Customer Reviews

Condoleezza Rice: An American Life: A Biography

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A good biography should provde interesting personal insights not readily known and engaging examples that show character strengths and flaws. Once an author interjects his or her own political bias, as this "liberal" author clearly does on more than one occasion, then the reader feels as if the biography has turned into political analysis, which is precisely what happens in this book about midway through.

The author does a nice job describing the childhood, adolescence, family, and personal crises of Ms. Rice through and including her appointment as provost as Stanford. But then the author decides to simply discuss in chronological order the various political events that Ms. Rice was involved in as she entered the realm of politics and ultimately became Secretary of State. From that point on the book becomes not biography, but a superficial and biased presentation of various political events into which the author intersperses quotes from Ms. Rice. It sounded more like a series of newspaper articles than a biography.

In short, the first half of the book through the events at Stanford is worth reading. You can simply skim the rest and skip to the Conclusion, which is rather pedestrian.

There are no great insights provided in this book, but in the early chapters there is a wealth of personal and fascinating details that makes this book worth reading at all.

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.

This book was about what I expected: a bit of a fluff job largely devoid of hard-hitting analysis. I'll admit that Ms. Rice doesn't come out looking very good -- as previous reviewers have noted, she is caught time and time again trying to finesse some outrageous Bush administration failure or statement. And some might argue that it is a strength of the book that Bumiller leaves so much between the lines, as it were.

But it's troubling in the end when a reporter like Ms. Bumiller spends 6 years writing glowing reports of a White House (those who are familiar with her infamous "White House Letter" column at the Times know what I'm talking about)and is then granted unprecedented access to one of the White House's key players. Can you say "quid pro quo"? The fact that Ms. Bumiller pulls her punches here makes this issue even more glaring.

Ms. Bumiller once wrote that she was afraid to ask the White House difficult questions on the eve of the Iraq war. It appears that here she is afraid to draw the tough conclusions. And that's too bad, because she sure did get good access on this one.

I'm really disappointed by this book. Clearly, Elisabeth Bumiller, the author of this book does not like Ms. Rice. I'm sure that when you write a biography you have a lot of personal accounts to chose from. This author chose to include mostly negative accounts. The reason I picked up this book is because there is obviously something very special about Condoleeza. While the author points out all the other people that saw the same thing I did including two U.S. Presidents, the author completely fails to illustrate through her writing what this special quality is and how it was developed. Instead, Bumiller insinuates that Rice is just a slave mesmerized by her rich white owner. Bumiller does this by saying that a great grandmother of Rice's had this sort of relationship with her slave owner. Bumiller goes on to describe Rice's relationship with Bush one and two in a similar fashion. Bumiller lacks the grace and style that Condoleeza Rice possesses. While Rice so often takes the high road when pushed, Bumiller doesn't. Bumiller doesn't miss a chance to reveal one of Rice's critics. One might think that it's important to include what others think of Rice, but why include the opinions of those writing tabloids and smear campaigns as credible. Really? You need to say that someone thinks Rice didn't have a black enough childhood. Unfortunately, Elisabeth Bumiller felt that she needed to give morons a voice without really giving us any incite into what makes Rice tick. In the end, Condoleeza is still intriguing, but this book isn't. Thanks to this author Condoleeza is still a mystery. Bumiller should give up her book writing career and go back to the New York Times where she belongs.

This is the third Rice biography released this year but Bumiller really doesn't add much to what is already been reported on Rice. As with Marcus Mabry's book, what is telling is that both books reveal a woman who has advanced to her current position more through a lifelong talent of networking with powerful people than through brillance or extraordinary insight and grasp of issues.

Part of the problem with American Life is you get the feeling Bumiller really doesn't want ask questions that are too aggressive for fear of rocking the boat and losing access to Rice and other administration officials. As a result, she fails to follow up on observations made by Rice's friends, foes and former colleagues that could provide more insight.

Like too many of her colleagues, Bumiller has been entranced and fixated by Rice's Birmingham to White House story (although Rice was shielded by much of the strife and most profiles fail to mention that she actually spent her adolescent and young adult years in Denver). While compelling, the problem is most profiles can't seem to find anything interesting or revealing about Rice beyond that. While her restraint in casting judgement on her subject is admirable, the book suffers from Bumiller's failure to follow up and challenge on Rice's usually glib responses on questions of policy. The result is not much more than the usual talking points that we see from the secretary on the Sunday morning shows and in fawning profiles.

Bumiller has said the idea for her book occurred when someone at a dinner party suggested that she write a biography about Rice. That indicates that Bumiller on her own never would have considered Rice as an interesting or book worthy subject. It's not a horrible book but by the time you reach the last page, you're not left with any substance.

Bumiller has written a fine biography of Rice. Her style is efficient (concise and clear)and she has obviously done her homework concerning the various phases of Rice's life: her childhood in Birmingham, her adolescent and young adult years in Denver, her successful yet controversial academic years at Stanford and her time working on national security matters culminating, of course, with President George W. Bush, first as his national security adviser and now as secretary of state.

Rice's life story is intriguing: How could a child of the segregated South, who benefited from the civil rights and affirmative action movements, become a staunch Republican? How could a young woman with a passion for piano suddenly embrace an academic career in the male dominated world of military and Soviet studies? Bumiller doesn't provide definitive answers to these questions but she does shed some valuable light.

And, of course, the most immediate historical question concerns what role did Rice play in the defining moments of the Bush Presidency: 9/11 and the Iraq war. Was she just a foot soldier? Was she asleep at the switch as national security adviser? Or did she play an active role in shaping
Bush national security and foreign policy decisions? Some Bush haters will have no patience for Bumiller's balanced portrait of Rice but Bumilller's restraint actually makes for a compelling case for Rice's shortcomings.

A highlight of this book is extensive interviews Bumiller conducted with Rice, excerpts of which are interwoven throughout the text. Rice naturally always attempts to put her best foot forward but Bumiller sometimes comments critically when she feels Rice is inconsistent or less than forthcoming. Interviews with lots of people who have worked closely with Rice add critical balance as well (too bad George W. and Rummy aren't interviewed for this book).

Since so much has already been written about the Bush Presidency, some of Bumiller's material is repetitive of what we already know. I found the first half of the book about Rice's childhood and years at Stanford the most worthwhile, especially her childhood years in Birmingham. Although the trauma of the Birmingham church bombing in 1963 affected Rice (she was an acquaintance of one of the victims), what is remarkable is how her parents protected her from so many of the indignities of the segregated South. Her mother was a powerful force in contributing to the ambition and remarkable self confidenc Rice has always exhibited.

Bumiller is quite critical of Rice performance as national security adviser, especially regarding her failure to provide Bush with alternative viewpoints in the lead up to war in Iraq. She suggests that Rice's close personal relationship with Bush interfered with her professional responsibilities. She also is critical of Rice breaking longstanding national security adviser precedent and becoming "Karl's Aide-de-Camp" during the 2004 campaign.

My biggest disappointment with the book is that the personal side of the Condoleezza Rice story seems incomplete. In the last chapter the author quotes Laura Bush that because Rice has no close family (no spouse, no children, no living parents) she lacks the emotional support to ever be able to serve as president. One can't help but ask what kind of emotional support Rice had in the high powered positions she has served in with Bush.

Bumiller attempts to penetrate what makes Rice tick emotionally but comes up short. She suggests that Rice's passion for playing classical music provides a valuable respite from the pressure-cooker world of the White House and Foggy Bottom. But is this enough? I wish she had explored further the nature of the relationship between Rice and President Bush.

One other relationship worthy of further examination is Rice's one year relationship with Rick Upchurch, a member of the Denver Broncos. Upchurch's background and interests (except for football) are about as far apart from Rice's as possible. What explains this relationship? Bumiller defers for any serious exploration of Rice and Upchurch.

If journalism is the first draft of history, this biography is a valuable second draft. We need more time for the definitive book on Rice to be written but as the story of Condoleezza Rice continues to unfold, Bumiller has done an admirable job of understanding, especially on the professional side, one of the most intriguing figures of contemporary American politics.

QUITE AN EYE OPENING READ INTO THE LIFE OF A BLACK CHILD IN THE PREJUDICE SOUTH, WHO ATTAINS GREAT GOALS UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES. I NOW KNOW WHY SHE WAS PICKED FOR THE WHITEHOUSE AND DON'T THINK A BETTER PERSON COULD HAVE BEEN CHOSEN IN HER PLACE.A GREAT READ INTO CONDI'S LIFE AND VERY HEART WARMING.

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 can't wait to share with you my opinion.
I strongly recommend your family need to buy this book.
It is not only just an autobiography but also an excellent textbook.
I sincerely hope parents could be share this book with your children.

This is an excellent book for inner-city high school girls! Others as well, but that is the purpose for this purchase