BILL CLINTON

A less-than-friendly biography with a sturdy binding but not much else going for it. Clinton's first 45 years are quickly covered (``He had to be the best,'' says one schoolmate; he was ``very political,'' says another). The presidential campaign is analyzed in more detail; Cwiklik attributes its success as much to a combination of weak opposition and dogged determination in the face of repeated scandals (the draft, Gennifer Flowers, even Clinton's broken promise to finish his term as governor: ``his word is dirt,'' says an unnamed critic) as to platform, ability, or political philosophy. After his second-place ``victory'' in New Hampshire, ``the press swallowed Clinton's reading of things,'' and neither a ``listless'' President Bush nor Perot's ``sideshow'' could stop him. The author barely mentions Clinton's wife and child (generally referring to them by first names only) and stops with the election plus a captioned inauguration photo. Landau's Bill Clinton (p. 458) covers the same territory in a less judgmental way; it also has source notes and a bibliography, lacking here. Dispensable. Photos; chronology; map of the electoral college vote; index. (Biography. 9-12)