Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better late than never at all..., Nov 5 2009
I bought "Madam Secretary" almost five years ago, and only read it recently, during my holidays. I now regret not having done so before, but then, it is always best to do something late than never at all.
Madeleine Albright, the first woman to become Secretary of State in the United States, shares with us the story of her life, and a look behind closed doors regarding events that we can already find in the pages of history books. In this book you will find the kind of details regarding her professional life that will allow you to understand things like the dynamics of high stakes negotiations, or the important role that humor plays when trying to avoid direct confrontation.
In her collaboration with Bill Woodward, Albright manages to engage the reader, and even make him laugh. Can you help but smile when you read that "The mood was good - deceptively so. The summit would rapidly deteriorate into an exercise similar to the herding of cats"? Or fail to appreciate Albrights self-deprecating humor when she said to the Security Council that action on an issue had to be delayed until she received orders from Washington, because "The issue will not be decided until the fat lady sings"?
On the whole, "Madam Secretary" is a book that I loved. In my opinion, it is a very good choice for people who like to read witty and well-written autobiographies, but a particularly special treat for those that are also interested or working in the field of International Relations. Highly recommended...
Belén Alcat
|
|
|
1.0 out of 5 stars
How did Albright ever become Secretary of State?, Sep 22 2004
I was looking forward to this book as research material for the Clinton era, the Kosovo Campaign in particular. What a mistake. As an example of revisionist self-congradulation, 'Madam' Secretary has produced a well-written biography. But where is the self-criticism one should expect from a Secretary of State? She certainly admits some hard decisions, but no wrong ones (at least, not by her). We see again and again that inter-state (and intra-state) conflict muddies ethics, morals, and national interest. I just don't see how a political autobiography could come away so squeaky clean. Now that I've read the book, I think I can use it to wash the dishes (although it's a little heavier than a bar of soap). Her self-portrayal as a feminine icon flies in the face of global reality and conjures comparisions to Halle Berry's Oscar Speech. There are plenty of hard-working (and really self-sacrificing) women out there in greater positions of relative power: Look towards India, for example. 'Madam' Secretary doesn't cut it on an international scale. Politicians aren't saints. You know it, I know it. Politicians are faced with terrible realities of power, lobbying, and making decisions that always hurt a lot of people. The social reality is that showering doesn't remove the stink. Washing their clothes doesn't clean the stains. Hillary Clinton knows it - at least her bio was interesting. Reading 'Madam' Secretary's is like reading Chicken Soup for the Political Soul. Read someone else for the realism. If you want to sink your teeth into something substantial, go for one of Kissinger's, Clinton's (either one) or Roosevelt's bios (FDR, not Teddy). If you want to sink your teeth into something that's so sweet it'll make them rot, try 'Madam'.
|
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
An inside view..., Jun 29 2004
Madeleine Albright led a remarkable life - fleeing as a child across war-torn Europe, first from the invading Germans and then from the invading Soviets, the little girl from Prague came to America before a teenager, and ended up becoming the first female Secretary of State in American history (although, interestingly, not even the first non-American-born Secretary of State in the last half century!). She reinvented herself as an American, someone who fell deeply in love with her adopted country, even to the extent that her name Madeleine, isn't the one with which she was christened (although it is the French version of her name, and thus we are reading the memoirs of Madeleine, not Marie Jana Korbel). She weaves together her personal life and insights together with the professional experiences she has had throughout her various careers, culminating with the office of Secretary of State for several years in Bill Clinton's administration. Her father, part of the Czech government-in-exile, immigrated to America and became a professor (interestingly, one of his student was Condalezza Rice, one of the principle voices in foreign affairs in the current Bush administration). Albright thus had training from the very beginning in terms of both academic and practical aspects of governments and diplomacy. Albright's academic credentials are impressive, and her experiences in school shaped her later career. For undergraduate work, she studied at Wellesley College in Political Science, and then went to the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She finished her formal education at Columbia, receiving a Certificate from the Russian Institute, and her Masters and Doctorate from the Department of Public Law and Government. This is also where she got involved with political and media affairs in earnest. She was a White House staffer, including staffing the National Security Council, during Carter's presidency; during the 12-year Republican administrations in Washington, her career focused on the Center for National Policy, a non-profit liberal think-tank/research organization formed in 1981 looking at issues in domestic and foreign policy. This gave her continued presence in the field so that when the time came, Clinton tapped her to be the ambassador to the United Nations, and then later Secretary of State. She met and married Joseph Albright, part of a wealthy media family, and recounts in some detail and emotion the difficulties with the breakup of that relationship. She also confesses an affair with a Georgetown professor, and other difficult times in her life. However, these take a back seat most of the time to her professional career. Albright makes the claim to have not discovered her Jewish ancestry until late in life; there is reason to discount this belief, given that she is the kind of person likely to know the details of her background, and given that she visited family back in Czechoslovakia back in the 1960s. Reasons for not wanting to be identified as being of Jewish descent during her career are unclear, but in an otherwise very straightforward autobiographical account, this one point seems less than convincing. Albright does reflect with candor on many world leaders, including her boss Bill Clinton, and his wife Hillary; few of the key names of the 90s are missed here. Ultimately, one comes across with the impression of a erudite diplomat, a skillful politicians, and a sincere worker for the best interests of the nation.
|
|
|
Most recent customer reviews
|
