Customer Reviews

Condi: The Life of a Steel Magnolia

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A "Condi" is a book for all readers. I found the book inspirational, interesting, and entertaining. Not only did I learn more about the "black" experience in the south, but I learned about the winning solution to inequalities. Condi's parents knew this all along, education and hard work.

Every parent that wants their children to turn into wonderful adults should read this book. Every little girl in America should read this book. Unlike the female characters of the pop culture world, this is the type of women that I want my girls to emulate. Although, she is beautiful, she carries herself with respect and dignity wherever she goes. This book has made a wonderful impact on me. Thank you MB Brown.

Whether Republican or Democrat, (or other), white or black (or other), male or female, I think every reader will find this a most interesting book about a very unique person. There were a few surprises in the book, which I had never heard from any other source. The author did a great job of tracing Condoleeza's rise from her segregated upbringing in the deep south of the 60's to her becoming Secretary of State. Great book!

As soon as I finished this informative biography, I instructed my both of my daughters to read it. Dr Rice is exactly the kind of role model I want for them.

This is an interesting bio not only for the light it sheds on the winning of the cold war, but more so in the instruction to the pathway to success and greatness. Before I read this bio I was a fan of Dr. Rice but now she is my hero.

Hooray for Mary Beth Brown. It is wonderful to read a book about a person who has achieved so much without a powerful family dynasty or government entitlements behind them. The subtitle of the book is perfect. After getting to know Condi through these pages she epitomizes a steel magnolia. I was wanting to know the person Condi and I have now met her. It is amazing that a young girl from segregated Alabama became our Secretary of State, but after reading about her ancestry and the value of education in her family it is the perfect place for her to be. I appreciate the humility of Condi. She never strove for a position of power at either Stanford or in our government, yet she was chosen for these positions through her own merit. If you are looking for a rehashing of all her political achievements during her service to our country you are reading the wrong book. This is a wonderful telling of who she is as a person.

I was recently given the opportunity to read and review the book Condi: The Life of a Steel Magnolia by Mary Beth Brown. There are a number of things that will factor into whether you end up liking this book or not. All things considered, I ended up thinking this was around an "average" book...

Contents:
Transforming America; Entering a New World; A Strong Family Heritage; Childhood Matters; Becoming a Steel Magnolia; Not Your Average Teenager; Education Is the Way to Success; Professor Rice; Dealing with the Soviet Union; Tackling a Monstrous Deficit; Condi the Campaigner; Advising a President; The Most Powerful Woman in the World; Epilogue; Bibliography; Notes; Index; Acknowledgments; About the Author

On the positive side... This book goes into a fair amount of detail about how she grew up in the segregated South, an only child who was taught that nothing should stand in her way to achieve whatever she could dream. Her ancestors placed great importance on education, and that emphasis carried down to her. As a result, she was way ahead of the curve when it came to academic achievement, regardless of color and gender. She was also well-versed in the arts, and is an accomplished pianist who still plays regularly for herself and the occasional public performance. Her Christian faith is also integral to her attitude and philosophy in life, and that's something that can't be sectioned off and dealt with as a compartment. Based on the way the author presents the material, you realize that Rice places critical importance on her relationship with God. When you're done with the book, you know that she has accomplished more in her life than any number of people combined. She truly is an example of overcoming obstacles and hurdles in life to become a success.

On the negative side... You'd think that Rice has never made a mistake in her life based on the author's often gushing portrayal of her. Little if any time is spent analyzing her decisions made as "the most powerful woman in the world" in terms of foreign policy, terrorism, and other issues facing the American people both here and abroad. I almost got the impression that Rice may not necessarily be setting policy as she would have it, but rather serving the president and promoting the Administration views as a good soldier. This lack of impartial or even critical analysis taints what otherwise could be a decent biography of Rice. Without that analysis, it's hard not to view this as a rather one-sided pro-Condi book put out by people who would like to see her run for President or something.

From my perspective, I learned much about Rice, and she's someone who I admire. I *do* have a hard time reconciling that view of her with the current administration she works for. If you approach the book from a purely political viewpoint, there's not much here that would satisfy you. If you're more interested in a human interest portrayal of someone who has succeeded in life, then you'll get more out of it. I would have preferred a portrayal that was more realistic, complete with flaws and mistakes. Instead, it's more of a rah-rah read that may leave you still wondering who the real Condi is...

Great book! Easy read. Shows that faith in God, strong family, learning who you are and what your passions are, being disciplined and working hard will produce fulfillment of all you can be and bring true contentment even if you start out as a black girl in segregated Alabama. Very positive and uplifting story.

This book is both enjoyable to read and very informative.
It is interesting to read how Condi's childhood, college, and time at Stanford all contributed to shaping her for her current career at the White House.

There may be a useful, informative book on the subject of Condoleezza Rice, but this isn't it. It is a love letter and a pep rally almost entirely devoid of the sort of substance one might hope to find in a book about someone who has served in the government at such high levels. She's the Secretary of State and has been since 2005, but you'd hardly know that from the index to this book. The words "oil," "Hammas," "Gulf War," "9-11," and "Al Qaeda" are not even to be found in this text. The entire subject of the Middle East is given very short shrift.

All in all, one would be FAR better served to simply read the (nearly as long) and far more informative Wikipedia article about this woman. It's sad when wiki articles do better than entire books on a single subject. At least it has better source citations. Avoid this hype sheet pretending to be a biography.

I love the story of Condoleeza Rice. Won't be the last book I read about her. This book is easily read in a day; the book is more about her whole life story, the people who influenced her, primarily her parents and family, and not about her more famous roles in government service. So it's a little lacking in substance, but I'm glad I read this biography of her first to get my feet a little wet. She was a preacher's kid and only child, her home in Birmingham, Alabama. Most interesting was how her family decided to become Republicans given that most Southern African Americans have been Democrats ever since they were given the right to vote. I love her father's attitude about the segregated South and the route he chose to fight it, as the author reveals. Her family refused to be humiliated publicly by having to use segregated bathrooms, fountains, etc. They simply waited to get home. Her father didn't openly rant and rave about their conditions nor stir up trouble. He acted nobly despite ignoble treatment. He and Condi's mother lavished all their attention and energies upon Condi's education and upbringing. Being a preacher's kid, of course, she was nurtured to have a very strong and active faith in G-d while seeing all of the evils within the segregated South. I write this as a southern white woman who was a child during the height of the most egregious events in Birmingham, so I'm always saddened to read of how some of my fellow citizens and neighbors in my backyard so to speak behaved at that time. Reading this book made me understand well why Condi doesn't have strong aspirations to be President, though she's more than adequately prepared for the job. She has a high IQ, no telling how many words a minute she can read, is extremely intelligent and wise. I understand too why she is so poised and graceful in her ways. Not only is she an accomplished concert pianist, she is also a talented ice skater from her days in Denver where her family moved and Condi went to college at a young age. My favorite story in this book is the one about her being shooed off the red carpet at an airport by one of President George H. W. Bush's secret service details. Over two decades ago, she was very young to be in such a high office. It's obvious in reading this book how incredibly hard working she is. Kudos to President G. B. W. Bush to introducing her to the American public. Regardless of what you say or think of him, he's obviously made some wise decisions.

What amazes me about Condi which you can infer from reading this book is how seemingly apolitical she is which is the perfect attribute for a Secretary of State dealing with a multitude of crises involving very disparate peoples. She's not so vocal about her particular opinions unless the need arises.

All in all I highly recommend the book be read or any others about her. She's truly a fascinating and inspiring person.

Funny how right leaning I'm becoming as I age. My father explained this phenomenon to me when I was a teenager. I really think the voting age should be raised to age 40, kind of like how the drinking age was raised some years back. I'm really going to miss Condoleeza Rice these next years and even W.!

I just hope that if there are tens of billions of dollars slated for building levees in Louisiana, that those tens of billions of dollars slated to go to Louisiana get used for precisely that purpose and not wind up in the slouchy pockets of some crooked bureaucrats'. So proud of the GOP, and particularly my state's (Georgia) representatives for voting against the "stimulus" bill. Senator Chambliss said on Fox last night that it was the most important vote he cast in all his years of service. G-d bless you and yes ma, there are some good republicans!

I knew a few weeks ago what I would entitle this review. The miraculous landing of the USAIR plane in the Hudson river and the survival of all on board in the nonexistant shadows of the World Trade Center towers made me realize how Americans value the life and safety of human beings regardless of their beliefs or views. The pilot, Air Force trained, with eons of flying hours, and his crew reacted to the emergency with text book reactions. (The FAA requires yearly emergency training by all airline personnel).

This eagle's landing shows the world how Americans value all human life regardless of race, religion, creed. Amazing too, how quickly and sympathetically, citizens on boats in the water, quickly came to the scene, along with the standard emergency crew of Coast Guard, and other professional emergency employees. Would such an immediate response by all American citizens be as swift in other cities? Does it take a national disaster to prompt people's knee jerk reactions? I hope not, but what a tremendous, heroic response by all of New York City that day and that one in September.

Ms. Rice is an intelligent, talented woman. Unfortunately, she also has no ability to discern the truth and is a State Department hack whose primary loyalty is to the State Department, not the American people.

I have no admiration for this woman who panders to terrorists around the world while telling freedom-loving people to keep on appeasing.