The best of times
Subtitle: America in the Clinton years
By: Haynes Johnson.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Harcourt
Published: 2001
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 610
Subjects: Clinton, Bill, 1946- -- Influence; United States -- Politics and government -- 1993-2001; United States -- History -- 1969-
Description: "The Clinton Years, they were the best of times - and the worst. A time of unprecedented wealth, of breathtaking progress in technology, the world-changing Internet, and the genome with the medical miracles it promised. And yet, a deepening sense of unease hovered over America, and a deepening concern about how these developments would alter our lives.".

"Set against these triumphs was another America dominated by all-news TV and the gossip journalism of the Internet, driven by a celebrity culture, lacking civility, racially divided, and presided over by our first Boomer leader, William Jefferson Clinton.".

"From that first moment, when the white Bronco popped up on the nation's screens, O.J. was the ultimate TV story played out in excruciating detail - all O.J., all the time. In this book, Haynes Johnson recreates it all - the chase, the cops and lawyers, the trial, all come to life in a superbly paced narrative. In the telling of the story, he has much to say about violence, sex, race, and gossip in the media.".

"Enter Monica, along with the two witches of the tale, Linda Tripp and Lucy Goldberg, plotting to bring down the president while his pal, Vernon Jordan, the ultimate insider, works to save him. In Haynes Johnson's hands both Bill and Monica become sympathetic characters, caught in a trap largely of their own making. It is almost a tragic story, or at least a semi-tragic one.".

"Besides these two great dramas, Johnson also writes of the Wall Street boom and the culture of instant (if temporary) dot-com wealth, of Hollywood and the rise of the mogul David Geffen, and of the lives and deeds of dozens of other characters. He concludes with an account of the Election of 2000, how the '90s made it inevitable."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: "A James H. Silberman book."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 581-586) and index.
Table of contents: title: To the reader; title: Prelude : Fragments from a golden age; title: Book one : Technotimes.; title: Deep (RS/6000 SP) Blue; title: Culture of success; title: Nerd nirvana; title: Seeding the future; title: Book two : Teletimes.; title: Trial of the century : part one; title: Cult of celebrity; title: Dream factories; title: Book three : Scandal times.; title: Bill's story; title: Trial of the century : part two; title: Book four : Millennial times.; title: The people; title: The markets; title: The millennials; title: The fiasco; title: Epilogue; title: About the author; title: Notes and sources