Rationalizing my time with the creep

Take one intelligent, successful man and have him spend more than six years of his life working with and for some of the most unprincipled cretins to ever run this country's government and what you get is 400 pages of self-delusion masquerading as insight. According to Mr. Rubin, the Clinton White House was run like a well-oiled machine, Hillary was open to those critical of her views and George Stephanopopopolous isn't really as dumb as he looks. If you want to take the most fascinating trip through a parallel universe since one of the original Star Trek episodes, read this book. But if you like your nonfiction planted firmly somewhere this side of reality, you would have a better chance of finding it watching Survivor.

Conspicuously Absent from Mr. Rubin's Biography

Conspicuously absent from this account is any mention of how Mr. Rubin feels we should deal with issues of compensation for corporate executives, how we should deal with regulating the use and abuse of complex deritives trading, how we can prevent the treasuries of bankrupt corporations being raded by the officers of the corporations. There was no discussions of most of the injustices in the tax code which was barely discussed at all. There were no meaningful suggestions of how we might prevent future Enron type problems.

Good book overall, some shortcomings

As one who had supported most of the Clinton administration's economic policies, I picked up Rubin's book hoping for greater insight and analysis behind the policy decisions. The analysis wasn't quite as rigorous as I had hoped, though I fully realize now that the book's targeted to a general reading audience (for instance, Rubin's probabilistic decision making would be rather obvious to anyone who's taken an intro stats class in college and given some thought to its real-life applicability).

The book is at its best when Rubin provides details of negotiations with foreign officials during international financial crises. Here, we see a clear and objective critique of economic conditions and policies, along with how Rubin and others applied probabilistic decision making in weighing economic and political factors such as the international markets and the media reaction at home. On the other hand, these objective qualities are a bit lost when Rubin recounts interactions with close working colleagues. His rosy account of his years at Goldman Sachs resembles Lisa Endlich's PR-flavored book on the company, where all senior managers are kind and wise and where all junior staff have a say in matters. From my friends who have interviewed with, worked for, and/or quit investment banks, I know that the working environment is much more akin to that depicted in Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker. Rubin's description of the White House as a workplace is equally idealized and is rather reminiscent of NBC's West Wing.

These flaws inevitably lead to sections that read like your generic business school application essay, espousing blandly recited topics such as good management and teamwork. However, the book does get much better as it goes along, especially in the chapters dealing with international finance. And it still stands head and shoulders above most autobiographical accounts from the business world. In short, if you're a huge fan of the Clinton administration, you will love this book. If you're of political extremes, whether it's anti-globalization or loyal Rush Limbaugh listener, this book's not for you. For those in between, this will be an informative and enjoyable book but with some shortcomings in terms of objectivity.