Beijing's Bubba Book

By Rebecca Winters

Is it a left-wing conspiracy? According to an unauthorized translation of BILL CLINTON'S memoir, My Life, now on sale in China, the former President turned to Chinese sages for guidance at critical moments in his life. As a student, the pirated book says, Clinton so admired MAO ZEDONG that he applied for a visa to visit China. While Governor, Clinton relied on the economic theories of Deng Xiaoping to "give Arkansas a chance to catch up" to the rest of the U.S. Chinese readers may not realize the translation is not exactly faithful. Or they may be buying the phony book for the same reason Americans are snapping up the real one--to skip to the (also enhanced) parts about Monica.