A 'Potter' party for political set

Around Washington, D.C., the release of Bill Clinton's book My Life requires midnight openings.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Mary Davis, a retired hairdresser, bought two copies of Bill Clinton's memoirs when the books went on sale early Tuesday: one to read and one for her collection of first editions. She keeps them behind glass in a special climate-controlled bookcase.

She was more concerned about getting a genuine first edition than in reading new tidbits about Monica Lewinsky. She said people buying the book "better look carefully because I know (some stores) are already on the second edition."

Most people at the midnight sales were Clinton loyalists, but there were also some like Davis who collect first editions or were simply curious about the book. Yes, she's a Democrat, but she didn't vote for Clinton because she considers him a draft dodger.

When she arrived at the Olssons store at 9 p.m., the books were behind the counter in boxes marked "DO NOT PUT ON SALE UNTIL 12:01 A.M. JUNE 22, 2004."

In the Washington suburb of Arlington and throughout the nation's capital, the release of Clinton's book prompted the same kind of festivities as a new Harry Potter volume. Olssons and several other stores opened at midnight. Politics & Prose, a store in Washington, held a celebration with wine, a saxophone player and a panel discussion about the Clinton years. About 1,400 people attended.

Clinton's My Life has a list price of $35, but most stores are discounting it by 20 to 40 percent. Advance orders of the book surpassed 2-million. Clinton reportedly received a $10-million advance and says he wrote the book in longhand.

Early reviews have been harsh. A New York Times reviewer called it "sloppy, self-indulgent and often eye-crossingly dull."

But booksellers say bad reviews won't have much effect on sales of My Life, just as they did not dampen interest in Hillary Clinton's book, Living History.

Jean Westcott, manager of Olssons, studied monthly sales of the Hillary book and then ordered 45 percent more Bill than Hillary.

Political books sell well at her store, although, because the Bush-Cheney campaign has its national headquarters in the building next-door, she sells a large number of Republican books. She predicted that My Life "is going to hold its own against The DaVinci Code."

Matthew Jones, a 25-year-old government lawyer, showed up at Olssons about 15 minutes before the books went on sale.

He described himself as a Clinton fan who never let the fuss about Lewinsky distract him from what really mattered: The man from Hope had charisma and could inspire young people better than any other modern political figure.

Until Clinton came along, Jones viewed politicians as a bunch of old guys who had no idea what young people cared about. But Clinton connected. He played the sax on the Arsenio Hall Show.

"He didn't seem like an old white man," Jones said.

Jones, who grew up in a small Appalachian town, was inspired by Clinton's rise from modest beginnings and his brainpower. "For all the personal failings, there was always a sense he had a firm grasp on the issues," Jones said. "He was someone to look up to."

Jones longs for the simple days of the Clinton years, when the nation's biggest worry was the president's sex life.

"It was a much simpler time - peace, prosperity, no threats to our country. We could sit around and discuss Monica Lewinsky rather than whether a plane was going to fly into a building."

To get an idea of the scope of Clinton's 957-page, 31/4-pound book, consider a few entries from the 38-page index:

Clinton, Bill

at band camp, 40

baptism of, 30

broken leg of, 18-19

television viewing of, 35

antiwar movement and, 108-9

on Johnny Carson show, 342-3

jogging habit of, 449, 516

Clinton, Chelsea

dance performances of, 563, 689

pet frog of, 466

Limbaugh, Rush, 587, 659

Lincoln Bedroom, 215, 217, 479, 653

NCAA Basketball Tournament, 591-2

right wing, Whitewater investigation and, 565, 711-12

Sister Souljah, 411-12

Jones stayed up until 1:30 a.m. Tuesday and finished about 100 pages. So far, it's an interesting book, he said. He learned about the tragic death of Clinton's father and found new details about Clinton's childhood.

Jones said the book is "an easy read" and that "at times, it almost reads like a diary, but I think that can be very interesting."

He said that, based on the first 100 pages and what he has heard from news accounts, people should not expect any gossipy revelations. "If people were to buy this book solely to get juicy details about the scandals in his life, I think they'll be disappointed," he said.

Davis was more focused on collecting than reading. Her collection includes 300 first editions signed by authors such as Jimmy Carter, Mickey Mantle and Buddy Ebsen.

She treats books with love. She wears white cotton gloves so she won't smudge them with fingerprints. She cringes when she sees someone mark a place in a book by dog-earing a page. "Oh my God!" she said. "I nearly die!"

She placed a copy of My Life in her climate-controlled bookshelf. Just for fun, she shelved it beside her autographed book by Clinton's nemesis, Kenneth Starr.

"Maybe they will enjoy each other," she joked.

She isn't sure she'll be able to get the book autographed by Clinton at his Washington-area signings because many tickets have already been given away. So she may drive nine hours to an Atlanta signing next month.

"This is an opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime," she said. "He was still our president, whether he was good, bad or indifferent."

Michiko Kakutani, writing for the New York Times, had this to say about the book on Sunday:

"But while Dan Rather, who interviewed Mr. Clinton for 60 Minutes, has already compared the book to the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, arguably the most richly satisfying autobiography by an American president, My Life has little of that classic's unsparing candor or historical perspective. Instead, it devolves into a hodgepodge of jottings: part policy primer, part 12-step confessional, part stump speech and part presidential archive, all, it seems, hurriedly written and even more hurriedly edited."

Read the full review at www.nytimes.com It's free, but registration is required.

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