Condoleezza Rice: An American Life: A Biography Paperback – January 13, 2009

I loved having a hard copy odd the book after reading a digital version

I bought this book as an English reader who felt that Condi has over the years been given a hard deal by the media. I have ended up concluding that however unique and talented she is (and there is plenty in this book to support that view), her actions and achievements reveal her only aim in life is solely about personally succeeding. While a great first as a black member in the US administrations of George Bush and his son (and ironically paving the possibility of Obama as a black presidential candidate), this is achieved at whatever the cost resulting to others may be and however poor she may be at the job.This is a very well researched and balanced book by an experienced NY Times reporter that provides many interpretations on events, some of which do need revisiting given how looking back has led to many adaptations, especially her stormy time as Stamford University Provost in the 1990s and the ousting of Rumsfeld from the Bush government.Her childhood clearly set the scene in a way that you are left feeling Condi was almost placed on a pre-planned path. Parents who ensured she was protected from the rampant racialism in 1950/60s Birmingham she was born into as an only child but also pushed in all ways to show she was ten times better than whites and many of her peers, infused her with lifelong ambition.Her undertaking of further education led her to accept she could not meet her parents aims of being a classical musician and in showing her one key decision against them chose to engage in political science of the cold war and learn Russian, a fateful choice given she studied with Josef Korbel, the father of Madeleine Albright and the coming Glasnost period. He seems to have been the first of many men, from Brent Scowcroft who provided the basis for her first spell in Washington under the first Bush presidency, through Gerhard Casper as Dean of Stamford to the latest being George W., who in each case having gained entry into their confidence by impressing them then held her job by doing whatever they needed to be done, without question.Her main claims to fame will be inevitably most linked with the two George W. presidencies. The clear image is that she almost became a sister to that president given their rapport and her access to him and his family with whom she enjoys a very close relationship. The failings to listen to warning signs pre the 9/11 attack while Head of National Security led from the desire to avoid any repeat attacks on the US, to a lack of questioning which moved to open support in pursuing an ambitious neo-con agenda promoting the war on Iraq. That situation has come to haunt her as Secretary of State, where the need was to recover from the US government's lack of a post invasion strategy. A lack of understanding of Iraq's situation and the corresponding morass in Palestine and the disastrous US support for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon against Hezbollah showed her Cold War studies of communism were adrift when dealing with Middle East politics and Islamic radicals.There is little doubt that Condi is revealed through this biography as a very unique individual and a very ambitious achiever. However while in so doing she may well fully represent the sub title of the book "An American Life" what is shown as sadly missing is the ability to challenge and be a pragmatic defender of realism or freedom.This book has left me hoping that the author will next write the biography of Dick Cheney, a man whose influence and hidden activities especially in manipulating Dubya pervade the pages of this later period and helped obstruct many of the initiatives Condi attempted.

I had this shipped to my daughter and she said it was one of the best books she has read. It has inspired her to rise beyond what she expected to accomplish as a young women. Thank you Miss Rice for sharing your experiences and your family life with the world.

Excellent read Great lady. US needs to get their political procedures straightened up !

Good basic book about Secretary Rice. A great deal of background of her upbringing, early life and time inside the Bush Administration. The book took a great deal of info from other books and offer very little analysis of her decisions. The writer did a fair job of pointing out the good as well as the warts. Not a strong bio, but a fair one. Perhaps enough time has gone by since this book was written that leaves it a little behind the other bio's.

I truly enjoyed this book. This is a great read not only of Ms Rice, her life personally and in politics, but also of the inner workings of the Bush administration. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for the inside story of an African-American woman who made her way into the power grid of national politics. Well worth the purchase price.

Although I've not read a prior biography on Ms. Rice, I found this rendition to be very informative, albeit somewhat biased at times. I learned a great deal of Rice's rise to power and her background, while understanding better the strife we've witnessed in terms of her relationship with Chaney and Rumsfield.I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about how a person of intellect and moderate means can rise to a position of power with little experience to call upon.

this book did reveal the other side of Rice that we did not get to know during her term of office in Bush's administration. Excellent book thus far and a source inspiration to all women!!

I bought this book as an English reader who felt that Condi has over the years been given a hard deal by the media. I have ended up concluding that however unique and talented she is (and there is plenty in this book to support that view), her actions and achievements reveal her only aim in life is solely about personal success. While a powerful black member in the US administrations of George Bush and his son (and ironically paving the possibility of Obama as a black presidential candidate), this is achieved at whatever the cost resulting to others may be and however poor she may be at the job.This is a very well researched and balanced book by an experienced NY Times reporter that provides many interpretations on events, some of which do need revisiting given how looking back has led to many adaptations, especially her stormy time as Stamford University Provost in the 1990s and the ousting of Rumsfeld from the Bush government.Her childhood clearly set the scene in a way that you are left feeling Condi was almost placed on a pre-planned path. Parents who ensured she was protected from the rampant racialism in 1950/60s Birmingham she was born into as an only child but also pushed in all ways to show she was ten times better than whites and many of her peers, infused her with lifelong ambition.Her undertaking of further education led her to accept she could not meet her parents aims of being a classical musician and in showing her one key decision against them chose to engage in political science of the cold war and learn Russian, a fateful choice given she studied with Josef Korbel, the father of Madeleine Albright and the coming Glasnost period. He seems to have been the first of many men, from Brent Scowcroft who provided the basis for her first spell in Washington under the first Bush presidency, through Gerhard Casper as Dean of Stamford to the latest being George W., who in each case having gained entry into their confidence by impressing them then held her job by doing whatever they needed to be done, without question.Her main claims to fame will be inevitably most linked with the two George W. presidencies. The clear image is that she almost became a sister to that president given their rapport and her access to him and his family with whom she enjoys a very close relationship. The failings to listen to warning signs pre the 9/11 attack while Head of National Security led from the desire to avoid any repeat attacks on the US, to a lack of questioning which moved to open support in pursuing an ambitious neo-con agenda promoting the war on Iraq. That situation has come to haunt her as Secretary of State, where the need was to recover from the US government's lack of a post invasion strategy. A lack of understanding of Iraq's situation and the corresponding morass in Palestine and the disastrous US support for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon against Hezbollah showed her Cold War studies of communism were adrift when dealing with Middle East politics and Islamic radicals.There is little doubt that Condi is revealed through this biography as a very unique individual and a very ambitious achiever. However while in so doing she may well fully represent the sub title of the book "An American Life" what is shown as sadly missing is the ability to challenge and be a pragmatic defender of realism or freedom.This book has left me hoping that the author will next write the biography of Dick Cheney, a man whose influence and hidden activities especially in manipulating Dubya pervade the pages of this later period and helped obstruct many of the initiatives Condi attempted.