In 1993, William J. Clinton began his eight year stint as forty-second president of the United States. A key figure of change in the Democratic Party, Clinton's political and personal actions ensured his lasting status as an important if controversial leader at a critical moment in recent American history. In Bill Clinton: Building a Bridge to the New Millennium, David H. Bennett traces Clinton's life and career from childhood through his two terms in the White House. From childhood to college, state government to the executive branch, Bennett provides a concise and readable biography that places Clinton's achievements, problems, and legacy in historical context.
Situating the former president in the trajectory of 20th century liberalism, Bennett draws on Clinton's life to illuminate the political landscape of America in the 1990s and the role of the U.S. in the global context of the post-Cold War world. Combining keen scholarship with accessible prose, this will be an essential resource for students and all those interested in understanding the recent history of the U.S.
Prologue: Inauguration 1993
Chapter 1 The Boy from Hope Becomes "The Man from Hope"
Chapter 2 To the White House
Chapter 3 Building the Bridge: Clinton’s Domestic Agenda
Chapter 4 Foreign Challenges in a Post-Cold War Environment
Chapter 5 The Politics of Scandal and the Impeachment Crisis
Chapter 6 After the White House
Epilogue: On the Question of Presidential Greatness
Documents
Bibliography
Index
Biography
David H. Bennett is Meredith Professor of History in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He is the author of Demagogues in the Depression: American Radicals and the Union Party, 1932-1936 and The Party of Fear: The American Far Right from Nativism to the Militia Movement.
"This is the Clinton book that college professors have been waiting for. Bennett’s tour de force offers a Clinton-in-context, as he constructs a concise, objective, and readable biography of Bill Clinton, then uses that biography to highlight many of the major issues of modern American history. Bennett offers us a challenging, fascinating biography, as well as a perfect teaching tool."
– John Robert Greene, author of The Presidency of George Bush"This compelling biography of Bill Clinton is the first by a distinguished scholar of the presidency – and likely to remain the best for a long time to come. Bennett brings historical perspective to the achievements and trials of our 42nd chief executive while narrating a remarkable career with lucidity and insight."
– Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution
"Bennett offers a concise yet thorough biography of the 42nd president of the US… this book [is] a reader-friendly biography that counterbalances the right-wing assessment of the Clinton administration. Summing Up: Recommended" -J.R. Hedtke, Cabrini College in CHOICE
