[.ca] Madam Secretary (ISBN 140139745X)

Smooth, captivating and thoughtful:
A fascinating story of a remarkable person who has served her country well.

How did Albright ever become Secretary of State?:
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'.

Filling in What the Media Neglects:
If your interesting in knowing the truth about one of the 1990s most important foreign policy personalities, this book won't necessarily help. While it is an easy read with lots of details about what was happening behind closed doors, Ms. Albright also spun it to her own advantages. But that is to be expected. Considering her harsh handing at the hands of the right wing, it is good to get her point of view.

An inspirational life told beautifully:
I have no words that would do this book and woman justice. Just buy and read it! Madeleine, thank you for your hard work and inspiration. I dream of someday speaking with you.

An inside view...:
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.