award
for Best Spoken Word Album
. This was the second time he had won the award; in February 2004, Clinton (along with former leader of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev
and actress Sophia Loren
) won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children
for narrating the Russian National Orchestra
's album Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks
.
Clinton earned $30 million as of April 2008 from the sales of My Life and his follow-up book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World
.
2004 in literature
The year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
written by former President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, who left office on January 20, 2001. It was released on June 22, 2004. The book was published by the Knopf Publishing Group
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
; the book sold in excess of 2,250,000 copies. Clinton had received what was at the time the world's highest book advance fee, believed to have been worth US$12 million; at the announcement of media personality Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
's future weight loss book, it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken this record. In April 2008, the Clintons' tax records confirmed that the advance for My Life was actually $15 million.
Summary and themes
My Life covers mostly chronologically the life of Bill Clinton, growing up in Hope, ArkansasHope, Arkansas
Hope is a small city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2008 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,378...
, moving to Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
where he attended school and had learned the tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, which would find its way into a peripheral role in his public appearances. His interest in politics eventually led him to the Governorship of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and later, the Presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Along the way, Clinton offers anecdotes of ordinary people he had interacted with over the years.
Early in Clinton's life, he recalls listening to family's stories of others and learning "that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain."
Following his defeat for second term as governor, Clinton remarks, "the system can only absorb so much change at once; no one can beat all the entrenched interests at the same time; and if people think you've stopped listening, you're sunk."
In a political battle, one should wait for an attack from his opponent, then counterpunch as strong and as fast as possible. Early gaffes in Clinton's political career were a result, he believed, of taking too long to respond to attacks.
Writing process
Clinton spent about two and a half years on the book. He gathered material for four months, wrote an outline, "and then I wrote for two years and two months." The book's editor was Justin CooperJustin Cooper (Advisor to Bill Clinton)
Justin Cooper is a senior adviser to former United States President William Jefferson Clinton.PersonalA native of Pennsylvania, Cooper is an alumnus of Upper Dublin High School and earned a bachelor's of arts degree from the American University with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies of...
. "I wrote it out long hand, left blanks for research, he'd do the research, put it in the computer, print it out, and then we'd edit it", Clinton said. "Every page in this book has probably been gone over somewhere between three and nine times." The original draft for the book was written completely in long-hand. "[There were] twenty-two big, thick notebooks."
Reaction
Clinton's former advisor Dick MorrisDick Morris
Dick Morris is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant....
wrote a rebuttal named Because He Could, criticizing My Life. In the book, Morris presented what he believed to be factual inaccuracies of different events depicted in My Life.
At 1008 pages, the memoir has been made fun of for its length, with Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
joking, "I have to confess, I did not finish the entire book; I'm on ... page twelve thousand." Former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
joked that it was "ten thousand pages long."
In 2007 Teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
carried out a survey of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
readers, the results of which revealed that of the respondents who had purchased or borrowed My Life, 30% had either not read it, or had begun to read it but had not finished it.
The audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
edition, read by Clinton and published by Random House Audio, won the 2005 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Spoken Word Album
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word...
. This was the second time he had won the award; in February 2004, Clinton (along with former leader of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
and actress Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
) won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children
The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality "spoken word" performances aimed at children...
for narrating the Russian National Orchestra
Russian National Orchestra
The Russian National Orchestra premiered in Moscow in 1990.It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel....
's album Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks
Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf
Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf was a 2005 album that combined the orchestral composition Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev with a 2002 composition, Wolf Tracks, which had its score written by French composer Jean-Pascal Beintus and text written by Walt Kreamer...
.
Clinton earned $30 million as of April 2008 from the sales of My Life and his follow-up book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World
Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World
Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World is a 2007 book by former United States President Bill Clinton. It was published by Knopf in September 2007. With an initial print run of 750,000 copies, it debuted at the top of the New York Times Best Seller list in its first week. It was announced that...
.