Michiko Kakutani writes what I take to be the first book review of Clinton’s My Life for the New York Times. The review slams the book, both as a literary effort and as a work of history or biography. It is neither. These few lines will give you the idea, but read the whole review. It is both well written and short. "The book, which weighs in at more than 950 pages, is sloppy, self-indulgent and often eye-crossingly dull — the sound of one man prattling away, not for the reader, but for himself and some distant recording angel of history.

In many ways, the book is a mirror of Mr. Clinton’s presidency: lack of discipline leading to squandered opportunities; high expectations, undermined by self-indulgence and scattered concentration."