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American Rhapsody is a gleeful act of outrage,simultaneously an assault on the Clintons and a bridge-burning, tell-all Hollywood memoirin the wicked spirit of You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again. Joe Eszterhas's narrativeis a torrent of consciousness with no consistent sense of direction, but itall erupts from a plausible organizing principle best articulated in the chapter "Bubba in Pig Heaven": Hollywood is where Clinton reallybelongs. The author claims Bill watches Blazing Saddles six times a year,and says that Gennifer Flowers got him blazing by enacting aSharon Stone-like crotch-shot scene years before Basic Instinct. When a sarcastic Clinton allegedly told a Hollywood producer that his enemies would soonbe accusing him of coupling with a cow, the producer sent him Eszterhas's1989 screenplay Sacred Cow, in which a president does just that. Eszterhas claims Spielberg dropped the film because of his friendshipwith Clinton. But he still thinks Clinton would be great in the role.

The Lewinsky saga really should be ho-hum by now, but American Rhapsody's Evel Knievel-like leaps of free association and mad brio breathe life into it. You've never been properly introduced to LindaTripp and Lucianne Goldberg until you've read "The Ratwoman and the Bag Ladyof Sleaze," its uproarious take on the pair. American Rhapsodygives dozens of stars time in the sweaty spotlight: Matt "the Scavenger"Drudge, heroic Larry Flynt (whose threat to report Republican scandalsEszterhas credits with quashing impeachment)--almost every big political scandal victim in memory. And there are lots of Hollywood types behaving badly:Bob Dylan, Warren Beatty, Ronald Reagan, Farrah Fawcett, Sharon Stone, RobertEvans, Sly Stallone (who wanted to portray Jesus onscreen), and even Joe Eszterhas. The fantasy chapters, printed in boldface, are sometimesfunny (e.g., "Kenneth W. Starr Confesses"), but mostly they're both over thetop and below the belt (e.g., "Willard Comes Clean," the confessions of the president's penis). What holds your interest is the main narrative, aheady mix of showbiz gossip, personal essay, and Lester Bangs-style prosemania. --Tim AppeloBook Description
In this hybrid of fantasy, memoir, and editorial, former Rolling Stone editor and Hollywood insider/outlaw Joe Eszterhas spares no one. He covers the Clintons, Monica Lewinsky, and Linda Tripp in Washington, D.C.; Sharon Stone, Farrah Fawcett, and David Geffen on the West Coast; and everyone involved in politics and entertainment - living or dead - in between. Combining comprehensive research with insight, honesty, and fiction, American Rhapsody is an in-your-face look at the people running this country. It is also a rollicking good tale filled with humor, tragedy, suspense, high drama, and melodrama. And, of course, it's spiced with plenty of sex. With performances by a cast of experienced actors, this romp flouts virtually every rule, joining the rich tradition of works by Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac, Tom Wolfe, and Hunter Thompson.Download Description
Political satirist Mark Russell pictures President Clinton being sculpted onto Mount Rushmore--"from the waist down." Eszterhas, the author of such fine screen plays as F.I.S.T. and Betrayed and such stinkers as Sliver and Showgirls, provides literary justification for Russell's vision in this farcical waist-level panorama of the Clinton years, in what could be the offspring of the mating of The Joy of Sex and Portnoy's Complaint. Readers are probably aware of the media hype surrounding this book, especially the role of Willard, the "longer than Willie" presidential phallus, which in a rousing climax reveals the true source of President Clinton's power. The author's probing analysis and extensive reading results in a novel that rings more true than many of the "nonfiction" accounts of the President and First Lady Hillary. Eszterhas and his coauthoring "Twisted Little Man" alter ego create often sidesplitting and frequently poignant dialog spoken by such characters as Richard "Night Creature" Nixon; Larry Flynt, the pornographer-in-chief who may have saved the presidency by threatening to blackmail right-wing attackers in no position to "cast the first stone"; presidential pal Vernon Jordan; one-time Republican presidential contender John "Wayne" McCain; Vice President Al Gore; and, of course, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. This political fable could have been nicely shortened if the author had left out his too many stories about his experiences in Hollywood and as a reporter for the Rolling Stone. Yet it is strongly recommended for public libraries as a painfully funny and all too excruciatingly real expos of Clinton's America.--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (81)

Joe Eszterhas has created a genre
This book is as unique and entertaining as an 8 course meal served by a team of strippers in a library.

I like Bill Clinton MORE after reading this book and suspect that he is privately a Joe Eszterhas fan.And why not?Joe Eszterhas has more closet fans than any modern American writer.

No closet for me, thanks.Joe rules.

And a P.S. to Bill... America didn't hold the knobber against you.It's just that after JFK and Marilyn, we have pretty high standards.No hoggin' in the oval office, bro.If it had been Charlize Theron we would all have high fived you.Even Hillary would have understood.

:)

Irresistably preposterous-- But know what you are in for
Eszterhas the book writer is more intriguing and ideosyncratic than Eszterhas the screen writer.Be prepared for a 60's counter culture apologia pro vita sua with interesting detours (such as a tribute to Barry Goldwater).

The book is ultimately a tour of America the Horny across the life span of baby boomers."Life span" is the proper term, since there is raunch enough for a lifetime.The organizing principle is that Bill Clinton is the avatar for the sexual acting out of the rock and roll lifestyle.Clinton is not particularly revered here, although Hilary is portrayed as so cold (and maybe gay) that Bill had little choice.

There is a lot of malicious gossip here, but some is true.The challenge is distinguishing between gossip that is malicious and that which is false and malicious.

For all the astoundingly diverse sexual activity described, there is a clinical detachment.Eszterhas uses few words (save when quoting others) that the New York Times would not print.

Eszterhas narrates lots of the book and is not an especially skilled reader-- although the ring of authenticity he gives keeps it from being annoying.Ed Asner is a fine reader.

Be prepared for Eszterhas's substantial ego.

?????
I tend to vote Republican but refuse to align myself with the Right Wing or Moral Majority. I'm the guy in the middle that the candidates are really after.I say that as any review on this book should be tempered by the politics of the reader.JE is an avowed Democrat with socialist leanings.Read his most recent book "American Animal" to verify this.So it was surprising as I read the first third of this book that after an initial bow to Clinton as the Rock & Roll Prez, one of "us", he then seems to chastise him for his fatal flaws.This part of the book is interesting, engaging, but also somewhat repetitive.I still couldn't wait to read it my allotted hour a night.

But there is only so much you can talk about this subject and JE rambles on and on until he finally manages to really offend me.How?Well, I just finished his most recent book, "American Animal" an autobiography which I immensely enjoyed.Full of Hollywood stories.But reading this, I see that JE has included many of the stories I enjoyed from his autobiography in this political commentary/fantasy.So is he a writer with a message or is he just repeating his few stories to make a buck?

I don't know what to make of this book, thus my title.Did I enjoy some parts?Yes.Are there some interesting stories?Yes.But there is a lot of waste.It's like wandering thru a jungle with a machete looking for your trail.When you find it, it's worth the work.So maybe the only item I can add of interest came from reading this with some years of aging.JE takes on Arianna Huffington who he spends quite a bit of time describing her history to show what a bad person she is and how she climbed to the top while stepping on other people's faces.But would JE have included these chapters in this form if he had known that within a few years she would shift sides and now disavow her right wing leanings?I think not.

This is not a great book.But if you enjoy reading, maybe you will enjoy it.

Decent and Deplorable- in prose from the spheres.
This is the truth! I never read any other of these exposes and during the majority of the media coverage of the episode that led to Clinton's impeachment- I switched to the animal planet. After reading some reviews on Amazon, I bought this book and I'm glad I did."The Comeback Kid" takes plenty of flack from the author, but Eszterhas spares none.I like the names: The Big Kielbasa- Wilt Chamberlain, "The Bag Lady of Sleaze"- Lucienne Goldberg, the lady who got the story into the media,"Hilla the Hun," "The Night Creature"- Nixon- "The Manchurian Candidate"- McCain- "The Rat Woman,"- Linda Tripp, it goes on to the current president named, "The Crown Prince."The coarsest individual does have the funniest lines, i.e.LBJ- too much to repeat here. The few who seem to get off lightly, like Monica, and believe it or not- Barry Goldwater and Newsweek Magazine who had the story and never printed it.
Perhaps the most effective and distressing part of the book is when Eszterhas does a mini retrospective of all the things we didn't want to know,but did over the years, here are a few: Sen. Harkin blowing his nose on CNN without a handkerchief, Bush Sr. throwing up in China, Buchanon saying "Congress is an Israeli occupied territory," Bob Dylan and Elizabeth T., LBJ turning to the side and taking a whizz at an outdoor press conference, Nixon and Kissinger kneeling together and praying, Spiro Agnew, "If you've seen one city slum you've seen them all," Michael Jackson and his chimp, David Bowie and Mick Jagger. (?)

Eszterhas obviously knows more and remembers more than is probably good for him, but his prose is stunning as is the manner by which he weaves the book together- even with some fiction.The author was the screenwriter for Fatal Attraction and had a relationship with Sharon Stone- who also takes some upper cuts and was rumored to have been intimate with Clinton as well. I definitely recommend reading this- for the humor and frankly, The gossip is completely consuming.

MUCH more than smutty tell-all
What a memorable and highly rewarding read.This book is much more than the sum of it's salacious and often repugnant contents; it's also a lecture on morality and a history lesson as well.I don't see how someone who reads this book can be derisive regarding the interlacing of fiction or the sheer amount of sordid detail.Given Eszerhas' talent for script writing and keen interest for the underbelly of the American society, how his book is put together should be no surprise.It's certainly not a novel or a bucket of heresay poo.
I am one who is generally both revolted and amused by the tabloids, and shows like Entertainment Television.But I could not put this book down.The book is informative and revealing, and I found myself lauging out loud and cringing, often while reading the same paragraph.I particularly enjoyed the moments where Eszterhas reflects on his own life; it's probably the most engaging aspect of the book.Expecting to find a smutty and over the top tell-all, I found something rich in intelligent, values-based writing. ... Read more