Dear Friends and Readers:
The Publisher has incurred a slight delay in getting out the paperback and ebook editions of the Friends in High Places. The books availability is any day now. I apologize for any inconvenience, and for this who were kind enough to preorder you autographed copies, the day I get my books yours will go out. You may still preorder your autographed copies at webbhubbell.com
Several of you have written asking will this be a new edition, taking my life from 1996 forward. The answer is found below in the new introduction to the book. Why now, others have asked. The answer is my publisher, Beaufort Books, felt that during this long election cycle my different view of the Clinton’s is an important counter balance to all the negative books being published about them. Friends In High Places has never been available in paperback or in ebooks, and the previously published hardback books available are limited. It was an extremely difficult book for me to write, because I had to be honest about myself and my failures. I hope you find it insightful.
Introduction to Friends In High Places – 2015 Edition
Following the publication of my first novel, When Men Betray, Beaufort Books asked if they could publish an e-book version of my 1997 memoir, Friends in High Places. The prospect of editing and rewriting it with the hindsight of twenty years held a lot of appeal, so I set about acquiring the rights to the book from its original publisher. But after rereading if for the first time since 1997, I realized that changing it would be a mistake.
Friends in High Places was an honest recounting of my journey with the Clinton’s and many other friends from Little Rock to Washington, DC. It told a story of the many highs and lows of my life up to that point, but I am not the same man I was when Friends was published. It would be wrong to bring my different voice and twenty more years of mistakes and wisdom to Friends.
For example, I have learned that no one likes to see themselves through another’s eye’s, no matter how honest or flattering the portrayal. Believe me, I heard from several unhappy folks when Friends was first published. It’s tempting to try to edit out all the offending language. but it would make for a very short book. I wrote about my life and events as I saw them at the time. I regret the pain this narrative caused. Today, I look back with the broader experience afforded by the passage of years. I honestly intended no offense, but have learned from my mistakes. I write only fiction now.
That said, I have gone through the book and tried to fix the many misspellings and errors that I didn’t catch the first time and weeded out a few irrelevant anecdotes. I have also added a short epilogue (foreward). I concluded the 1997 edition by predicting Hillary Clinton would “have a big impact on the national discourse.” That statement surely cries out for a few words as she begins her second attempt to become the first woman President of the United States. Personally, I think it’s high time to break the gender barrier—maybe a woman will be able to bring sorely needed integrity back to our democracy.
Sincerely, Webb