Madam Secretary: A Biography of Madeleine Albright [Paperback]

Thomas Blood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 1999

No American envoy has ever burst on the diplomatic scene and grabbed center stage in the theater of foreign relations like Madeleine Albright. Navigating difficult terrain as few can, Thomas Blood provides exclusive interviews with, and revealing anecdotes from, politicians, friends, adversaries, and colleagues, including former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Senators Leahy, Mikulski, Kerrey, Helms, Reid, and Rockefeller, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt.

This unique biography reveals the dramatic story of the first woman U.S. Secretary of State. Rather than providing a simple chronology, Blood focuses on the defining moments in Madeleine Albright's life, identifying the periods that best open a window on the Secretary of State's uncanny ability to triumph over adversity, her unparalleled success in politics and her meteoric rise to dominance in the world of foreign policy.

From her family's thrilling escape from Czechoslovakia to her astounding rise to power to her victories and setbacks as the head of American foreign policy, Madeleine Albright's life unfolds like a major motion picture. An immensely readable biogrpahy that illuminates key experiences in Albright's career and personal life, Madam Secretary introduces us to Madeleine Albright the person, the politician, the policymaker-- a woman for our times.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Blood, CEO of a lobbying firm and a member of the Democratic National Committee, offers the first book-length account of the first woman appointed U.S. secretary of state. Focusing on the years Albright taught at Georgetown University through her high-profile tenure as United Nations ambassador, he gives excellent coverage to such matters as her role in the replacement of U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali and the behind-the-scenes events leading to her cabinet appointment. Though his account is detailed, Blood relies largely on newspaper and magazine interviews and articles for source material and does not give footnotes. For public libraries and women's studies collections.?Jill Ortner, SUNY at Buffalo
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A slapdash effort, lacking in critical perspective and reading like a background report for an ``Albright for President'' campaign. Blood, a lobbyist and trustee of the Democratic National Committee, is so gushing about his subject that he may have unwittingly created a new phenomenon: damning with great praise. For example, after Albright's appointment as UN representative, it is claimed that she ``singlehandedly transformed her post from mere messenger to chief architect and articulator of American foreign policy.'' Chief architect? Given this heady position it might seem difficult to explain foreign policy failures without tarnishing Albright's image, but when Blood looks at the Somalia fiasco, there is an answer, for she was ``proactively excluded from the policy-making process.'' The hyperbole is actually cranked up another notch upon her ascent to secretary of state: Blood claims that Albright is the first person since John F. Kennedy to establish a personal connection between American foreign policy and the rest of the world, and that ``people flock to see [her] like a rock star.'' By the end of the book one expects Albright to don a costume with a large S on the chest and fly off to save the world. Refusing to mention anything that could be characterized as criticism and recognizing only superior personal qualities is ultimately a disservice to Albright, however. She probably is a fine person and an outstanding public servant, but we all know that when issues are serious and complex, no person or policy can always be right; painting inherently gray material strictly in black-and- white only serves to irritate readers and leave them wondering about Albright as well as the author. If Albright is nearly as upright and moral as the person portrayed in this volume, she will surely be embarrassed by it. (24 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (July 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312195052
• ISBN-13: 978-0312195052
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,819,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Zero objectivity and could be better written, August 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Madam Secretary: A Biography of Madeleine Albright (Paperback)

Very disapointing. I picked up this book to find out about how Secretary Albright became what she is now. I was looking forward to reading about her upbringing, college years, and her climb up the diplomatic ranks. Instead, I read pages upon pages of flattering, completely subjective, congratulatory material that to me, seemed to serve only one purpose -- to show why Albright is the best Secretary of State American people have ever had and will ever have. The author is entitled to his own opinion, of course, but I would expect a more academic, probing, and interesting analysis of a great stateswoman's career in a definitive biography. Every sentence in this book is permeated with utter love and enthusiasm for the Clinton Administration and Secretary Albright, with a very little layer of objective examination of the subject at hand. I think I'll pick up a different biography of Madelaine Albright next time.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wished I'd returned the book, November 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Madam Secretary: A Biography of Madeleine Albright (Paperback)

I agree with the other reviewers. I, too, was looking forward to a critical and well-argued review of Albright's career. Instead, this book is page upon page of thin fawning and simplistic worship. Just for fun, I tried to find one single paragraph critical of Albright in the chapter on her relationship with Powell. I couldn't find one.

Where was the editor when this book was being written? Why was this author chosen to write this biography? Surely there must be credible authors able to recount a far more analytical and balanced story than Thomas Blood.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Saccharine waste of money, February 18, 2005

By 

Kate Owen (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Madam Secretary: A Biography of Madeleine Albright (Paperback)

I bought this book by mistake. Its title was the same and the cover is almost the same as the real thing ie Madeleine Albright's autobiography. The author is clearly a fan, so much so that it is full of saccharine platitudes and name dropping. I'll be looking more closely next time - particularly at anything published by St Martin's Griffin or authored by an uncritical Mr Blood.

Kate Owen