Latest news with #TheFirstGentleman
Mint
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
New on shelves: Four titles that shine a lens on our past, present and future
This picture book, with gorgeous illustrations by Peter Brown, comes in his popular The Wild Robot series, made into a movie featuring Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal and Kit Connor. Roz, the robot, lands up on an island and is forced to learn the ways of the wild to survive. Intended for readers between the ages of 3 and 7, profound life lessons for adults are tucked away in these pages too. 'The Wild Robot on the Island', by Peter Brown, HarperCollins, 48 pages, ₹ 599. In his new book, co-written with Colin Butfield, naturalist David Attenborough takes the readers into the depths of the oceans, the 'earth's last wildness' as the subtitle describes them. From the mysteries of the coral reefs to the unique species that inhabit the waters, this is a magisterial story of an ecosystem hidden from our eyes but critically responsible for supporting life on earth. 'Oceans', by David Attenborough and Colin Butfield, Hachette India, 352 pages, ₹ 1,299. Former US President Bill Clinton is back with another thriller with co writer James Patterson, this one with obvious autobiographical leanings. The First Gentleman—a former President (ahem) now playing second fiddle to his wife, the reigning President—is accused of murder, which sets a pair of journalists on an investigation. 'The First Gentleman', by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, Penguin Random House, 400 pages, ₹ 899.
Winnipeg Free Press
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bill and James' excellent adventure
What if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 election, making her president, and making husband Bill Clinton the first first gentleman in U.S. history — and deep into her first term, Bill had been charged with murder? Oh dear. And that's pretty much all you need to know before launching into the third collaboration between former president Bill Clinton and super-prolific thriller author James Patterson, following The President is Missing and The President's Daughter. Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press files Bill Clinton (left) and James Patterson… TK We've got a courtroom drama, political thriller and police procedural all rolled into one that's both preposterous and preposterously entertaining. The first gentleman is Cole Wright, husband of President Madeleine Wright; he's a former tight end with the New England Patriots, one of whose cheerleaders he is accused of murdering 17 years ago. The big difference this time around is that Cole isn't the first-person narrator, after two whiz-bang novels in which the narrator was a male president who was the greatest warrior in the U.S. of A. No, this time our narrator is a Black woman lawyer and Yale law professor, Brea Cooke (check the initials). She's been researching a book about the disappearance and presumed death of cheerleader Suzanne Bonanno, and had been working along with Brea's romantic and professional partner Garrett Wilson, an investigative reporter. The first few pages tell us Cole is going to trial on the charges, Garrett is dead and it's flashback time. President Maddy is a Democrat, who stands by her man but believes his conviction would scuttle her re-election chances. Clinton and Patterson obviously started writing this book before the most recent election, back when presidents didn't mess with the justice system's independence. Spoiler alert — the word 'pardon' never appears herein. Brea and Garrett met at Dartmouth, the Ivy League school where a generation earlier, Cole, Maddy and her chief of staff Burton had all hung out together. There are rumours of a young woman's having been raped at a frat party full of football players, but all witnesses were bought or threatened into silence. People who know something about the dead cheerleader having dated Cole, and he having allegedly treated her violently before she vanished, start getting murdered. Who could have seen this coming? Brea knows she's being followed by two shady characters, we know a minor-league mobster has unleashed thugs, we know there's a professional hitperson with a sniper rifle stalking a whole lot of people, we know several conspiracies and cabals are feeding Brea clues for reasons unknown, we know intrepid homicide detective Marie Gagnon is refusing to drop her sleuthing — oodles of mysterious stuff we know, without knowing a lot of the why and by whom. The First Gentleman Why did the authors choose the New England Patriots? Maybe because the Pats had a real-life tight end named Aaron Hernandez who was charged with three murders and convicted of one murder. But we digress… While her husband is on trial, President Maddy is busy trying to stop China from invading the Philippines without starting a war, and she's trying to get enough votes from both parties (Bill probably wrote this part) for a rainbows-and-unicorns plan to prevent the States from going bankrupt, by increasing taxes on the wealthy to keep basic programs such as social security and Medicaid solvent. Bill, in what parallel universe did you find these agreeable Republicans? Readers may spend several chapters thinking The First Gentleman will concentrate on violence against women. Then they may think the authors are questioning why a young man who won the gene pool and then married into unimaginable power and wealth should lose everything because of one incident that he now acts in public as though he regrets. Ultimately, the authors have used a devastating societal ill as simply a plot device on which to hang another thriller full of Clinton's intriguing insights into politics and Patterson's bang-bang, never-stop-for-breath plots. Retired Free Press reporter Nick Martin reckons American football coaches will rapidly turn pages for clues how one tight end can turn a small school like Dartmouth, where players are required to go to class and pass courses, into a national university football power.
The Hill
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Bill Clinton says he wondered if Trump administration might try to ban his latest book
Former President Bill Clinton says that as the latest thriller he co-authored with James Patterson was being published, he wondered whether the Trump administration would try to come up with a reason 'to ban it.' 'I was actually trying to think if there was some reason they could think of to ban it,' the ex-commander in chief said during an interview alongside Patterson Tuesday on 'The Daily Show.' Clinton's comment came in response to a question from host Jordan Klepper on if he knew when the book, 'The First Gentleman,' was 'going to be banned by the Trump administration.' 'It wouldn't be the White House, but in certain counties, they may all of a sudden,' best-selling scribe Patterson, a vocal critic of book bans, told Klepper. 'They don't need a reason,' Patterson, 78, added. 'One person goes in [and says] 'I don't like the book.' And, 'OK, we'll ban it,'' he said. 'So it'll probably be banned in a couple of counties.' Patterson was one of nearly two dozen authors who donated millions to the free expression organization PEN America in 2023 to push back against book banning efforts. A year earlier, more than 1,500 individual titles were removed from K-12 schools across the country, according to PEN America. 'I don't like it. It's a bad deal,' Clinton, 78, said of book bans. 'Maya Angelou, who read the inaugural poem at my first inauguration — wrote it, and read it and was a great human being — the first thing the White House did was to ban her book, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' Clinton recalled. Angelou's 1969 autobiography was reportedly one of nearly 400 books that was pulled from the U.S. Naval Academy library in April as part of an effort to remove titles containing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content. Calling it a 'magnificent book,' Clinton reflected on Angelou's personal story about a child who 'loses the ability to speak for a couple of years because she was abused, and then she blooms.' 'I couldn't figure out why that was a problem,' Clinton said. 'I don't like book banning,' the 42nd president added. 'I wasn't ever for banning books that were full of things they said about me that weren't true,' Clinton said. 'It never occurred to me that I should stop you from reading them.'
New York Post
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Bill Clinton stumbles ahead of NYC book event, sparking concern: ‘Can hardly walk'
Bill and Hillary Clinton spotted in New York City for the launch of their new book "The First Gentleman." Former President Bill Clinton sparked concern on social media Wednesday after he was spotted walking gingerly and stumbling ahead of a book event in New York City. Clinton, 78, needed to grab hold of a pole in order to pull himself up from the street to the sidewalk outside the 92NY cultural center in Manhattan, where the event was taking place, video posted on X showed. The 42nd president's left leg immediately buckled as he planted his foot on the pavement, causing him to stumble. Advertisement 3 Clinton will turn 79 in August. Santi Ramales / BACKGRID Yet no one around the ex-commander in chief, including Secret Service agents and autograph hunters, appeared all that concerned. Clinton then slowly made his way to autograph seekers, where his wife, Hillary, was already signing a few items. Advertisement The former president's gait and physical appearance shocked many on social media. 'Bill can hardly walk,' conservative columnist Buzz Patterson wrote on X, sharing the clip of the trip. 'Bill Clinton ain't looking well,' Texas Patriot tweeted. Some X users compared Clinton's physical decline to that of former President Joe Biden. Advertisement 'Bill Clinton is starting to stumble around like Joe Biden,' one account tweeted. Another person described the ex-commander in chief as looking 'very Bidenlike – unsteady, sleepy.' One social media user noted that Clinton looked to be in an 'obvious fragile state,' and that Hillary left him 'in her dust' as she exited the black van carrying them to the event. 3 Clinton is promoting his new book with James Patterson, titled 'First Gentleman.' Santi Ramales / BACKGRID Advertisement Clinton has faced several health problems since leaving the Oval Office in January 2001 after serving two terms in the White House. A fever landed him in a Washington, DC, hospital last December, where he spent one night being treated for the flu and was released on Christmas Eve. In 2021, Clinton was hospitalized for about a week in California after a urinary tract infection spread to his bloodstream. 3 Bill and Hillary Clinton took selfies and signed autographs ahead of the event. Santi Ramales / BACKGRID In 2004, he underwent a successful quadruple heart bypass surgery that was described as a 'relatively routine' four-hour procedure at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University. And six years later, he was taken to the same Manhattan hospital where surgeons inserted two stents into a clogged artery, according to his doctors at the time. The former president was attending an event Wednesday night related to his new political thriller, 'The First Gentleman,' which he co-authored with James Patterson. Advertisement The book is described by 92NY as 'a propulsive, white-knuckle ride through the West Wing, the media, and the American psyche.' It takes place in a world where the US has elected its first female president and her husband is put on trial for murder.
RTÉ News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Bill Clinton says US needs presidential candidate who is 'willing to lose'
Former US president Bill Clinton has said the US needs someone to run for president who is "willing to lose" as well as wants to win. Speaking about his new book 'The First Gentleman' to Dearbhail McDonald on RTÉ's Brendan O'Connor show, he said a presidential candidate needs to show they are going to "lift our country out of the mire". "I think there is a significant majority of people who would support such an approach if they actually believed in the candidate and if you were effective enough to push back against the blizzard of misinformation that is in social media, the mainstream media and the endless array of new social media sites coming online," he said. "We're in a blizzard of information with limited ability for many people to sort through it and know what to believe and what not." Mr Clinton said that after the most recent US election, he believes many of the Democratic Party's leaders and would-be leaders "conducted themselves responsibly" but that voters and activists have continued to fight. "Especially since President Trump is so unlike his predecessors in his willingness to break rules and norms and take on courts and everybody else," he added. Mr Clinton said it is important to recognise that if a candidate does not have the votes to win a presidential race, they should focus on developing an alternative message and hope to win the next election. "I think we forget, the people who are so politically active, that people aren't paying attention. "They're making judgements and you have to trust the people to do this and then carve a path through to push what you believe in, but don't pretend that it's the next election. "I did not even announce for president until October of 1991, barely a year away. "Now we expect people to run from four straight years and we expect voters not to get bored because the media has got to fill all these days with news." Mr Clinton's book was co-authored by James Patterson - their third novel together - and revolves around a man named Cole who is facing murder charges while his wife is seeking re-election as president of the US. He said being a 'first gentleman' was the "only political job that I failed to secure".
