Hell to Pay

Customer Reviews

• Wonderful Analysis - Couldn't put it Down!  Nov 20, 1999 (154 of 164 found this helpful)

  It is easy to understand why all the reviews here are either five stars or one star. There is no middle ground here. This book is wonderfully written and contains very little rehashed material which at this point is very hard to do. The best part is the critical analysis of Hillary's past writings and how they expose a hidden political agenda. Olson's analysis of the First Lady's seemingly unaltered radical persuasion is convincingly demonstrated in this meticulously researched biography. This type of writing is not one star. One star is like trying to bury the many insights which this book magnificently exposes. Bravo Barbara!

• Who can doubt this?  Dec 7, 1999 (102 of 107 found this helpful)

  ...What I found fascinating about this book was its verifiability. In every case where Olson reveals some particularly damning bit of information, she is impecable about tieing it to easily corroborated additional public documentation. What is compelling about this book is not so much that it tends to confirm the worst suspicions of many who feel that the Clintons have been a disaster for the American body politic, but that it illuminates the reasons why this has taken place. Olson, by the by, never stoops to cheap shots and is noticably quiet when it comes to Chelsea and Hillary's relationship with her. This book, taken in isolation, would be considered a most distasteful expose of an American personality. Unfortunately, we are all part of the continuing story of Hillary Clinton. This book is more of an explanation for why a member of the extended family is locked in the attic. A good book....whether you like Hillary or not!

• This book confirmed some things I already knew.  Dec 2, 1999 (129 of 139 found this helpful)

  After hearing Ms. Olson do a radio interview on the Straight Talk program, I was compelled to buy this book. I'm glad I did. It gave me insight to Hillary and helped me understand why she is running (or saying she is running) for Senate. I think the book does show a bias, but I am smart enough to read through that and get down to the facts, which she provides plenty of. Overall, a good book.

• Ms. Olson Exposes A Phony  Dec 12, 1999 (75 of 79 found this helpful)

  This book is unabashedly anti-Clinton. And why not? The media won't, so somebody has to reveal the unseemly motives and behaviors that incubate the scandals that regularly bubble up from the depths of this White House. That's where *Hell to Pay* comes in. It spendidly unveils facts and events that the media overlook.

  There are other books about the Clintons. One (Brock's) is solid and factual, but a little ponderous to read. Others (Stephanopolis' and Isakoff's) are more compelling, but they divulge little. Not so with this book, in which I had fun learning interesting, documented facts, and gaining insights that bring puzzle pieces together.

  Ms. Olson shows how Mrs. Clinton - not James Carville - conceived the notion of the political campaign as war. All is fair, including hiring private investigators to dig up dirt, and barraging the opponent publicly with assertions that will hurt, but which need not be true.

  Witness accounts disclose the Clintons' callous, sometimes savage, treatment of subordinates. There are illustrations of paranoia in the White House. In fact, Olson added to my knowledge of virtually every Clinton scandal. I especially enjoyed learning who and what Harold Ickes is.

  Olson shows how several contemporary Clinton practices were learned from past experience. An example is "triangulation." As governor of Arkansas, Clinton was confronted with a federal court decision that left him no choice but to overhaul the state's school system. But doing so would require a tax hike, which would be tough to sell. Clinton put his wife in charge. After an extensive "listening tour," she proposed mandatory teacher testing and removing incompetent teachers as part of the tax hike bill. The voters liked the idea and gave Clinton his tax increase, all of which would go to schools. The teachers were outraged by the testing, but as time passed they saw that their jobs were safe, and that they could safely resume supporting Bill Clinton, for Mrs. Clinton had made sure very few incompetent teachers were fired, and the teachers saw new tax revenue flowing to their schools. Clinton triangulation produced form, but not substance. Arkansas school system's national ranking declined with Hillary in charge.

  There's lots more; just get the book. Overall, Ms. Olson illustrates that Mrs. Clinton is not the nice lady the media strives to portray. Rather, Ms. Olson asserts, Ms. Clinton is more Nixonian than Nixon, except that Ms. Clinton lacks Nixon's statesmanship and conscience.

• Worthwhile  Nov 21, 1999 (68 of 72 found this helpful)

  While I'm no fan of Hillary Clinton, I wanted to read a biography that was neither a vitriolic diatribe, nor the usual puff piece. Hell to Pay filled the bill exactly. Very revealing. Recommend it highly