Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words

February 10, 2014
Rogak (Barak Obama in His Own Words) crafts a compact and concise tribute to Hillary Clinton through quotes taken from the politician during the course of career in this tiny book with big aspirations. Created as a "refresher course" on the inspirational politician organizes quotes, Rogak's interests are topical rather than rhetorical. The author organizes the content alphabetically by subject, allowing readers to easily look up what Hillary has to say on a number of topics. The book begins boldly with "Abortion" with quotes that are explanative but rhetorically mild: "I am and always have been pro-choice" begins a quote which Rogak attributes simply to New York Times in 2000, but offers no other context making the origins of the quote unclear. A few of the topics feel out of placeâsuch as "Chef Alice Waters," and so one wonders the relevance of this in the context of Hillary's otherwise extraordinary career. Whereas the section on President George W. Bush includes one short, barely consequential quote. The organization of the book makes for some strange juxtaposition: for example, "Gun Control" is preceded by "Her Guilty Pleasure." While the author's admiration for Hillary Clinton is clear, the book does its subject a disservice in presenting such a dynamic public figure in such a flat way.