Hillary Rodham Clinton is the clear front-runner for the 2016 presidential race. She has yet to announce she is running, and she may opt not to seek the nation's highest office again. But until she makes an official announcement either way, other Democratic hopefuls are in a state of suspended animation, few daring to make any public moves until Clinton has showed her hand.

HRC, a political biography of Clinton's time as secretary of state, offers insights into her style and character, helping explain why so many potential presidential candidates seem paralyzed. She is a formidable—and vindictive—political figure whose presence undoubtedly changes the game.

Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, journalists who cover domestic politics for Politico and The Hill, describe their book as a "tale of political resurrection for which the final chapters remain unwritten." Focusing their attention on the domestic political ramifications of Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, they highlight her attempts to overcome the 2008 election loss, reshape the direction of American diplomacy, and establish a political legacy distinct from her husband's.

The authors stay too narrowly focused on this task, and, in so doing, miss the opportunity to frame their reporting with constructive context. Readers travel a dizzying pace from 2009 to early 2013, with a few flashbacks to the 2008 campaign trail interspersed. We learn a lot about how Clinton operates, but we're given far too little background to explore why she acts as she does and what makes her tick. Most readers think they know a lot about Hillary and Bill Clinton, which makes it even more essential to highlight relevant background material. Given the vast rumor mills that surround them, the authors should establish facts up front and set the stage for the rest of the book.

Allen and Parnes gained impressive access to Clinton's aides and friends, interviewing more than 200 sources, including several in her inner circle. Given the close-knit networks and strong bonds of loyalty described in the book, it is inconceivable that her confidantes would have participated in the project without her blessing. The authors should have cast a wider net and talked to more of Clinton's critics. Perhaps they inadvertently (or even knowingly) gave in to the fear of retribution that is a recurring theme throughout the book. The authors also get distracted, allowing melodrama, ominous foreshadowing, and gossip-filled anecdotes to detract from the central themes. Do we really need to know how much Clinton's Georgetown home is worth? Or its square footage? The book includes more discussion of Huma Abedin's baby shower than of the administration's response to the civil war in Syria.

Despite these shortcomings, HRC provides useful background for evaluating Clinton as a presidential contender. First, the book offers insights into her character. The Clinton who emerges on these pages is a compassionate woman with a keen intellect and a dedication to social justice. She is loyal to her friends in good times and in bad, unwilling to drop intimates even when it would be politically expedient. She is serious and tough yet good-humored.

Other, less flattering, aspects of Clinton's character also surface. Clinton is a consummate politician who seems to calculate almost every action to maximize future gain. She and her husband Bill (a background player in this narrative, but one who plays pivotal roles) come across as vengeful and unforgiving. Hillary's aides maintain a detailed database of friends and foes. Allen and Parnes recount several stories to show that those who cross the Clintons often pay a steep political price, even years down the road.

Consider one telling example. In 2008, then-candidate Clinton met with Congressman Jason Altmire to seek his support for her as a Democratic convention superdelegate. He refused to commit to Clinton or Obama. Clinton left the meeting, yelling: "such a [bleeping] waste of time." When Altmire faced an in-party primary challenge four years later, Bill Clinton endorsed his opponent, who narrowly beat Altmire.

Whereas most biographers of Hillary Clinton give serious attention to her faith, HRC makes only passing references—on my count, a mere four mentions in 405 pages—and therefore misses one key element of what motivates her. A lifelong Methodist, even as her husband's church affiliation has waxed and waned, Clinton's faith appears to help direct her political steps. " 'She has something more driving her than just power. She has a very strong moral compass that she leans into,' said one longtime friend. 'So she doesn't wear [religion] on her sleeve, but I think if you had any length of conversation with her as a Methodist, and talked to her about her faith, she would be very insightful.' " It's disappointing that the authors did not heed this advice.

The book also casts light on Clinton's management style and policy priorities. Much ink will be spilled appraising Clinton's time as secretary of state as a harbinger of what she might do if elected president. But such analyses should be set against the constraints of the office. Cabinet secretaries and the immediate layers of people below them serve at the pleasure of the president and implement his policies. To be sure, Hillary Clinton was no ordinary cabinet member. A national figure with a powerful network and sky-high name recognition, she had far greater political resources than other administration officials. As this book documents, Clinton sought ways to make her distinctive political mark throughout her term in office and left a legacy of internal reforms at the State Department. She was often in the room when key foreign policy decisions were made, and her advice appears to have won the day at times. Clinton was a key player, but simply that. Barack Obama set the foreign policy direction that the State Department had to follow, he made the final decisions, and he bears ultimate responsibility for his administration's policy successes or failures.

Most readers know little about the everyday work of foreign policy. HRC is by no means a definitive account of internal State Department strategy, but it does offer a behind-the-scenes look at diplomacy in action and offers insights into Clinton's approach to international relations. Stories discussing fundraising for the USA pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, negotiations on the New START Treaty and Iran sanctions, and on-the-ground meetings and local outreach in Pakistan highlight different elements of Clinton's diplomatic strategy and her affinity for smart power theory.

She is a competent, intelligent manager with great attention to detail and deep concern for employee morale. She is a proactive leader who is willing to take risks. She relies heavily on an inner circle of confidantes, to whom she is steadfastly loyal. She is a careful student who is humble enough to learn from others. As the authors summarize, "Her strengths were in executing the good ideas that came to her and applying lessons learned from one problem to resolving another."

Although not the authors' central purpose, the book also offers insight into some of the political issues that animate Clinton most. On foreign and economic policy, she comes across as an ideological moderate much like her husband. In discussions of possible military action, Clinton is the hawk to Vice President Biden's dove. She works hard to include business interests among those of other stakeholders. While HRC devotes relatively little space to domestic policy, the authors show that Clinton's views on social issues, especially gay and lesbian rights, align more with the progressive wing of her party.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly for those with eyes on the 2016 election, HRC demonstrates the immense political power Hillary and Bill Clinton have amassed. After finishing this book, no one will question why potential rivals run scared. Serious presidential contenders must be prodigious fundraisers. Overall spending for Obama and Romney's presidential bids each topped more than a billion dollars. Donor pools in both parties are large, but ultimately limited. Everyone wants to back the winner, so big dollars flow to those with the most loyal following and those most likely to go the distance.

Clinton has a formidable fundraising advantage over potential rivals. The Clintons have devoted decades to building and cultivating an incredible network of donors—those who will write big checks and will bundle money from their own networks to bring in hundreds of thousands more. They also have deep connections with so-called Super PACs, political groups that can pour almost unlimited dollars into campaigns.

Vignettes scattered throughout HRC demonstrate the depth of the Clinton fundraising machine and the power the couple wields over Democratic politicians and donors. Aspiring politicians and those currently in office want to stay in the Clintons' good graces and fear potential retribution for opposing them or even staying neutral. Bill Clinton's political draw is powerful and likely unrivaled in the Democratic Party. His support can be instrumental to election victory; his opposition, a death knell.

Clinton's time in the State Department expanded her résumé. On top of her time as First Lady, she has more than a decade of legislative and executive experience, culminating in the four years at State that deepened her knowledge of foreign affairs. She is a master power broker with sharp political instincts. Few, if any, potential rivals can bring such rich background and expertise to the contest.

At the same time, a Clinton win is by no means inevitable. She was out-campaigned in 2008 and would need to build a fundamentally different and much more modern operation—spear-headed by campaign professionals instead of inner-circle advisers—to secure the nomination in 2016. Although quite popular during her time as Secretary of State, she remains one of the most polarizing figures in American politics. If she were to re-enter the political fray, opponents within and outside her party would be armed and ready to attack, and her negative ratings would rise.

If Hillary Clinton does indeed seek the presidency a second time, she will do so with a long political record behind her. HRC offers an incomplete picture of its complex subject, but it will give readers some insights into Clinton's character and some of the strengths and weaknesses she would likely bring to the Oval Office.

Amy E. Black is associate professor of political science at Wheaton College and author of Honoring God in Red or Blue: Approaching Politics with Humility, Faith, and Reason (Moody).

Copyright © 2014 by the author or Christianity Today/Books & Culture magazine.
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