It Takes a Village
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| It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us | |
 Front Cover |
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| Author | Hillary Rodham Clinton |
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| Language | English |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date | January 1996 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-1-41-654064-9 |
It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us is a book by then-First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton, in which she presents her vision for the children of America. She focuses on the impact individuals and groups outside the family have, for better or worse, on a child's well-being, and advocates for a society which meets all of a child's needs.
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[edit] History
In January 1996, Clinton went on a ten-city book tour and made numerous television appearances to promote the book,[1] although she was frequently hit with questions about her involvement in the Whitewater and Travelgate controversies.[2][3] Her efforts were rewarded; the book sold well and spent time on the New York Times Best Seller list during 1996.
The theme of the book, at least as perceived from its title, aroused immediate opposition within the United States. The most famous instance of this occurred during the 1996 presidential election: during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, nominee Bob Dole said: "... with all due respect, I am here to tell you, it does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family to raise a child."[4]
In 1997, Clinton received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for her audio recording of the book.
The book is parodied in Tim Wilson's song "It Takes a Village to Raise a Nut".
In 2005, Senator Rick Santorum wrote a rebuke to the book, It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good.
In 2006, It Takes a Village was republished as the "10th Anniversary Edition" with a new cover design and an introduction by the author. Clinton did not shy away from its conclusions; during her own presidential campaign in 2007, she said "I still believe it takes a village to raise a child."[5]
[edit] Proverb question
The book's title is attributed to an African proverb: "It takes a village to raise a child." The saying and its attribution as an "African" proverb were in circulation before it was adopted by Clinton as the source for the title of her book. Indeed, the saying previously provided the source for the title of a children's book entitled It Takes a Village by Jane Cowen-Fletcher, published in 1994.[6]
The authenticity of the proverb has been the subject of some controversy, however, as there is no evidence that the proverb genuinely originated with any African culture, although numerous proverbs from different cultures across Africa have been noted that convey similar sentiments in different ways: "While it is interesting to seek provenance in regard to the proverb, 'It takes a village to raise a child,' I think it would be misleading to ascribe its origin to a single source.... Let me give a few examples of African societies with proverbs which translate to 'It takes a village...': In Lunyoro (Banyoro) there is a proverb that says 'Omwana takulila nju emoi,' whose literal translation is 'A child does not grow up only in a single home.' In Kihaya (Bahaya) there is a saying, 'Omwana taba womoi,' which translates as 'A child belongs not to one parent or home.' In Kijita (Wajita) there is a proverb which says 'Omwana ni wa bhone,' meaning regardless of a child's biological parent(s) its upbringing belongs to the community. In Kiswahili the proverb 'Asiyefunzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu' approximates to the same."[7]
[edit] Ghostwriter controversy
Clinton has been criticized for not giving credit to a ghostwriter in connection with It Takes a Village. The majority of the book was reportedly written by ghostwriter Barbara Feinman.[8] When the book was first announced in April 1995, The New York Times reported publisher Simon & Schuster as saying "The book will actually be written by Barbara Feinman, a journalism professor at Georgetown University in Washington. Ms. Feinman will conduct a series of interviews with Mrs. Clinton, who will help edit the resulting text."[9]
Feinman spent seven months on the project and was paid $120,000 for her work.[10] Feinman, however, was not mentioned anywhere in the book. Clinton's acknowledgment section began: "It takes a village to bring a book into the world, as everyone who has written one knows. Many people have helped me to complete this one, sometimes without even knowing it. They are so numerous that I will not even attempt to acknowledge them individually, for fear that I might leave one out."[11] During her promotional tour for the book, Clinton said, "I actually wrote the book ... I had to write my own book because I want to stand by every word."[2] Clinton stated that Feinman assisted in interviews and did some editorial drafting of "connecting paragraphs", while Clinton herself wrote the final manuscript in longhand.[2]
This led Feinman to complain at the time to Capitol Style magazine over the lack of acknowledgement.[12] In 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported that "New York literary circles are buzzing with vitriol over Sen. Clinton's refusal, so far, to share credit with any writer who helps on her book."[13] Later, in a 2002 article for The Writer's Chronicle,[14] Barbara Feinman Todd (now using her married name) related that the project with Clinton had gone smoothly, producing drafts in a round-robin style. Feinman agrees that Clinton was involved with the project, but also states that, "Like any first lady, Mrs. Clinton had an extremely hectic schedule and writing a book without assistance would have been logistically impossible." Feinman reiterates that her only objection to the whole process was the lack of any acknowledgement. A 2005 Georgetown University web page bio for Barbara Feinman Todd states that It Takes a Village was one of "several high-profile books" that she has "assisted, as editor, writer and researcher."[15]
[edit] References
- ^ Nadine Brozan. "Chronicle", The New York Times, 1996-01-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- ^ a b c Doreen Carvajal. "On Book Tour, Mrs. Clinton Defends Herself", The New York Times, 1996-01-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- ^ Todd S. Purdum. "With Resolve, First Lady Lays Out Defense", The New York Times, 1996-01-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- ^ "Bob Dole's Acceptance Speech", NewsHour, August 15, 1996. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- ^ "Democrats embrace League's 10-point plan, promise change", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
- ^ It Takes a Village (Hardcover). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ From Proverb: It Takes a Whole Village to Raise a Child. H-Africa (a member of H-Net's consortium of scholarly lists). Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ Tim Cornwell. "I wanted to wring the President's neck", The Scotsman, 5 June 2003. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ Mary B. W. Tabor. "Meet Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Traditional First Lady", The New York Times, 1995-04-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
- ^ Tomas Kellner. "Under Cover", Forbes, July 7, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ It Takes a Village, p. 319.
- ^ Susan Threadgill. "Who's Who", The Washington Monthly, June 1999 - Volume 31 Issue 6. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ Al Hunt. "A Tale of Two Clintons", The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page, April 7, 2001. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ Barbara Feinman Todd. "Ghost Writing", The Writer's Chronicle, September 2002. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ Barbara Feinman Todd, M.A.. Georgetown University (February 14, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
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