Tenth Anniversary Edition, It Takes a Village

Hillary Rodham Clinton expresses a deep concern for the welfare of the children of the world. The birth of her own child brought home the reality of the many generational, cultural, and societal connections which make up a Village community and how these all affect our role as parent.
In this book about creating community (a Village) for our children, Hillary discusses the deficiencies, the poverty, and the inadequacies of today's family structure. She offers many suggestions and lists community resources, government agencies, and organizations that provide individual and family support. The tone of this book reflects a positive attitude about what can be done in our families and in our community to make changes to improve lifestyles. It is a necessary step towards creating awareness, which will give strength to personal involvement and participation in our own Village community which means "hope for all our children."

Clinton covers important concepts that all parents should understand. She has a lot of valuable thoughts about how important it is to start our children out on the right path. I wish she would have been able to leave out the politics, I would have enjoyed this even more if it was purely a parenting book. For book with valuable ideas on discipline and behavior I'd recommend Perfect Parenting by Elizabeth Pantley.

Hillary Clinton is the Last Conservative.

Take a look at these quotes and tell me who of the many candidates for President in 2016 wrote them:

"There are limits to what (government) can do. We reject the utopian view that government can or should protect people from the consequences of personal decisions or that it can legislate complete peace, harmony, and brotherhood."

"Those of us who believe in the free market system should worry about what we are in danger of becoming: a throwaway society sustained on a diet of unrealizable fantasies, a society in which people—especially children—define self-worth in terms of what they have today and can buy tomorrow."

"(E)very society requires a critical mass of families that fit the traditional ideal, both to meet the needs of most children and to serve as a model for other adults who are raising children in difficult settings."

"(P)rayer allows us to let go of our children and to let them find their own ways, with faith to guide and sustain them against the cruelties and indifference of the world. 'Of all the needs…a lonely child has, the one that must be satisfied, if there is going to be a hope of wholeness, is the unshaking need for an unshakable God.' Amen."

"In our (family) bedtime reading and prayer ritual (we) read children’s versions of Bible stories."

"I strongly favor promoting choice among public schools...I also support letting public schools determine how they can best be managed, including allowing them to contract out services to private firms. The idea is that they should be freed from regulations that stifle...
Cutting the red tape and regulations has freed teachers to work together."

"Students may participate in individual or group prayer during the school day...Schools that generally open their facilities to extracurricular student groups should also make them available to student religious organizations on the same terms. Students should be free to express their beliefs about religion in school assignments and their work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance."

"It is realistic, not racist, to be cautious when walking through a high-crime neighborhood, or to want to avoid a corner where a drive-by shooting has taken place. Such judgments become biased only when they are motivated by negative stereotypes rather than common sense. Loving oneself is not a matter of narcissism or egocentrism; it means respecting yourself and feeling affirmed in your identity."

"Children are born with the capacity for faith, hope, and love, and with a deep intuition into God’s creative, intelligent, and unifying force. The inclination toward spirituality does not need to be planted in children, but it does need to be nurtured and encouraged to bloom. Our spiritual life as a family was spirited and constant. We talked with God, walked with God, ate, studied, and argued with God. Each night, we knelt by our beds to pray before we went to sleep. We said grace at dinner, thanking God for all the blessings bestowed. God was always present to us, a much-esteemed, much-addressed member of the family. If more parents introduced their children to faith and prayer at home, whether or not they participated in organized religious activity, I am sure there would be fewer calls for prayer in schools."

"Religion is not just about one’s relationship with God, but about what values flow out of that relationship, how we follow them in our daily lives and especially in our treatment of our neighbors next door and all over the world. Preaching is a distant second to practicing when it comes to instilling values like compassion, courage, faith, fellowship, forgiveness, love, peace, hope, wisdom, prayer, and humility."

"The instability of American households poses great risks to the healthy development of children...while many adults claim to have benefited from divorce and single parenthood, most children have not...A parent’s remarriage often does not seem to better the odds, the rise in divorce and out-of-wedlock births has contributed heavily to the tragic increase in the number of American children in poverty, currently one in five...My strong feelings about divorce and its effects on children have caused me to bite my tongue more than a few times during my own marriage and to think instead about what I could do to be a better (spouse)...The disappearance of fathers from children’s daily lives, because of out-of-wedlock births and divorce, has other, less tangible consequences. Girls are more likely to respond with depression and inhibited behavior, whereas boys are more likely to drop out of school and to have academic or behavioral problems."

"(L)ike many parents, I feel there is much to worry about when it comes to raising children in America today.Everywhere we look, children are under assault: from violence and neglect, from the breakup of families, from the temptations of alcohol, tobacco, sex, and drug abuse, from greed, materialism, and spiritual emptiness."

"Some experts also suggest that the loosening of sexual mores and the pervasive use of sex in advertising, including the exploitation of children in grown-up ads, have combined to sabotage the fundamental taboo against incest."

"I don’t believe (adolescents) are ready for sex or its potential consequences—parenthood, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases—and I think we need to do everything in our power to discourage sexual activity and encourage abstinence. Young people can learn to value the intimacy of friendships with the opposite sex as well as their own, can enjoy being in groups as well as couples."

"As a lawyer, I handled my share of divorce cases and tried my hardest to keep the parties out of court by working to help them solve their disagreements.I am ambivalent about no-fault divorce with no waiting period when children are involved. We should consider returning to mandatory 'cooling off' periods, with education and counseling for partners...I admire the way the Parent Education Program in Columbus, Ohio, treats divorce as a public health issue."

"At the core of this book is...my conviction that parents are the most important influences on the lives of their children...Parents bear the first and primary responsibility for their sons and daughters—to feed them, to sing them to sleep, to teach them to ride and daily decisions that determine whom they have the potential to become."

"But our ability to address these and other challenges is imperiled by a federal debt that has grown by $3 trillion in the last five years, placing a birth tax of $28,000 on the tiny shoulders of each child born today."

"I do not pretend to know how to nurture and protect every American child so that each one fully reaches his or her God-given potential."

"Heartening efforts are under way to help more couples preserve their marriages. Grassroots campaigns that urge men to take more responsibility for family well-being are cropping up around the country. Promise Keepers, a nondenominational ministry, has filled football stadiums with men seeking guidance and encouragement."

"My brothers and I went faithfully to Sunday school and were usually back at church at least once more during the week for youth group meetings, athletic competitions, potluck suppers, or play rehearsals. Sunday school teachers taught us that prejudice was wrong in the sight of God and explained that the reason God made so many different kinds of people was to enjoy their diverse beauties and gifts, like a garden’s various fruits and flowers. Those simple but powerful lessons were reinforced by our youth minister..."

"Casual attitudes toward marijuana and minors’ access to cigarettes raise the likelihood that teenagers will make a sad progression from cigarettes to marijuana to more serious drug use and earlier sexual activity...Those who regularly attend religious services, however, use drugs less frequently than teens who attend rarely or never."

"(We) try to sit down to at least one meal a day together, usually dinner. After grace, which we take turns saying, there is no better time to catch up on what we have been doing all day, what we are excited about, and what troubles us...I admire the way Mormons set aside one night a week for family activities."

"I had never thought of gratitude as a habit or discipline before, and I discovered that it was immensely helpful to do so. When I found myself in a difficult situation, I began to make a mental list of all that I was grateful for—being alive and healthy for another day, loving and being loved by family and friends, experiencing the awesome privilege of working on behalf of my country and its citizens."
---
I can imagine a lot of liberals scratching their head over voting for a prayer-loving, church-going, divorce-hating school choice advocate who emphasizes traditional family values over government intervention. Someone who preaches the ills of television and marijuana as gateways to sex and loose morals for children while praising Promise Keepers. I can imagine a lot of #NeverTrump voters pondering whether John Kasich wrote the above, or saying "Yes, this sounds more like someone I can vote for." This is/was Hillary. It is hard for a free-market Christian conservative like myself to imagine someone stating the above being elected to the Presidency after today (2016) without great anger from the Left. This is why I can write that Hillary is the Last Conservative. This is what you get if you don't read books by people you're voting on.

Hillary writes about what she is most passionate about, children and health care:
"Each of us plays a part in every child’s life: It takes a village to raise a child...The village can no longer be defined as a place on a map, or a list of people or organizations, but its essence remains the same: it is the network of values and relationships that support and affect our lives...Our challenge is to arrive at a consensus of values...I’m often asked what I would like to see happen above all else in our country and in our world. There are so many things to pray for, so many things to work for. But certainly my answer would be a world in which all children are loved and cared for—first by the families into which they are born, and then by all of us who are linked to them and to one another."

The 2006 edition of the 1996 book features an afterword as it was re-released in anticipation of her 2008 campaign. She points out some of the policies she advocated for as First Lady eventually became law: 1997's SCHIP, which provides expanded Medicaid insurance to children, is still a vital piece of health care in every state, and gets renewed every time its statute of limitations runs out. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 made it easier to adopt foster children, boosting foster adoptions 64 percent nationwide. "We could set a goal of reducing our foster care and adoption rolls by 100,000 children each year for the next five years by moving children either back home or into adoptive families, whichever is in their best interests."
"I worked with Senator Chafee and Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia on the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, which provides young people aging out of foster care with support services, including access to health care, educational opportunities, job training, housing assistance, and counseling." (Highlighting the above on her CV alone would have helped her with Christian conservatives in 2016, but I don't remember her mentioning these in debates.)

The book isn't all conservative, Hillary makes a mild argument for her beliefs on government intervention, particularly in the areas of health care and children's welfare. As America has progressed, she writes, so has the expectations about what government is supposed to do and the social safety net that society demands. By improving the well-being of children, we pay homage to the Pilgrims who came before us.

"Are the children sustained by government-subsidized day care or fed by government-supported school breakfasts and lunches a 'threat to our economic freedom' or guilty of 'waste, fraud, and abuse'? Do programs to immunize or educate them 'sap their initiative'?"

She advocates for wage equality and paid medical leave time for parents, highlighting companies that offer generous benefits as models for legislation. She rails against "for-profit" health care and demands that insurance companies not discriminate against children with pre-existing conditions, a centerpiece of something later dubbed "Obamacare." She cites examples of insurance companies kicking women out of hospitals shortly after birth, leading to bad consequences and knee-jerk legislation.

She rails against Charles Murray's The Bell Curve and rejects writing off any member of society as either unteachable or irredeemable, including the prisoners working at the Arkansas' Governor's Mansion the family "became very friendly" with. She advocates helping people's emotional intelligence and praies education reform that incorporates empathy and character-based education. She criticizes those who advocate cutting state's Medicaid programs, pointing out the importance of early detection, prevention, and education of young pregnant women that Medicaid can help with, using travels to Indonesia and Africa as her examples.
"When I visited the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh, funded in part with American aid, I met a doctor from Louisiana who was there to learn about low-cost techniques he could use back home to treat some of his state’s more than 240,000 uninsured children."

She advocates a health reform like that of England where doctors and nurses make house calls during the early weeks. She cites examples of uneducated women in Arkansas who do not realize the importance of talking to their babies, and others who call the ER when they need help for basic questions.

"Can you imagine a hot line in every community? Local hospitals could pool their resources to sponsor one. Many hours of anxiety and millions of dollars in costs could be avoided if mothers and fathers had someone to call to talk through a baby’s problem instead of showing up at the (emergency room)."

On crime, she advocates for getting assault weapons off the street, adding police officers, and pushing community policing. The former two were now-controversial centerpieces of her husband's crime bills. But, overall, she encourages stronger family values and adult male role models as a hopeful solution to the growing problems of childhood development. In that sense, she sounds a bit like a Candidate Obama many years later, including some of his pragmatism:

"(W)e must be careful to avoid demonizing those who disagree with us, or acting as if we have a monopoly on truth."

This amusing anecdote in response to a Clinton education program:
"One teacher told me that a local church had protested when she moved the chairs in her classroom into a circle for discussion purposes, citing the insidious influence of Goals 2000 because 'everyone knows that’s how witches’ covens meet.' The incident would be laughable except that her principal ordered her to put the chairs back in their neat rows."

Ah, whatever happened to Goals 2000?
By the year 2000:
2. The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent.
4. United States students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement.

While I know what became of some of Clinton's policy proposals, I do not know what has become of the moral and spiritual principles she espouses in this book. While she gave hints of It Takes a Village in her campaign, the constant nods toward abortion rights -- something absent from this book-- and a rejection of any talk of a "critical mass" of "traditional families" setting an "example" for the rest of the country suggest she's made a profound shift. I finished this book just before the third debate with Trump, in which I felt she was given an opening to reach out to centrist undecideds who were grasping for something, anything by which they might still vote for her by touting her history of advocating for easier adoptions and health care for children. Instead, she spoke of making certain the Supreme Court would uphold abortion rights forever. That was unfortunate. Many Christian conservatives benefit from S-CHIP and insurance for their children's pre-existing conditions without knowing her long history in it. Perhaps she takes that knowledge for granted. There was one moment on the 2016 campaign trail where she talked about going to a multi-racial church and felt truly moved by the unity she saw there. That was deep in the primary and didn't seem to help her against Bernie Sanders. If she had resurrected that in the general campaign, it may have connected Hillary 2016 to Hillary 1996 pretty well. Instead, 1996 seems an awfully long away away from 2016.

I give this book 3 stars out of 5. I recommend reading it as HRC is likely our next President. I have read all of her other books, and several biographies about her, and you should too.

Put aside your political views and preconceived ideas of Hillary and read this book. She presents a valuable perspective of what our society needs to hear--it does take a village to raise a child. Society and culture unarguably have an effect on our children's lives, and we have to work together to create the best possible outcomes. Hillary gives an invaluable presentation from a systems approach. This book has nothing to do with politics, but gives a great, interesting, easy relatable read to our society. A must for anyone in the public arena or helping field.

The bestselling book by HIlary Rodham Clinton presents the idea that children deserve the best that soeciety can give and only as a society can we give it to them.
First Mrs. Clinton argues that children are affected by all of society directly and indirectly and that affects their well being. "All of us...are responsible for deciding whether our children are raised in a nation that doesn't just espouse family values but values families and children" (7). Children are the product of society and everything the adult world does affects children. Any person, no matter how old, affects the rest of the world.
Secondly, Mrs. Clinton addresses the inadequacy of the American childcare and education system. America simply does not invest enough into its children. She compares out situation with France, where every child has good public childcare and education available to them. When the French are asked about their system they reply "How can you not invest in children and expect to have a healthy country?" (223). Also, our education standards are too low. during the Cold War the president asked all students to study more math and science and they did and test scores improved, because the goals were higher.
Mrs. Clinton also confronts the lack of health care that children are getting. MAny American children do not have any health care. How can our society continue to thrive when the children are sick and dieing from curable diseases? Due to these problems, the emergency rooms are flooded with the cases of people who have preventable problems. Preventable by vacination and other medical care.
Inconclusion, Mrs. Clinton makes valid points and artfully argues her assumptions. This book is very readable and I strongly suggest that you do.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has written a wonderful, thought provoking book. Obviously written from her heart and substantial knowledge of children's issues, it explores how each of us impact children's lives and ultimately our own. Mrs. Clinton has the ability and intelligence to see that and to verbalize it very well in an engrossing book that everyone of us should read. It is too bad that under the dissimulation of a review, some people have chosen to bash it based on their political stand instead of their literary one.

I review this trying to ignore that it is partisan. I found the personal stories about raising a daughter did not get overly emotional but were still endearing. Most of the book wrote intelligently and cursorily over a variety of issues such as child care, early education programs, and the modern family condition. This book did not try to teach me anything new, but rather synthesize many things I already knew. That made it light reading. I'm not sure who the audience would be if I ignore the partisan aspects. Perhaps by ignoring the politics I have just removed the purpose of this book?

As I explicitly state in all my political book reviews, I am a political moderate and social conservative. Another important consideration regarding my view of Ms. Clinton: it has been terribly difficulty for me to forgive her "I don't sit home and bake cookies" comment from the early `90s. As many people know, being a full time parent is a noble profession, and I personally believe it significantly more difficult than most sit in a cube jobs, including my own, which I am responsible for five employees and an $800,000 budget. That said, amazingly enough, I agree with 80% of Ms. Clinton's ideas. I just wonder why she does not come out and talk about her religious convictions. She is so fluffy on the topic, which makes me believe she only talks about it for political gain. I will probably be lambasted with some "separation of church and state" gibberish, but this is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

This abridged CD version of the Hillary's book gives a clear picture of what concerns her - summed up in four words - children are our future. Since she's the reader, and she's recorded a re-introduction, you can hear her as both Senator Clinton the politician and Mrs. Clinton the First Lady. You really get a sense of what's at the core of her beliefs. Like her or not, this book contains some good parenting advice.

The words and some concepts sound good, except for the excessive policing of parents which i don't agree. Also, in light of the recent controversy, some of what she says falls in disrepute. How can one allow a 'parent' like Clinton and she preaching on it? I bet there will not be a sequel to this book any time soon

In actuality, Hillary Clinton does not write much outside the boundaries of an introductory sociology class in this book. But since there are a lot of people that never took a sociology class, her course of discussion may be a good thing. In essence, her thesis is that families face many challenges in the present dynamic world raising a child according to their values. To address this problem, Clinton discusses solutions that strengthen the family and enable families to obtain outside assistance to raise strong children.

Fifteen years later, many of the themes discussed by Clinton are still relevant. One aspects Clinton discussed in the summation of her argument that stuck with me is her rationalization of certain government programs. Rather than demonizing a government program that helps children, insert the name of the group that is being helped by the government program into the statement. It is difficult to demonize children in the same way.

Clinton discusses schools that are losing focus on individualized needs, single parent families, the demands of the present day workforce, and the need for role models. All of these needs run parallel to the weakening ties of communities in the global economy. People don't know their neighbors the way they once did. Weakened religious affiliations and continued demonizing of schools also weaken the ties.

In contrast to what some might suggest, there are no radical suggestions in this book. Instead, Clinton has practical suggestions to the problems. In fact, Clinton's thoughts are so commonly accepted that I make the comparison between this book and an introductory sociology course.

Democrat, Republican, or Independent, it doesn't matter - "It Takes A Village" has a good message and touches upon a variety of issues regarding our society and children today. Though she does offer some Pollyanna anecdotes about her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea, the book is an enjoyable read and offers some great insights to how our country can rally together for our children.
Mrs. Clinton uses the analogy of the village as a place where the common good of all members, especially the children were taken into consideration and given priority as an investment to the village's future....she compares other nations and uses examples of how their social programs are focusing on children and how successful they appear to be. Mrs. Clinton also incorporates stories of her childhood and the era she was raised in; she does not boast but rather helps us to see how our society has changed and how desperately we need to make provisions to ensure some basics are again instituted in our culture. Mrs. Clinton stresses the importance of adults as role models, how neighborhoods have come together to push crime out of and reclaim their community, how important it is to have safe places to play and stresses the need for bipartisan support in government regarding our children and their education. The need for governmental supported programs for after school, etc. is also mentioned, and that the majority of the changes should start in the home. Mrs. Clinton makes us acutely aware of the media assault that are children are subject to, and that violence, sex and rape have become commonplace via television, music lyrics, and video games.
Mrs. Clinton also touches upon other timely subjects such as gun control, health care, and enhancing public policies to support parents and caregivers. It is evident in reading "It Takes A Village" that Mrs. Clinton has a message: that we need to come together as a society and raise our children collectively and with prudence as an investment in our future.

The Manifesto, updated for the 20th century. Well-meaning, but Mrs. Clinton obviously would like the federal government to be involved in every facet of our lives without any regard to where the money comes from. A must-read for capitalists who are tired of big government and high taxes.

I have never really been interested in political matters, and I don't even really know what party I side with (I'm starting to agree with right wing more). My main interest in life has been pursuing a relationship with God and taking care of children. So when I saw the book written by Hillary Rodham Clinton entitled It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us, I was very interested in reading it. While reading this book, I found myself agreeing with what she was saying, however I was a little turned off by the way she said it.
I thought that Clinton's views were very interesting, and I agreed with most of them. I agree that children need more than a family to be raised (thus the title). I also agree that the government needs to do even more to help children that wouldn't normally have some opportunities that other children would have. Whether that's through healthcare or financial support. Clinton's views were clearly stated and well backed up through personal experience or other stories she's heard.
The biggest problem that I had with this book was the way that Clinton presented her materials. Someone told me once you need to hear something seven times before it sinks in. I think that Clinton said, "It takes a village to raise a children" at least fifty times. I know she was trying to emphasize her point but it drove me nuts. I was also distracted by her writing style. I liked how she had personal examples, but sometimes the way she wrote sounded like a romance novel ("they averted their eyes from my swelling body"). Another annoyance I had with this book was about one story Clinton wrote about. There was a single mother who was working, and her children were not being watched. They just wanted to play but the city hadn't built a playground in that end of town. The children crawled into a car and eventually suffocated. Clinton said that the society was to blame, that if could have prevented the deaths had they built a playground. I personally believe that the mother is to blame. Kids are going to play wherever they want. The problem was that no one was watching them.
All in all, I liked Hilary Clinton's book. I agree with what she was writing about and I liked how she included religious views with hers. However, I was greatly distracted with her repetition and word choice.

What a thought-provoking book! Mrs. Clinton shares her in-depth knowledge of child development, along with her ideas about how our society can better support families. Sprinkled throughout are vivid tales of her own parenting experiences. Anyone who thinks Mrs. Clinton is a left-wing extremist hasn't read this book. She offers more than rhetoric to support family values; she offers time-tested ideas from communities across the nation. Every parent, every citizen of our national community, should read this book.

... to rationalize any other parental combination that isn't natural. I thank God I was raised by a "mother" and a "father". I didn't have a perfect childhood, (far from it), but I have seen what happens to kids who were raised without a "mother" and a "father".
First of all, I am NOT a member of the religous right. I did not vote for Republicans (for President) in the last two elections. I DID read this book from cover to cover with an open mind. I tried to understand what the author was trying to say, and try and understand her reasoning.
Let me first say that I admire Mrs Clinton. ... But she is wrong. It doesn't take a village. It takes two loving, caring, encouraging, uplifting parents to raise a child. (More SPECIFICALLY, it takes a "mother" and a "father" to raise a child.) Any other type of parental/village/care-giver combination other than a "mother" and a "father" puts a child at a disadvantage, and greatly decreases that child's chances at access to mainstream society. That's the truth.
Allow me to quote a very outspoken democrat, who I'm sure voted for President Clinton in the last two elections. "The problems with kids today, and the reasons why our family's are so messed up, and why kids are SO messed up, starts when a child refers to his/her gramdmother as MOM!" This was spoken by Chris Rock. He is so right.

Other reviewers of this book have suggested one should not review a book without reading the whole thing. I love reading, but was unable to finish this one.

The title and cover actually do give reasonable warning about the contents. The title apparently refers to folk wisdom from Africa, the continent with the highest child mortality rate in the world - obviously the best place to emulate! Below the title is a picture of children the author may hope you believe are African, but they do not look like typical Africans to me. The front inside flap lists her professed qualifications, including the amazing fact that she had parents!

The real difference between the scientific worldview and others is that scientists allow their imagination to be restricted by experimental evidence. This book (at least that part I was able to get through) is a perfect example of what happens when an intelligent person allows her imagination to float free of all evidence. Yes, if everyone was altruistic the world would be a better place, but the evidence of what happens when we try to construct a society based on that fantasy can be read in any history of the Soviet Union - I suggest One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich as a start.

It is always possible for a group of altruists to create temporary improvements in a village by pouring in enough time and money. Surely the most important question is how to create the largest sustainable improvements with the available resources. I saw no attempt to address this question.

Clinton is obviously a smart lady, quite capable of incisive thinking. Whether such thinking was left out of this book deliberately, or whether her background did not exercise her ability to see more than one side to a situation, I don't know.

I can't understand how anyone could take issue with the title of this book, taken from an African folk saying. Whether you're a leftie liberal or a right wing fundamentalist, it ought to be easy to say that it takes a community to raise a child. It's okay to differ on how to achieve that community, through taxation or volunteerism, but the bedrock value of family and community is the same no matter what your political values. It blows my mind that people can hate Hillary so much, that they completely devalue an innocuous saying, without any sort of meaningful analysis of the various ways the saying could be applied in the political arena.

For those of you who lambasted this book for being a Socialist manifesto, may I recommend you actually read it (as opposed to lie about reading it and going on to write a review based solely on your political and religious convictions)?

I was very impressed with how good of a book this is, and I disagree that Hilary had a one-track political agenda in mind when she wrote it. It is obvious from her language and insights that she deeply cares about the welfare of children in America and worldwide, and far from picking a topic that she knew would galvanize public support (say, immigration, health care, social security, etc etc), she makes the bold statement that the best judge of each culture is the welfare of its children. Sadly, that kind of agenda is not going to win her any votes. The irony of that fact of life is exactly her point.

She repeatedly says that she does not think it is up to the state to care for children, but rather, it is up to all of us to see that we, as a culture, ensure that our children are well-cared for. She refers to her own upbringing and the community she grew up in, and says that while she doesn't think it makes sense to try to bring back the '50s, as life in the modern world is radically different, we can try to instill some of the benefits of the community way of life of that era into our modern day hustle and bustle. Her point is that orphans and children of abusive parents left by the wayside often develop into criminals and abusive adults that our own children have to deal with. That is NOT a political diatribe, but an observation anyone with common sense agrees with.

Those of you who purport to be all about 'family values' need to stop jumping up and down and yelling about your family values and give some thought to what 'family values' actually means. It does not mean that everyone needs to believe what you do to raise a family right. It means that you need to value the family and its development for it to grow and coexist healthily.

Read and think, before you attempt to review. Don't lie and use the the store book review as your political soapbox. It's deceitful and just plain pathetic.

I didn't actually read every page of Hillary Clinton's book, but I read the first half and the majority of the second, and I can tell you--- don't bother. There was one chapter near the end, "Every Business is a Family Business" that I thought was pretty good, but for the most part I was completely uninspired. Its a hodge podge, anecdotes from her own life, pats on the back for little good things that people are doing, nostalgia for old values, pointing out all the evils and dangers in the world, lots of religious references. There wasn't that much I didn't agree with, but it was all obvious stuff, and if it wasn't someone of Hillary Clinton's stature writing it, it wouldn't have held my interest.

All in all, a disappointment. I was hoping at least for some amusement.

Some interesting content in the book, but I'm shocked that the tenth anniversry edition still contains a quote in the introduction that is not only paraphrased, but attributed to the wrong author. Did no one fact check this book? Did no editor notice the error in ten years? The quote should be "Ye cannot live for yourselves; a thousand fibers connect you with your fellow-men, and along those fibers, as along sympathetic threads, run your actions as causes, and return to you as effects" and the author is English cleric Henry Melvill, NOT American author Herman Mellville.

A delightful delve into the tortured soul of HRC. This book is a lipsmacking good time. Let me tell you, you will be thankful when you finally finish this. Your soul will be uplifted and your future will seem all the brighter knowing that you can get through anything, if you can get through this book.

On a personal note, I salute Hillary for her good sense and the fact that she's been a Yankee fan all her life. And growing up in suburban Chicago, who can blame her? The New York Yankees are an ingrained part of every suburban Chicago child's life ... like Green River soda and the Empire carpets guy from TV. And for all the naysayers out there who say that it's common knowledge that suburban Chicago children follow the Montreal Expos and not the New York Yankees, I say, there is NOT even a team in Montreal anymore. So put that in your pocket and walk away, buster!

Unfortunately this edition does not include a chapter discussing the volunteer work she did in Haiti along with Bill. It's a shame because she deserves worldwide recognition for her efforts. While the rest of the world overlooked the Haitian people, Hillary courageously spearheaded an effort to gather donations from across the globe. She graciously raised nearly $6 billion through the Clinton Foundation from a number of international donors and when all was said and done, the suffering Haitian people received 0.6% of it. Around 10% of it went into the pockets of corrupt officials in the Haitian government and the remaining $5.4 billion somehow found it's way back into the Clinton Foundation.

Despite all this, there was one Haitian official by the name of Klaus Eberwein who refused to sell out his own people and stood up to the Clintons. He was responsible for making the crimes of Hillary and Bill a worldwide public matter and is the true hero here.

Recently he publicly stated that his life was in danger because of his actions exposing the criminal activities of Clintons. Despite fearing for his life, he decided to testify before the Haitian Senate Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission regarding the Clintons and their actions in Haiti on July 18th of 2017.

He was found dead in Miami just days before from a gunshot wound to the head.

Unfortunately this edition does not include a chapter discussing the volunteer work she did in Haiti along with Bill. It's a shame because she deserves worldwide recognition for her efforts. While the rest of the world overlooked the Haitian people, Hillary courageously spearheaded an effort to gather donations from across the globe. She graciously raised nearly $6 billion through the Clinton Foundation from a number of international donors and when all was said and done, the suffering Haitian people received 0.6% of it. Around 10% of it went into the pockets of corrupt officials in the Haitian government and the remaining $5.4 billion somehow found it's way back into the Clinton Foundation.

Despite all this, there was one Haitian official by the name of Klaus Eberwein who refused to sell out his own people and stood up to the Clintons. He was responsible for making the crimes of Hillary and Bill a worldwide public matter and is the true hero here.

Recently he publicly stated that his life was in danger because of his actions exposing the criminal activities of Clintons. Despite fearing for his life, he decided to testify before the Haitian Senate Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission regarding the Clintons and their actions in Haiti on July 18th of 2017.

He was found dead in Miami just days before from a gunshot wound to the head.

The title of this book comes from an African proverb. It is based on the theory that a child is best raised by a caring community. Within its pages are many well-intentioned statements that advocate the beauty of a world in which children are provided all that they need - education, health care, love and caring. To discredit it requires generalizing, which is never a good idea (but sometimes impossible to avoid), and to "put down" the idea that providing for kids is a good thing. Of course it is a good thing.
The problem starts with Hillary Clinton, who speaks often about "the children." An overall assessment of Hillary - her background, her marriage and partnership with Bill Clinton, Hillarycare, the accusations against her and the inside stories of those who knew her best in Little Rock and D.C., are that her real desire is not to further the betterment of kids, but of her hold on power in America. She uses kids as a smokescreen in this effort. There is no arguing some of the things she advocates are good ideas, and so judging her and this book requires a Kabuki dance between truth and politics. This is what obfuscators are good at creating.
There is a conservative opposition to Hillary's book, some of whom call it "It Takes A Village Idiot", which is based on the idea that raising kids is the job of parents, not the state. This is of course correct, but again requires generalizing. To advocate it blindly discredits the role of teachers, Foster parents, neighbors and social workers. Sometimes there are no biological parents around. The health care issue is a big one, and is easy to jump on. It sounds good, of course, to say that all kids should have health care. We live in a country in which they all do not. However, the Canadian-style Hillarycare that was so roundly defeated a decade ago is not the answer. It was explored inside and out at the time and found to be totally lacking as practical application.
What we are left after Hillarycare is just Hillary. She is smart and knows how to pull our heartstrings. Watch out for her.(...)

The book gives lip service at the very begining as to how a child's parents are the obvious primary care givers and providers for a child, but the rest of the book is in direct contradiction with this common sense view. In short, a good deal of Hillary's "village" is none other than the federal government and its myriad of programs. There isn't a government program she's come across that she doesn't like. Well, I suppose that Mrs. Clinton, as member of a wonderfully successful nuclear family, would be just the right person to be the architect for the ways in which the federal government can rear its big ugly head into the parent-child relationship.

I'd agree with the reviewer who pointed out Clinton's emphasis on the word "invest." Hillary and her ilk don't really want the village to *raise* children...they want it to *subsidize* child-raising. Don't believe me? Next time you see a poorly disciplined child in a supermarket doing something remarkably obnoxious, hoist it over your knee and give it a well-deserved spanking. Or even say a sharp word to it. Think its breeder ("parent" isn't the appropriate word in most of these situations) will appreciate your trying to do its job for it, perhaps imposing the only discipline the kid has ever received? Think again.
'Round these parts last year, an upscale 'burb rejected a property tax increase designed to give the schools more money. Those who voted yea were overwhelmingly wealthy yuppies who'd moved into that 'burb in the last few decades, making it upscale. Those who voted nay were overwhelmingly middle-class and working-class folks who could barely afford to hang onto their houses anymore.
After the tax increase was slapped down, some woman actually wrote to the local paper, "The village has failed my children!" The street address she gave was in what is possibly *the* nicest neighborhood of that town. And when I drove down her street a few months later, I noticed that her house was nearly 200 years old, with a historical marker on the front, no less! Obviously someone who could have afforded to provide her three kids with tutors to make up for anything they were no longer getting in school. But I guess the new SUV was more important, so "the village" was obligated to pick up the tab for, you know, the trivial stuff.
As a person who's childfree by choice, I'm heartily sick of the emphasis on "OUR children." You'd think they were all destined from birth to grow up to be the future Mozarts, Albert Schweitzers, and Winston Churchills, rather than the next generation's Anna Nicole Smiths, Scott Petersons, or Slobodan Milosevics. And as a libertarian, I'm equally tired of the communitarian delusion that we're all one big happy family, obligated to share our money -- and, worse, our time -- with one another, regardless of whether we actually like or approve of each other. This book will go down in history for introducing a particularly noxious, and potent, distillation of those attitudes into American political discourse.

Senator Clinton understands the issues affecting today's children. She cares deeply about their welfare and hopes to make changes that will help all of our children become healthy, productive adults!

The book in its introduction describes how family life used to be.
Its primary focus is the need for "investment" to end great social ills such as poverty, homelessness, and illegitamacy. While well intentioned this ignores the failure of government intervention to solve these problems. In the almost 40 years since the New Frontier was first proposed we have seen only limited results, from increased "investment" (taxes). That increased tax dollars have marginally narrowed poverty, abuse, and neglect found within inner cities.
Government funded good intentions are often the greatest enemy to the same people Ms. Clinton is trying to protect. Often leading many to be unable to escape griding poverty, illegitamacy, and abuse she is trying to protect.
The focus should be on greater self reliance, rather than on creating a whole new generation of children who are unable to escape the stranglehold of increasingly repressive Orwellian system.

This book is written by someone other than hillary clinton. How would she ever know all that is written in this book. She can't remember important issues in her life besides telling us what is right and wrong. Sorry hillary, my golden retriever could have written a better book.

Fiddle faddle, I say, to this socialized notion of communal raising of children. The only child a village raises is the village idiot! Reduced to expecting handouts and spare change, the idiot becomes predestined for failure.
My father, God rest his soul, taught me with a firm leather bullwhip that success goes to those who work hard for it. With his merciless beatings and occasional encouragement, I became self-reliant, hard working, and quite indifferent to what the village thinks. Not to mention, my fleshy buttocks are now coarser than month-old steel wool. I have never been wont for food or shelter, and have never taken a dime from the elitists.
If only all of America had my father!

Hillary was apparently "too busy" to do much on this book at all. It was written for her by Barbara Feinmann Todd. There was an agreement that Todd would share the credit when the book was published. As you can all see, there is no acknowledgement whatsoever of her work. This fact, ALONE, makes the book not worthy of attention.

However, even if Ms. Clinton HAD, as promised, given co-credit to Ms. Todd, the book is a socialist's dream - "It Takes a Village" means "You can't be trusted to make decisions about how to raise your child - the government has to make the decisions for you". This is typical of the liberal double-speak; they call things that are terrible by nice, warm-n-fuzzy names. Socialism is a terrible thing. Period. Ms. Clinton embraces it. That truly tells me all I need to know about her.

I decided to read this book because if Senator Clinton becomes president, I needed to know what we would be dealing with. I must admit that I am finding it difficult to get through, as I am only 1/3 done.

First, I find her words disingenuous about her care, concern, and love for children because I can't help thinking about her stance on abortion. It just doesn't make sense. How could someone adore children this much, and yet disregard those babies in the womb?

Second, Senator Clinton reveals many ideas in regards to caring for babies and children that will fall under the responsibility of the taxpayer. Her ideas include: teaching parents how to care for their baby or child, how to talk to him, how to feed him, how to discipline him, and the like. She highlights programs in Europe and Asia where health care representatives make house visits for 10 days after the birth of a baby, as well as one that makes visits monthly for up to five years to check on the family. Talk about losing our privacy!

Senator Clinton brings up good points, that the family is broken down, and many do not have good intentions when it comes to children. However, govenment stepping in is not the solution. It never is. So many of these issues are already being addressed through government, hospitals, schools, and private organizations to help teach child care, but when people's hearts are not right in the first place, God is the only solution.

In the end, though, I think we can look forward to a lot of these ideas being implemented under the guise of Universal Healthcare, which she is making her number one priority. Besides that caring for children should not be government's job, it scares me very much to know she just may get what she thinks is so important.

Gimme a break. For the millions of us mothers and fathers working the front lines with blood, sweat and tears, we understand all too well what it takes to raise children to excellence: hard work and perseverance! Through both the joys and the struggles of raising kids from birth to adulthood, excellence in parenting requires huge doses of time, energy, planning, and commitment. How would Hillary know that? It certainly didn't take a village for her to raise her daughter. It took a nanny.

A book that illustrates why Hillary Clinton must be stopped at all costs! Remember the following path to totalitarianism: Dependency (the "Village" concept) => Central Planning => Socialism => Communism => Fascism. Hillary would destroy freedom for everyone! She is the devil reincarnated and all freedom loving people should seek to destroy her brand of politics and the ideas she is attempting to promulgate with this book!

The embodiment of statist illusions. The concepts are at best dangerous and mirror the same misguided approach of the Naz and Communist regimes attempting to re-educate and dis-inform the youngest generation into surrendering their freedoms.

The evolution of the Freudian Narcissist Darwin Psycho babble of Dr. Spock, Dr.Ruth, Dr, Joyce Brothers, and associated Crackpots with their perverse social engineer concepts to debase the human self and body with ideas and intellectual depravity that gives fraudulent permission to commit any thought or act without remorse or guilt.
Dr. Hillary has read and translated all of the delinquent ideological works of the anarchist mentioned above that diligently agitate against the idea of Family, Parental Guardianship, Parental Guidance, and Parental Influence.
Dr Hillarys Democrat complaint in book form practices this idea to isolate and indoctrinate children free from any parental interference,by using political or education positions of trust to accomplish their democrat goal of psychologically and psychically abusing Children away from Parental oversight and view. This debasement idea against family values and marriage is
cleverly masked by inserting MIND CONTROL exercises using word psychological warfare to disarm the intellect of the reader.
Such exercises use words of "Common" or "Normal" "Everybody" We" Etc.
The Truly interesting aspect of Dr Hillarys talent at Prolific and Profuse Voluminous Written matter is the deceptive practice of
compiling fabricated versions of doctored behavioral control studies from various sources "educated" in this practice into Chapters.

This woman will have our children taken straight from the womb to government subsidized day care facilities. It does not take a village, it takes parents to raise a child.

How about giving those who choose to stay home and raise their own children a tax credit instead of legislating more incentives to put children into care facilities?

Hillary Clinton believes abortion is decent.Abortion is murder.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.Abortion is murder if you do not believe this listen to unshackled rsdio programs find one about abortion and listen to it these are true life stories of real people not some alien from Mars and listen to their story these broadcasts come from Pacific Garden Mission Chicaga Illinois. People who are irresponsible have abortions and think it is the only way out no my friend.ABORTION IS NOT THE ONLY WAY OUT IF YOU DON'T WANT YOUR CHILD THERE ARE FAMILIES OUT THERE WHO WOULD LOVD TO ADOPT YOUR CHILD.This is the second time I have posted this review an abortion doctor last time told me this review could ruin his business.And it was erased from the store last time I looked so now I am reposting it.Abortion is murder of the most innocent the Constitution gives the right of life liberty and the persuit of happiness what do you think Pro Life means for you that think Pro Choice is good your way off the baby should have a say in the matter.Abortion is an abomination to God Hands that sged innocent blood the baby has done nothing wrong.If you are considering an abortion as an way out you need to go to a church and talk to a Pastor who will not be afraid to show you in a Bible that Abortion is evil.If you are considering a Village to raise your children find s Bible believing church and have your kids raised in Sunday School.Sunday School never hurt anyone watch hopalong Cassidy in the 30s ers he would tell the kids to go to bed early so they could go to Sunday School the next morning in the 30s msss murders abortion crime and rugs were very rare big crime people such as Bonnie and Clyde had a bad name.While every kid in town wanted to be a G Man like J.Edgar Hoover.Now it is opposite people are against the police Where do you go when your car is stolen of your house is broken into?Their job is to protect and serve.No matter ehat If I se a Police officer Or a soldier I thank them for their service you should do the same!Thank you very much for taking the time to read this review I hope you leave me a comment I am tracking thrm and I will get back very quickly the same day!

Is there anyone who truly believes that Hillary really cares about children, or that she has the slightest idea of what it takes to raise a family? From her lofty perch, she sees people as chickens who need to be managed, feed, medicated, and controlled in order to maximize production and to make things run smoothly for the benefit of those in charge of the coop. Like so many of the professional "do-gooders" of our day, she gets her ideas from a warped top-down view of life. The most dispicable element of our society are those who prey upon children and use them for their own gratification. A close second to this are those who hide behind children to further their own careers and political agendas.

She has not done anything herself to help the families and children she claims to want to help. The ones she takes credit for were not hers. If it takes a village, she does not pull her weight in the village.

Disappointing read. Evil, corrupt, murderers, adulterers and filthy liars. What village raised up these two village idiots (bill and hilliary). Not capitalizing their names was intentional because low life scum aren't worth the time. hilliary for prison 2016.

This is perhaps the worst book ever written if you are a freedom loving American that values individual liberties. Village = collectivism. The minds of the "collective" demean the individual. Don't read this garbage and NEVER vote for anyone who advocates this Marxist madness.

A complete social Marxist manifesto. These principles held within are based on Saul Alinsky, a true Marxist who she pioneered in her early years as a law student. Read up on him before reading this utter nonsense. Do NOT leave it to society to raise your children. It doesn't take a village to raise your children. It takes a family and religion to raise children. Something, inner-city broken down welfare-dependent families lack.