Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good work but something's missing
Comment: If you're an ardent Clinton hater or a Clinton lover, this book isn't for you. Let's get that
straight right off the bat. Toobin is very critical of the President and his flawed behavior,
although he is appalled even more strongly by what he sees as the arrogant and inhumane behavior of
Starr and the OIC.
This is a very comprehensive and intelligent study of the Lewinsky scandal,
and it does a fine job analysing its ins-and-outs primarily from a legal perspective. What is most
interesting is its revelations of how much more important Starr's team was than Starr himself was
in the abuses of the OIC, and the errors that both sides regularly made.
This is not yet the
definitive study, however. Since Toobin is a lawyer his study is naturally less oriented towards
other sides of the matter, and I was disappointed at times that politiczal ramifications for
decisiosn made by both sides weren't given more coverage, and also that the human side of the
scandal was sometimes neglected. What kept people so interested in it, I think, were the lives of
the "ordinary" people caught between the two opposing political sides (such as Monica herself, her
parents, Julie Hiatt Steele, etc.), but Toobin sometimes doesn't flesh out the cast or the
situations as much as one would've hoped.
Customer Rating: Summary: Finally, someone indicts the PRESS...
Comment: There are lots of terrific things about this book, primarily described in some of the better reviews
below. But what I found most satisfying was its indictment of the behavior of the National
Press/Media, whose role in this scandal was shameful, biased, and overly personalized to an extreme
extent.
Nothing has contributed more to my skepticism about what I read in print, than the
self-righteous commentary of those in daily or weekly print, or the BIG HEADs on TV, whose own
moral behavior couldn't stand up to a 40 watt bulb interrogation over this "scandal" which
resulted in the impeachment of a president, duly elected twice by the voting public. By
contributing to the small-minded attempt to overturn not one, but two national elections, the
entire profession robbed itself of what little dignity it has left in the era of the National
Enquirer Evening News.
During the crisis itself, I was constantly amazed at the gap between the
tone of the press coverage, of what the president had actually done "wrong" that might concern me
as a citizen rather than as a peeping Tom. I was only able to conclude that somewhere along the
line, things had gone way "out of whack". Toobin's book is very insightful on this issue, and
gives the press the extremely poor review it deserves for its obtuse refusal to see the issue from
the perspective of citizens for whom Washington behavior neither defines nor interests most of us
for even one minute a month. By remaining up in the "la-la land" of the Washington Rule of the
Absolute, where perfect truth and beauty reign, they offered indictments of the most serious nature
for acts that hardly qualify as "crimes" in modern times. Few people today (with the exception
of the exceedingly self righteous)would have the audacity to refer to lies about consensual sexual
acts as "perjury". In the perspective of history this episode will hopefully signal the demise of
the kamikaze newsjournalist. It will certainly be viewed as comical--and will subject to ridicule
our era for its frightening obliviousness as to what types of subjects qualify as issues of public
importance, as opposed to qualifying as complete drivel and gossip. Character assasination dressed
up as a system of checks and balances. Ego on parade. Read their contributions to the process
and weep.
Toobin correctly points out that the press ultimately added nothing positive to the
process, other than unqualified judgements and unmerited egos. The only person who comes out of
this narrative looking half decent is Judge Susan Wright. It was a relief to see at least one
dignified Republic remains at large.
To read this scandal so intelligently and openly discussed
by someone who freely identifies himself as a member of the press--and must not be a candidate for
"most popular colleague of the decade" as a result--is really quite refreshing. It's nice to see
someone stand up for truth in journalism--a rare enough event these days to merit notice! Would
that it might have some effect on what we read going forward!
Customer Rating: Summary: Proof
Comment: There is a very easy way to see if this book is biased for or against Clinton: Check the facts.
Toobin even misquotes Clinton's own words in his testimony! I lost count of all the lies in this
book. One thing for sure though, after all the Clinton controversy has died down, Toobin will be
remembered as a corrupt "reporter."
