About the Author

John F. Harris is a veteran political reporter for The Washington Post who covered the Clinton presidency from 1995 through its conclusion in 2001. His work during these years earned several prestigious awards, including the White House Correspondents’ Association’s Aldo Beckman Award and the Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency from the Gerald R. Ford Library. Additionally, Harris is a panelist on PBS-TV’s Washington Week and appears on numerous other television and radio programs.

Reviews

"Vivid and enlightening….John F. Harris has done the impossible. He's written a book about Bill Clinton that is insightful, comprehensive and above all reasonable in measuring the former president's strengths and weaknesses, achievements and failure."
--Ronald Brownstein, The Los Angeles Times

"A responsible, honest, tough, and -- best of all -- considered assessment of Clinton's presidency."
-- The Atlantic

"Revealing….a sober, fair-minded and highly readable account of Mr. Clinton's tenure in the White House…."
--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"John Harris' important new book is without doubt a sign that history, with all its plodding seriousness, is catching up to the go-go 90's. That's good news. For too long, since Mr. Clinton began his improbable run, this super-sized American story has been distorted by extremist views….[The Survivor is] a smart reflection on those mercurial years from one of Washington's best reporters. It's scrupulously researched; it's well-written; and, to a surprising degree, it's calm -- not an adjective we usually find in Clintonland."
--Ted Widmer, The New York Observer

"Washington Post reporter John F. Harris, who covered the White House during Clinton's last six years, has made the most ambitious effort thus far: to chronicle the Clinton years in the context of the era's political trends and to connect the successes and failures of his presidency back to his character. It is a scrupulously fair-minded book, with plenty of ammunition for both Clinton's admirers and detractors."
--Jeff Greenfield, Washington Monthly


“John F. Harris is the most lucid writer in American political journalism today. One reads his work and knows that he has it exactly right, like a fine tailor producing well-fitted suits. I love reading Harris for his deep and rewarding insights, especially when he writes about Bill Clinton. In The Survivor, he shows once again that he has the perfect measure of a very contradictory man.”
–David Maraniss, author of First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton

“John Harris has written a fascinating account of the downs and ups of the Clinton presidency. The Survivor is fair-minded, well informed, absorbing in narration, mature in judgment."
–Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

“John Harris has an unmatched eye for detail, and it’s all here in a way no one else has chronicled the Clinton years. This is the work of a superb reporter who was an eyewitness to an entire presidency (and I should know–I had to compete against him covering the Clinton White House). Of all the correspondents I remember from the blur of our lives together covering President Clinton (the sometimes chaotic West Wing, the dizzying around-the-world travel on Air Force One), John Harris is the one I would have chosen to leave behind the benchmark piece of work on what those eight years meant to the nation.”
–Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News

“John Harris reaches a generally favorable verdict on Bill Clinton, but there is no lack of evidence that could lead to a different conclusion. It’s all here, with fascinating fresh detail. A good book and a good read.”
–Brit Hume, Washington managing editor, Fox News Channel; anchor, Special Report with Brit Hume

“John Harris tells the real story of the West Wing during the Clinton years, with the clear-eyed insight, humor, and verve of one of the nation’s top political reporters. Thankfully, he leaves all political spin at the door.”
–Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor, PBS’s Washington Week

In clear, workmanlike prose, veteran Washington Post reporter Harris traces the emotional highs and lows of a presidency with an excess of both. The book takes off after the disastrous (for Democrats) midterm elections of 1994, in part because of the arrival on-scene of a volatile Newt Gingrich and consultant Dick Morris, who is portrayed as quite sleazy. As the political wars over Whitewater and Lewinsky heat up, Harris's behind-the-scenes reporting pays dividends: he finds Gingrich boasting to Clinton, "Mr. President, we are going to run you out of town" and Clinton angrily denouncing the 1998 impeachment attempt as "a fucking coup d'?tat!" to a blank-faced, unsympathetic Al Gore. According to Harris, "the stereotype of Clinton as a supremely guileful and deceptive politician was essentially wrong." Instead, he views Clinton as an insecure, needy man whose frequent shifts in direction and self-destructive behavior reflected not cunning but utter lack of self-control. He also sees Clinton as growing in strength, self-confidence and wisdom over his eight years in office, and praises his courage in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo. On terrorism, Harris offers a mixed verdict, crediting Clinton with recognizing the growing threat posed by al-Qaeda and expanding U.S. efforts against it while acknowledging the inadequacy of those efforts. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW. Agent, Andrew Wylie. (June 7) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

"Vivid and enlightening....John F. Harris has done the impossible. He's written a book about Bill Clinton that is insightful, comprehensive and above all reasonable in measuring the former president's strengths and weaknesses, achievements and failure."
--Ronald Brownstein, The Los Angeles Times

"A responsible, honest, tough, and -- best of all -- considered assessment of Clinton's presidency."
-- The Atlantic

"Revealing....a sober, fair-minded and highly readable account of Mr. Clinton's tenure in the White House...."
--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"John Harris' important new book is without doubt a sign that history, with all its plodding seriousness, is catching up to the go-go 90's. That's good news. For too long, since Mr. Clinton began his improbable run, this super-sized American story has been distorted by extremist views....[The Survivor is] a smart reflection on those mercurial years from one of Washington's best reporters. It's scrupulously researched; it's well-written; and, to a surprising degree, it's calm -- not an adjective we usually find in Clintonland."
--Ted Widmer, The New York Observer

"Washington Post reporter John F. Harris, who covered the White House during Clinton's last six years, has made the most ambitious effort thus far: to chronicle the Clinton years in the context of the era's political trends and to connect the successes and failures of his presidency back to his character. It is a scrupulously fair-minded book, with plenty of ammunition for both Clinton's admirers and detractors."
--Jeff Greenfield, Washington Monthly


"John F. Harris is the most lucid writer in American political journalism today. One reads his work and knows that he has it exactly right, like a fine tailor producing well-fitted suits. I love reading Harris for his deep and rewarding insights, especially when he writes about Bill Clinton. In The Survivor, he shows once again that he has the perfect measure of a very contradictory man."
-David Maraniss, author of First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton

"John Harris has written a fascinating account of the downs and ups of the Clinton presidency. The Survivor is fair-minded, well informed, absorbing in narration, mature in judgment."
-Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

"John Harris has an unmatched eye for detail, and it's all here in a way no one else has chronicled the Clinton years. This is the work of a superb reporter who was an eyewitness to an entire presidency (and I should know-I had to compete against him covering the Clinton White House). Of all the correspondents I remember from the blur of our lives together covering President Clinton (the sometimes chaotic West Wing, the dizzying around-the-world travel on Air Force One), John Harris is the one I would have chosen to leave behind the benchmark piece of work on what those eight years meant to the nation."
-Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News

"John Harris reaches a generally favorable verdict on Bill Clinton, but there is no lack of evidence that could lead to a different conclusion. It's all here, with fascinating fresh detail. A good book and a good read."
-Brit Hume, Washington managing editor, Fox News Channel; anchor, Special Report with Brit Hume

"John Harris tells the real story of the West Wing during the Clinton years, with the clear-eyed insight, humor, and verve of one of the nation's top political reporters. Thankfully, he leaves all political spin at the door."
-Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor, PBS's Washington Week