Those contemporaneous conversations helped in...
Those contemporaneous conversations helped in recalling particular moments of the presidencyAfter I left the White House, Ted Widmer, a fine historian who worked in the White House as a speechwriter, did an oral history of my life before the presidency that helped me bring back and organize old memoriesJanis Kearney, the White House diarist, left me with voluminous notes that enabled me to reconstruct day-to-day events

The photographs were selected with the help of Vincent Virga, who found many that captured special moments discussed in the book, and Carolyn Huber, who was with our family throughout our years in the Governors Mansion and the White HouseWhile I was President, Carolyn also organized all my private papers and letters from the time I was a little boy to 1974, an arduous task without which much of the first part of the book could not have been written

I am deeply indebted to those who read all or part of the book and made helpful suggestions for additions, subtractions, reorganization, context, and interpretation, including Hillary, Chelsea, Dorothy Rodham, Doug Band, Sandy Berger, Tommy Caplan, Mary DeRosa, Nancy Hernreich, Dick Holbrooke, David Kendall, Jim Kennedy, Ian Klauss, Bruce Lindsey, Ira Magaziner, Cheryl Mills, Beth Nolan, John Podesta, Bruce Reed, Steve Ricchetti, Bob Rubin, Ruby Shamir, Brooke Shearer, Gene Sperling, Strobe Talbott, Mark Weiner, Maggie Williams, and my friends Brian and Myra Greenspun, who were with me when the first page was written

Many of my friends and colleagues took time to do impromptu oral histories with me including Huma Abedin, Madeleine Albright, Dave Barram, Woody Bassett, Paul Begala, Paul Berry, Jim Blair, Sidney Blumenthal, Erskine Bowles, Ron Burkle, Tom Campbell, James Carville, Roger Clinton, Patty Criner, Denise Dangremond, Lynda Dixon, Rahm Emanuel, Al From, Mark Gearen, Ann Henry, Denise Hyland, Harold Ickes, Roger Johnson, Vernon omega seamaster de ville Jordan, Mickey Kantor, Dick Kelley, Tony Lake, David Leopoulos, Capricia Marshall, Mack McLarty, Rudy Moore, Bob Nash, Kevin OKeefe, Leon Panetta, Betsey Reader, Dick Riley, Bobby Roberts, Hugh Rodham, Tony Rodham, Dennis Ross, Martha Saxton, Eli Segal, Terry Schumaker, Marsha Scott, Michael Sheehan, Nancy Soderberg, Doug Sosnik, Rodney Slater, Craig Smith, Gayle Smith, Steve Smith, Carolyn Staley, Stephanie Street, Larry Summers, Martha Whetstone, Delta Willis, Carol Willis, and several of my readersIm sure there are others Ive forgotten; if so, Im sorry and I appreciate their help as well

My research was also helped greatly by many books written by members of the administration and others, and of course by the memoirs of Hillary and my mother

David Alsobrook and the staff of the Clinton Presidential Materials Project were patient and persistent in recovering materialsI want to thank them all: Deborah Bush, Susan Collins, Gary Foulk, John Keller, Jimmie Purvis, Emily Robison, Rob Seibert, Dana Simmons, Richard Stalcup, Rhonda WilsonAnd Arkansas historian David WareThe archivists and historians at Georgetown and Oxford were also helpful

While I was absorbed in writing for much of the last two and a half years, especially the last six months, the work of my foundation continued as we built the library and pursued our missions: fighting AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean and providing low cost drugs and testing around the world; increasing economic opportunity in poor communities in the United States, India, and Africa; promoting education and citizen service among young people at home and abroad; and advocating religious, racial, and ethnic reconciliation across the worldI want to thank those whose donations have made possible my foundation work, and the construction of the Presidential Library and the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of ArkansasI am deeply indebted to Maggie omega seamaster watch Williams, my chief of staff, for all she did to keep things moving and for her help on the bookI want to thank members of my foundation and office staff for all they did to continue the work of the foundation and its programs while I was writing the bookA special word of thanks goes to Doug Band, my counselor, who helped me from the day I left the White House to build my new life and who struggled to protect my book-writing time on our travels across America and the world

I also owe a debt to Oscar Flores, who keeps things going at my home in ChappaquaOn the many nights when Justin Cooper and I worked into the wee hours, Oscar went out of his way to make sure we remembered to have dinner and that we were well supplied with coffee

Finally, I cannot list all the people who made the life chronicled in these pages possibleall the teachers and mentors of my youth; the people who worked on and contributed to all my campaigns; those who worked with me in the Democratic Leadership Council, National Governors Association, and all the other organizations that contributed to my education in public policy; those who worked with me for peace, security, and reconciliation around the world; those who made the White House run and my trips work; the thousands of gifted people who worked in my adminstrations as attorney general, governor, and President without whose dedicated service I would have little to say about my years in public life; those who provided security to me and my family; and my friends of a lifetimeNone of them are responsible for the failures of my life, but for whatever good has come out of it they deserve much of the credity father, William Jefferson Blythe, 1944

My father and my mother, Virginia Cassidy Blythe, at the Palmer House Hotel, Chicago, 1946

Mother and I

Here I am in 1949Above, far left: at my father's gravesite on the afternoon Mother left for nurse's training in New Orleans; gucci bag black above, center: in our backyard; above, right: posing for a photo for Mother's Day

My grandmother Edith Grisham Cassidy, 1949She was a private duty nurse

My grandfather James Eldridge Cassidy (right) in his grocery store in Hope, Arkansas, 1946

Miss Marie Purkins' School for Little Folks in HopeI'm at the far left, with Vince Foster next to me and Mack McLarty in the back row

My great-grandfather Lem Grisham came to visit me in the hospital when I broke my leg, March 1952

With my great-uncle Buddy Grisham, one of the lights of my life, during my first presidential campaign

Daddy (my stepfather, Roger Clinton)

Mother and Daddy, 1965

Daddy and I at home in Hope, 1951

My brother, Roger, and I with Cora Walters, the wonderful woman who took care of us

From my high school yearbook: the Three Blind Mice, better known as the 3 Kings—Randy Goodrum on piano, Joe Newman on drums

I'm in the front, right behind the photographer, as President John FKennedy addresses the Boys Nation delegates in the Rose Garden on July 24, 1963

David Leopoulos and I as emcees of the Hot Springs High School Band Variety Show, 1964

Mother, Roger, our dog Susie, and I in the snow at our Park Avenue house, 1961

At a picnic with friends, including Carolyn Yeldell, David Leopoulos, Ronnie Cecil, and Mary Jo Nelson

Frank Holt meeting and greeting in his shirtsleeves during his 1966 campaign for governor(I'm in the light-colored suit

With my brother and my roommates at our graduation from Georgetown, 1968: (from left) Kit Ashby, Tommy Caplan, Jim Moore, and Tom Campbell

My Oxford roommates: Strobe Talbott (left) and Frank AllerI'm in my bearded phase

I surprised Mother by flying home for her wedding to Jeff Dwire, January 3, 1969Reverend John Miles officiated, and I was best manRoger's in the frontWilliam Fulbright and his administrative assistant, Lee Williams, September 1989During my Georgetown cartier watches years, I was assistant clerk on Fulbright's Foreign Relations Committee

Hillary and I with our Yale Law School Barristers Union classmates

Campaigning for George McGovern in San Antonio, Texas, 1972


Teaching at the University of Arkansas Law School, Fayetteville

With George Shelton, my campaign chairman, and FWhile they passed away before my presidency, their sons both served in my administration

Campaigning with my gubernatorial predecessors Dale Bumpers and David Pryor


Campaigning for Congress, 1974

Our wedding day, October 11, 1975

Celebrating my thirty-second birthday during the campaignHillary is in dark glasses

Addressing the Arkansas legislature after I was sworn in as governor, January 9, 1979

The youthful leaders of Arkansas, 1979: Secretary of State Paul Riviere, 31; State Senator Cliff Hoofman, 35; me, 32; State Auditor Jimmie Lou Fisher, 35; and Attorney General Steve Clark, 31

With Chelsea and Zeke

Hillary, Carolyn Huber, Emma Phillips, Chelsea, and Liza Ashley celebrate Liza's birthday in the Governor's Mansion in 1980

My announcement for governor in 1982Hillary inscribed the picture “Chelsea's second birthday, Bill's second chance

With three of my strongest Arkansas supporters: Maurice Smith, Jim Pledger, and Bill Clark, 1998

Visiting Arkansas Delta Project leaders, with whom I worked to bring economic development to their region

Parents and students at the Governor's Mansion for High School Honors Day, celebrating the valedictorians and salutorians of Arkansas high schools

My workday at the Tosco plant

At the Sanyo Electric plant in Japan

Left to right: Henry Oliver; Gloria Cabe; Carol Rasco

At the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, during the governors' conference, 1984I'm standing next to Minnie Pearl; Hillary is at the far left

Left: Chelsea's first day of schoolMiddle: Betsey Wright and I surprise Hillary for her birthday, gucci men wallet 198