BILL CLINTON

A simply phrased, heavily illustrated introduction to our 42nd president, focusing on his youth and political career but also covering, albeit briefly, his adult private life. Landau carefully balances the usual presidential myth-making anecdotes- -Clinton may have been reading at age three, watching political conventions at nine, and shaking JFK's hand at seventeen, but he was also ``not quite as athletic as he would like to be remembered'' and ``somewhat overweight as a young teen''; she touches on his draft history, drug experimentation, and even his marital troubles (though only to claim that their seriousness has been exaggerated); outlines his campaign platform and closes with election night. There are dozens of big, colorful (if weakly captioned) photos, not all of them flattering. Serviceable and well packaged. Notes; bibliography; index. (Biography. 9-12)