Customer Reviews

Vernon Can Read!: A Memoir

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Until reading this uncommonly personal and revealing memoir, I knew very little about Jordan the human being although I was already well-aware of his public career which includes leadership positions in the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, and the Urban League as well as subsequent prominence in the private sector as (for lack of a better term) a "powerbroker" in Washington, D.C. while continuing to serve on the governing boards of several major corporations. Unfairly, I think, he is most widely recognized as the friend to whom then President Clinton turned for assistance when attempting to help Monica Lewinsky obtain a job after that scandal began to unfold. In this memoir, however, Jordan limits his attention to the years ending in 1981 when he resigned from the Urban League. Whatever differences there may be between him and Jack Welch (obviously there are several), both men credit their mothers with giving them the values, determination, and encouragement needed as they took on progressively greater challenges while encountering progressively more formidable obstacles. I was especially interested in Jordan's straightforward explanation of his differences with other black leaders, notably his determination to work within the economic system (capitalism) to achieve social and political objectives. He also disagreed with those black leaders who supported the Palestinian cause and thereby exacerbated black-Jewish relations. Jordan seems to be a consummate pragmatist, determined to produce desired results (e.g. a higher standard of living and a better quality of life for all have-nots, whatever their race) rather than merely indulge in self-serving rhetoric and public posturing (e.g. conducting press conferences in conjunction with crises to generate personal publicity). In this book, he shares dozens of anecdotes without at any time seeming self-serving. "Vernon can read!" but he also knows how to forge alliances, to open and then nourish channels of communication and cooperation, and -- in process --to celebrate his own humanity in ways and to an extent no resume could possibly indicate. If and when he deems it appropriate and is so inclined, I hope Jordan will shift his attention to the last 20 years and again discuss his experiences, not as a public figure but as a man with much of value to share.

In finishing Vernon Jordan's book, I'm impressed by the fact of how important memoir's are to our culture. He is a black man who has not only done very well, but one who also has lived well by virtue of the fact that he began life within the warmth and care of two very nurturing parents who had the wisdom to cultivate his best talents, and those of his siblings, no doubt. As a Christian family, the values imparted were purposeful, deep and rooted in the dignity of equality even while social inequities were a part of our American life. That strength has seen him though the vagaries which always accompany the offensiveness of that inequity that alone can produce the injustice which undermines entire lives. There is little doubt that his has been a life of reserve and limited self expression within the context of the larger world upon that rise to esteem he has worked so hard and so humbly to achieve, and he acknowledges the fortunate guidance and commitment of his wonderful mother whose pride is unmatched as only a mother's can be. Under her tutelage and that of his dad, he has had the good fortune to meet and marry two wonderful women who've provided him with the care, intimacy and support his mother taught him to expect because he deserved that. Through that love, the beginnings of strength flower into a tolerance for life that can supercede hardships to enable the radiance of such warmth and excellence to be noticed by others and embraced by them for the benefit of others, confident in one's own purpose and direction. Part of his charm is that he lived during a time, obviously, when women were respected for their value and their ways, and men were willing to work for that privilege of romance and companionship that makes for healthy and committed relationships. It is particularly striking in that these qualities are seen in the life of a black man rather than where we are conditioned to view it, in a white man. That fact greatly enhances the value of his memoir to the African American population who have had few role models at so high a level of business, law, government and politics. Much of his success appears to be due to his incredible ability for self reflection along with the ability to make decisions that work in the wider world as he was able to define it for himself always keeping his mother (and others) as his chief confidant in her belief of his potential. It also shows the value of human potential through that love and confidence and its ability to transform our lives despite setbacks. It's a very worthy and candid look inside a world few can glimpse but many can learn from, and should be an inspiration to all of those who embark upon his journey through his revelations. To whites, it should dispel myths and satisfy curiosities about the reliability and excellence of executives in people of color, and show that it is the style, character and personality of the person rather than the color of the skin that is the real difference.

At one point Vernon reflects on a gathering of contemporaries during the 1970s. Asked to speak openly about himself and his emotions during a gathering (Author quips~ in a very seventies fashion) Vernon got so fed up at the gathering and being asked to open up to others that he said "This isn't going to happen" got up and left. And I think the same mentality carried oven when Vernon Can Read was written. Mr Jordan never had the propensity to open up and let the reader feel emotionally involved in this book, and in his life. As we watched him hop job to job and talk in acronyms(for entirely too long), we got a very two dimensional character, as if we were being led on a slide show of Vernon's life. He comes off as being brash, self-important and rude in some spots, but the reader never got to appreciate his rudeness or infact to really get to know him. His reputation led me to read the book, but this was also the downfall of Vernon Can Read, the author tried to uphold his reputation while witholding frankness and vulnerability. In the end I was left clamoring for the guy who got drunk at Katherine Graham's house and was belting out tunes with Clinton (picture in the Book), but instead I got a lawyer showing slides of his life.

This book is an unfortunate piece of near puffery: much form, much superficiality, little substance. But what does one expect from a Power Broker? Truth or Dare?

In keeping with the unwritten Power Broker Creed, Mr.Jordan reveals very little about the inside mechanations that made him who he is (as opposed to who he was). That is to say, the book speaks volumes about those life experiences that made Vernon Jordan the moderate civil rights leader he was years ago, but says exactly nothing about the transition from that leadership role, to the man who had the president's ear (not to mention the man who kept his secrets)and the ear of the REAL powerful people in this global econonmy: the corporate mavens for whom Vernon was (is?) paid handsomely to dish out advice and counsel to.

We never hear in any detail about how Jordan quietly but persistently accumulated the power he achieved and, indeed, what motivated him in this pursuit. And no, I was not interested in any Monica dirt: Monica and the whole presidential thing, was (and is) beside the point when it comes to a rigorous Jordan analysis. That whole episode merely served as a template (and not a particularly good one) for the kind of back scratchery at high level that Jordan has been doing for years.

But then again, what does one expect? People like Jordan (and mind you, I am a big fan of his)live by the aforementioned unspoken creed: power is best accumulated and exercised quietly. Thus, one does not reveal the secrets of the kingdom to just any average reader (by the way Vernon, what really does go on at those Bildeberg confrences?).

We will not get the whole unexpurgated version of Jordan's life until some biographer decides to swim against currents and put one together.

Those of us interested in reading something much more telling than Jordan's superficial telling of the story of his life will have to wait. Just as we similarly anxiously awaited biographical treatments of other quiet power brokers in the Clark Clifford, Tommy "the cork" mode (the wait is soon over for those of us interested in Tommy the cork and, thanks to the same author, was over several years ago for a good analysis of Clifford's life. CLifford's own biography, Counsel to the President, left much to be desired, too).

As a high school to college level autobiographical treatment of the life of an important figure in post-world war II america, Vernon Can Read suffices. As anything deeper, it does not.

Vernon can certainly Read, but what Vernon wrote certainly leaves alot to be desired.

I love history and this was a wonderful walk through history. I actally lived these episodes along with Vernon Jordan as have millions of other Americans. I'm a year younger than Mr. Jordan so we traveled many of the same experiences. His was a little toughter than mine as I was born in the west, but not that much different as I'm still black.

His book is refreshing and cleared up a lot of rumors I'd heard about him through the years. It was wonderful to learn of his devotions to his wife Shirley. I too did the Madison and shook many a tail feather back in the day.

I'm proud of Vernon Jordan and I'm proud of his accomplishments. I am in politics and wish I had been as wise as he was and is, because pro bono gets tired after while. But somebody's got to do it, sometimes.

He has been a wise man and had wise and wonderful counsel from his parents and friends. Glad he was able to separate the wheaat from the chaff though. I just loved the book and will recommend it to everyone. I have some Caucasian acquaintainces who need to read it. Perhaps they will recognize themselves in some of the portraits Vernon has painted. They are still practicing the same stuff.

Good book. In fact I ordered it on tape but couldn't wait for it to arrive. I'm going to give the tape as a gift to someone else. I had to get the book and read it. Did it in two days. Clever and wonderful title! Annette Gordon-Reed helped him do an excellent job.

This book is both interesting and frustrating. It is interesting because of the information it gives about life for African Americans in Georgia prior to the end of Jim Crow. And for the information Jordan provides about starting out practicing law in Georgia with attorney Donald Hollowell.

After that it becomes frustrating because of all it leaves out. And once you read interviews with Vernon Jordan about why he wrote "Vernon Can Read," you understand something about his character. It appears that the sole reason he wrote the book is because so many Caucasians had never heard of him prior to the election of Bill Clinton as president (and the Monica Lewinsky scandal), and he wanted to let them know he had an entire career history before Clinton was even heard of...

I saw on television part of a lecture the author gave at UC and was very impressesd with him and wanted to read his book. The highlights of his life given in the lecture covered the only interesting parts of the book, his childhood. The book is poorly written which might be acceptable if he wrote it alone, but he didn't, he had help. His childhood experiences growing up in a segregated society are interesting and his perspectives on segregation are, too, but once he graduates from law school he moves from one position to the next, seemingly moving up by being the right person in the right place at the right time knowing the right people. He must have been capable and a hard worker to handle those positions and, clearly, he learned people skills but there is nothing to indicate his thoughts or positions on any of the issues with which he was confronted except in the most general way. Nothing comes across as showing him as being inspiring, charismatic, or even interesting other than his being where he was, with the people he connected with and the times he participated in. The people he dealt with were giants, Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley as two examples in the legal profession, but he gives no insights into any of these people or even interesting anecdotes. Just a list of who they were. His reportage of his contacts with the Clintons, early on, after Bill lost his bid for re-election to the Governorship was that he told them that Hillary should stop using her maiden name and start using Clinton and when she did Bill got re-elected. There is absolutely no sense of the man, or of his contemporaries or, even, really, his times. Having lived through most of them, myself, I can place his story in the context of the times but for younger readers without a sense of the historical context it can't seem very inspiring. I'm glad I didn't buy the book but only borrowed it from the public library.

As an American white male of similar age and childhood circumstance as Mr. Jordan, I looked forward to reading the "secrets of his success" with considerable anticipation. Unfortunately, I came away only partly satisfied. The first third of the book, covering his childhood and college education, is excellent. There were spots where I actually laughed out loud, and many more where I nodded my head in concurrence with his apt description of the times and attitudes. However, when the book entered into his working career, it became much more superficial, and was almost a recitation of his resume, with very little personal insight. Additionally, there was little contextual reference to the circumstances of the times: he worked for the NAACP in the '60's, but there is not much sense of the "feel" for being inside one of the premier Civil Rights movements in that tumultuous era. The narrative is descriptive, but not compelling, and curiously flat and emotionless. What is worst, I think, is that we all KNOW that Vernon Jordan is a very accomplished man, and a skilled communicator. This book, especially the latter half, does not bear that out: he comes across as an aggressive careerist, ever seeking higher level positons. That Mr. Jordan actually reached those positions, and by all accounts, served in them well, clearly suggests that there is much more to him than this book relates. The book trails off in the 1980's, so we can only hope that the next installment in this gifted American's life story will finally allow him to open up to the reader and provide more insights into the underlying beliefs, motivation and aims that led him to his successes.

I also never heard of Vernon Jordan before the Lewinsky scandal. I am very glad I read this book. It is a shame that many Americans never heard of his interesting and enlightening story about coming of age in the civil rights era. That seems to me to be the theme of this book, that the civil rights era opened the doors to places of power not dreamed of before, if only one had the ambition and the character to find them.

Like a few other reviewers, I also wish that the author revealed more about the period between when he was in charge of the Urban League. This period is when he made his contacts with very many powerful people in charge of corporations and institutions, received a fellowship at Harvard Business School, and started on his way to become a 'power broker'. I guess if you read between the lines the corporate/foundation contacts made him beholden to the business community, and then retiring from the Urban League to work for a powerful Washington law firm gave him a 'power broker' title. But its not really enough to make the connection, is it? And what about those Bilderberg meetings, Vernon? We would like to know more.

Vernon Jordan was passionate about his work. Unfortunately, none of that passion is conveyed to the reader. Simply stating his accomplishments, interspersed with his exposure to the "Who's Who" of the civil rights movement, and a sprinkling of anecdotes doesn't convey the depth of the man. Although the book is informative, it lacks depth and leaves us wondering who Vernon Jordan really is.