First in his class

Drawing on letters, documents, and interviews with several hundred people whose paths intersected with Clinton's at every level - family, friends, girlfriends, classmates, teachers, campaign workers, staff, and associates - Maraniss explores the evolution of the personality whose greatest strengths are also his greatest weaknesses: his talent for politics and careful networking, his perseverance and optimism, his ever eagerness to please, his tendency to shade the truth, and his insatiable appetite for life and ideas. It is a definitive study of Clinton's rise from obscure, provincial Arkansas, of the clear development of his ambitions, and of the Faustian bargains he made along the way. Maraniss looks at the split personality of Hot Springs, where Baptist churches and gambling casinos, all-American ideals and vaporous spas, were next-door neighbors - and how these childhood influences worked their way into Clinton's persona.

The Georgetown-to-Oxford-to-Yale years reveal Clinton as a remarkably quick study, a smooth and astute operator, and an unrivaled magnet, drawing many of the brightest people of his generation, first and foremost his wife and closest adviser, Hillary Rodham, and others who are now key members of his administration and circle. His career in Arkansas provided the important learning experiences and stepping stones that propelled him to the Oval Office - and the stumbling blocks that threaten his stay there. Still, Maraniss shows, Clinton is not a man to count out of any fight. There have been numerous defeats along the way - in "dress-rehearsal" elections for student council president, "out-of-town runs" for state office, and even now that he is on center stage - but Bill Clinton has learned and bounced back, stronger after every setback.