Citizen

My Life After the White House

By: Bill Clinton

Narrated by: Steven Weber, Bill Clinton

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful, candid, and richly detailed memoir from an American icon, revealing what life looks like after the presidency: triumphs, tribulations, and all.

On January 20, 2001, after nearly thirty years in politics—eight of them as president of the United States—Bill Clinton was suddenly a private citizen. Only fifty-four years old, full of energy and ideas, he wanted to make meaningful use of his skills, his relationships with world leaders, and all he’d learned in a lifetime of politics, but how? Just days after leaving the White House, the call came to aid victims of a devastating earthquake in India, and Clinton hit the ground running. Over the next two decades, he would create an enduring legacy of public service and advocacy work, from Indonesia to Louisiana, Northern Ireland to South Africa, and in the process reimagine philanthropy and redefine the impact a former president could have on the world.

Citizen is Clinton’s front-row, first-person chronicle of his postpresidential years and the most significant events of the twenty-first century, including 9/11 and the runup to the Iraq War, the Haiti earthquake, the Great Recession, the January 6 insurrection, and the enduring culture wars of our times. With clarity and compassion, he also weighs in on the unprecedented challenges brought on by a global pandemic, ongoing income inequality, a steadily warming planet, and authoritarian forces dedicated to weakening democracy. Yet Citizen is more than a political memoir. These pages capture Clinton in a rare and unforgettable light: not only as a celebrated former president and a foundation leader, but as a father, grandfather, and husband. He recounts his support for Hillary Clinton during her time as senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate, and shares the frustration and pain of the 2016 election.

In this landmark publication, the highly anticipated follow-up to the best-selling My Life, Clinton pens an illuminating account of American democracy on a global stage, offering a frank reflection on the past and, with it, a fearless embrace of our future. Citizen is a self-portrait of equal parts eloquence, insight, and candor, a testament to one man’s unwavering commitment to family and nation.

Critic reviews

Praise for Citizen

“The authentic Clinton comes through: smart, charming. . . . Mostly the former president focuses on the positive. In his first interview after leaving office in 2001, he told me that he planned to use his 'convening power' to make a better world. And he has. Even when he fails, he’s determined to 'get caught trying,' his apt description of his postpresidential approach.”
—Washington Post

Thought-provoking and Inspiring!

President Clinton’s insight and illustration of both his time transitioning from the Oval Office to private citizen and his thoughtful reflection of how his administration impacted our foreign and domestic wellbeing in the years to follow is inspiring and puts into great relief our current political climate in America.

Brilliant Mind, Interesting Insights, Apologetic

First, I like Bill. The book is so good for the first 3/4ths, but the author then gets overly apologetic for Hillary and the Democratic Party’s losses. I wish he would have been harsher on his own party. What is his blueprint to restore a powerful center? He barely touches this. He doesn’t burn bridges.
Still, I wouldn’t have missed hearing this fascinating politician’s story. The reader misinterpreted the writer’s voice several times, but was not distracting.

Excellent biography of remarkable life during and post presidency

Liked factual analysis of government and the way to deal with your opponents. A story for us a future voters.

Excellent! Very insightful!

Well written and good speaker. Main view we should love others the way we love ourselves.

Would be Better in Pres. Clinton's Voice!

Thoroughly enjoyed the content, especially learning about everything that the CGI has done and still does. I just wish the book had been narrated by Bill Clinton himself.

Particularly Underwhelming

This book reads like a Saturday morning CNN interview; a good deal of platitudes but nothing very insightful or new. Not worth a subscription monthly credit.

Great story teller.

Learned how and why certain decisions are made. Answered many political questions. Loved learning about the fund raising and work the organization is doing. Great book.

Beautiful insights into how presidents work together with previous presidents!!’

I loved listening to the story the man who worked as a citizen and his life after leaving the highest office!

I Love President Clinton

I Love President Clinton. He was the best President of my lifetime. I love the Introduction which Bill reads … he is brilliant. However, when the other reader takes over … the story becomes long and boring. I should really give his performance a 1 star, but i generously gave he a two. I had a difficult time following him or remembering for whom he was reading … and that was a shame. I gave the story - which should have gotten a 5 star rating - a 4 because the reader drags the story down.

Good history and truth for both sides

I loved the portions he read himself, but understand why it wasn’t possible for him to read it all. I enjoyed the behind the scenes retrospective of history. History is there for us to learn from - facts are facts. Truth is truth. I wish more people would read history and acknowledge it for what it is. He was candid about his shortcomings which is refreshing in an era when leaders can’t seem to be anymore.