South, state shaped Clinton, says writer

During 79 White House conversations over the course of Bill Clinton’s eight years in office, one certainty became clear to historian Taylor Branch: his subject’s political essence flowed directly from his roots in Arkansas.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian viewed the 42nd president through the lens of a fellow Southerner with a similar perspective. Their previously unknown, tape-recorded conversations form the basis for Branch’s new book, The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President.

“The South in general, and Arkansas in specific, was very important in shaping him for the presidency,” Branch said in a recent interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

It’s a topic likely come up again when Branch visits Little Rock today to discuss the ...