Madeleine Albrbright was a star in Clinton administration, though there always seemed to be an urge in the media to 'play her down'. Maybe it was because of her rather dull appearance? She says in this book that one of the reasons her husband gave her for divorcing her was that she had become very 'old-looking'. Certainly she had always a frowning earnestness in her face, and she admits to being, more or less, always like that, even during her days in Kent School in Denver where she founded an 'International Affairs Club' and named herself as its president. There is something very disarming about this admission and about the way she includes a photo of the club members with herself centre stage (as befits a president!).

It is an entertaining and enlightening book and for those who feel that the Rwandan genocide is a stain on the UN and, because of its power, the US, Madeleine does not duck the issue. She details the complications, the UN bickering, the dreadful US experience in Somalia as reasons for that failure to act but does not shirk from admitting that she deeply regrets not advocating that the US take effective action which might have saved thousands of lives. 'Many people would have thought I was crazy and we would never have won support from Congress, but I would have been right, and possibly my voice would have been heard' (p.155). Of course it's easy to express sorrow after the event ('History is written backwards but lived forwards', p.154) but throughout her book she comes across as someone who is sincere and her sincerity is apparent here also. It really was a dreadful chapter in our history as humans on this planet and she is fully aware of this and is deeply saddened by it.

Then the question of her Jewish ancestry. Very vexed. How could she not have known about it, given her refugee background, her father's flight from Europe, & etc.? She writes that she began to receive letters around the time just before her accession to the post of Secretary of State 'which made me think my parents might have been of Jewish ancestry'. (p.222). The media went to town on the story after her nomination. She writes: 'I was made to feel like a liar and my father, whom I adored, was portrayed as a heartless fraud' (p.235). All I can say is that if she genuinely did not know, then it really was a dreadful time for her and she was treated most unfairly. If she did know, it was also a dreadful time and it was her own business. Certainly it had nothing to do with whether or not she was a good Secretary of State, good for the US and good for the world. Which I think she was.

This book is worth reading. It covers a lot of ground, is full of very human insights into the personal life of someone who was at the crossroads of international affairs at a time when some very dark things were happening, and it is written in an easy accessible style, this last quality no doubt due in part her having the collaboration of Bill Woodword. ( )

Essential for an understanding of the Clinton presidency and US foreign relations in the 1990s

This is a great memoir by an even greater woman. This is an extremely long book so be prepared, but it is worth it as long as you can make it to the end. I did get bored from time to time (mainly due to the length of the monograph) but I learned so much about who Madeleine Albright was and what it meant to be "madam secretary". If you want to learn more about her, I definitely recommend this. Just be prepared for it to take awhile. ( )

3855. Madam Secretary, by Madeleine Albright with Bill Woodward (read 8 Feb 2004) I found this memoir--really an autobiography--exceptionally well-put-together and crammed with good reading. She frankly tells of her unusual personal life (including her failed marriage and her sometime live-in boyfriend, a Georgetown Law professor who she names) as well as relating luminously her time as Ambassador to the United Nations and as Secretary of State. The book covers the events at just the right length, and is not weighted down with speech or document excerpts. I found her position, while tough, was usually right and all in all the book is well-done and interesting and attention-holding all the way through. ( )

One of the most influential books I have ever read...
A great model for any woman who ponders how to juggle life, family and a career. ( )