Well written description, background, and context of events. Inescapable impression of the depth and breadth of knowledge, judgement, and foresight about the implication of choices. With this window it is a good standard to measure presidential candidates ( )

Interesting, but not a must-read. You sometimes learn about the behind-the-scenes of the State Department, but for the most part it's a condensed form of The New York Times from 2009 - 2012. Dry, and very wonky, like Clinton herself. ( )

It is what it is. The tone of the book is optimistic and professional, and emphasizes Hillary's experience and achievement along with her basic stances on big issues along with her side of major events like Benghazi. It is exactly what folks were asking for during the 2016 election. (Naturally this is the main point of contention for Hill-haters, who have dismissed the book as lies, propaganda, or cherry-picked, despite it providing the exact information they were demanding.)

Its well-organized and articulate. While outlining the real complexity of being a diplomat in a globalized society, conveys a sense of optimism, compassion, empathy, and an orientation on the future. However, I don't think Hillary's voice and personality came through on this - its a bit too polished, a bit too safe, a bit too sanitized. I imagine it had to be that way, though. A female politician writing with passion would be labeled emotional, bitchy, volatile. (Again, there's no winning for the female politician. Anything polished or calm is untrustworthy, robotic, and manipulative. Anything more raw is unprofessional and emotional. There is no middle ground.)

It seemed to run out of steam about 400 pages in - I had to push myself to finish it despite my enthusiasm and enjoyment going in. This book would have really benefited from tightening up. But again - this is Hillary, and you have to look at her work through the lens of how the rabid Clinton-haters interpret everything. Her statements are constantly taken out of context, so it makes sense that she provides as much context as possible in an attempt to make that at least a little difficult.

There is no doubt that Hillary is knowledgeable, experienced, and accomplished. The book is interesting and informative, but needs to be condensed. I took the time to look up her claims and fact check as much as possible - and it all checked out. I have to admire her work and dedication, especially for a country that continues to shit on her and her family due to paranoid conspiracy theories.

I have no real problem with the book - it did what it set out to do. I just wish I could have read the version that let her true voice shine. ( )

DNF. I was on page 313 on November 8, 2016, and, well, we all know what happened then. I couldn't bear to continue and continue to consider what could have been. I was enjoying up to that point. ( )