Hillary Clinton may have written the best book of the year ― if you go by the reviews on Amazon.
“What Happened,” the former Democratic presidential nominee’s tell-all about the 2016 presidential race, currently boasts an average rating of 4.8 stars out of 5.
But that wasn’t always the case.
According to Zero Hedge, the number of one- and five-star reviews garnered by the book were roughly equivalent as late as Wednesday afternoon, giving “What Happened” an average rating of about 3 out of 5 stars.
An Amazon spokesperson said measures have been taken to ensure the reviews being left are authentic.
“In the case of a memoir, the subject of the book is the author and their views,” a company spokesperson said. “It’s not our role to decide what a customer would view as helpful or unhelpful in making their decision. We do however have mechanisms in place to ensure that the voices of many do not drown out the voices of a few and we remove customer reviews that violate our community guidelines.”
Now, about 95 percent of customers who left a review that wasn’t deleted gave the book 5 stars out of 5.
Excerpts of Mrs. Clinton’s book, including unapologetic criticisms of Democratic primary opponent Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont and parting shots at President Trump, have been flooding social media since “What Happened” was officially released on Tuesday.
One passage that caught the attention of readers recounts public encounters Mrs. Clinton has had since the election with people who have apologized for not voting for her.
“On one occasion, an older woman dragged her adult daughter by the arm to come talk to me and ordered her to apologize for not voting ― which she did, head bowed in contrition,” Mrs. Clinton wrote. “I wanted to stare right in her eyes and say, ’You didn’t vote? How could you not vote?! You abdicated your responsibility as a citizen at the worst possible time! And now you want me to make you feel better?’ “
“Of course, I didn’t say any of that,” she continued. “These people were looking for absolution that I just couldn’t give. We all have to live with the consequences of our decisions.”
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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