Six-time New York Times bestselling author and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright—one of the world’s most admired and tireless public servants—reflects on the final stages of one’s career, and working productively into your later decades in her new memoir.
It is by turns poignant and hilarious, as she moves from the classroom to the boardroom of the New York Stock Exchange (where someone mistakenly thought they would get a big name who wouldn’t push back at $140 million executive compensation packages) to the indignities of being a 'former somebody' ... But there are more telling moments that resonate in the current political moment ... Her book is also a reminder that for all the complexities of her time in office, it was, in retrospect, the last moment we remember of unchallenged American supremacy.
This passionately told account of Albright’s 'afterlife' will inspire readers to become involved in the issues meaningful to them. Recommended for all interested in politics, leadership, and women’s studies.
The book reflects the energy and churn of [Albrights's] post-State Department life. It zigs-zags from subject to subject, keeping you on your toes, never quite sure where the next paragraph will take you ... veers like a conversation, albeit a one-sided one. And like any conversation with someone you know, there are stories you've heard before. Afterall Albright's afterlife includes book writing, and this memoir recounts the previous six: from how and why she wrote a book about her pins to her family's immigration to the United States. But even a well-trod story can have a new nugget ... If there is a weakness in this memoir, it's one that Albright points out herself. She's 'not especially introspective' ... I liked the professorial sections of the book. They're interesting, funny and I learned a thing or two about policy making post-government. But you'll also get that in the books that have been, and will be, written about her ... What resonated with me most were the human moments, those real thoughts you have when contemplating life, death and everything in between...That recognition of experience, of a life of service, or a life well lived is in the book, but in bits and pieces. It's like panning for gold. You have to work to get it. But when you do find that nugget, it is something to be treasured.
