Digital List Price:	$22.99
Kindle Price:	$17.49 Save $5.50 (24%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Add Audible narration to your purchase for just $7.49

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot by [Jeffrey J. Matthews]

Follow the Author

Jeffrey J. Matthews

Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot Kindle Edition

by Jeffrey J. Matthews (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 116 ratings

Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$17.49

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

$7.95 with discounted Audible membership

Hardcover, Download: Adobe Reader

"Please retry"

$21.58

$16.51

$3.68

Paperback

"Please retry"

$21.76

$21.27

$27.29

Kindle
$17.49 Read with Our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your 3-Month Audible trial
Hardcover
$21.58

Other new and used from $3.68

26 Used from $3.68

20 New from $16.51
Paperback
$21.76

Other new and used from $21.27

2 Used from $27.29

10 New from $21.27

Great on Kindle

Great Experience. Great Value.

Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

For the past three decades, Colin Powell has been among America's most trusted and admired leaders. This biography demonstrates that Powell's decades-long development as an exemplary subordinate is crucial to understanding his astonishing rise from a working-class immigrant neighborhood to the highest echelons of military and political power.
Once an aimless, ambitionless teenager who barely graduated from college, Powell became an extraordinarily effective and staunchly loyal subordinate to many powerful superiors who, in turn, helped to advance his career. By the time Powell became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he had developed into the consummate follower--motivated, competent, composed, honorable, and independent. The quality of Powell's followership faltered at times, however, while in Vietnam, during the Iran-Contra scandal, and after he became George W. Bush's secretary of state. Powell proved a fallible patriot, and in the course of a long and distinguished career he made some grave and consequential errors in judgment. While those blunders do not erase the significance of his commendable achievements amid decades of public service, they are failures nonetheless.
Imperfect Patriot is the fascinating story of Powell's professional life, and of what we can learn from both his good and bad followership. The book is written for a broad readership, and will be of special interest to readers of military history, political biography, and leadership.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date

March 15, 2019
File size

1563 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Colin L. Powell
998
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $14.99
Karen DeYoung
89
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $9.99
Colin Powell
2,244
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $14.99
Oren Harari
150
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $5.99
Carl Bernstein
983
Kindle Edition
Editors' pickBest Biographies & Memoirs
1 offer from $12.99
Colin Powell
2,244
Kindle Edition with Audio/Video
1 offer from $10.99

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jeff Matthews's book. It is extremely thorough, nicely grounded in appropriate research, and is very well written. I can't think of a biographical work that focuses on aspects of leadership and followership in such consistent and illuminating detail. It's a page-turner."--George R. Goethals, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond

About the Author

Jeffrey J. Matthews is the George Frederick Jewett Distinguished Professor at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. He teaches American history and leadership, and has written or edited three previous books, including Blacksheep Leadership and The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07HCPYWMC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Notre Dame Press (March 15, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 15, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1563 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #815,217 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #327 in Biographies of the Vietnam War
- #838 in Iraq War History (Books)
- #1,315 in Biographies of Political Leaders

Customer Reviews:
4.6 116 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jeffrey J. Matthews

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Jeff Matthews is an award-winning professor of leadership and history at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. He is also a management consultant and a founding partner of the Camouflaj game studio in Bellevue, Washington. Jeff has twice earned Puget Sound’s Thomas A. Davis Teaching Award, and in 2009 was presented the President’s Teaching Excellence Award.

Jeff has published four books: Blacksheep Leadership (2012), Alanson B. Houghton: Ambassador of the New Era (2003) and The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell (2008, 2017), which was translated into Chinese for officer training in the Taiwanese Defense Department and required reading at the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot (2019). His newest book is Generals and Admirals, Criminals and Crooks: Dishonorable Leadership in the American Military (Notre Dame Press, 2023)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-j-matthews-279a446/

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

116 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Grammie

Giving to Youth Challenge Program

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

I purchased this as a gift for my grandson who is planning on joining the Military. He is almost done with the book and will give it to school library when he completes. He said it would be good for cadets and drill sergeants. Grammie says it’s a good book for all Americans to read especially Soldiers. “Soldier” is another good book about a great American, Colin Powell was a good man.

Helpful

FrankRasbury

A Peek Behind the Scenes

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

While Colin Powell has always been one of my heroes, it was refreshing to learn that he wasn't always "perfect" and that sometimes, even if rarely, he "second-guessed" himself (like most of us "ordinary" folks do) but still was able to "push through" to a desirable outcome. What was most enlightening was the insight into the machinations and in-fighting within the administration(s) as pertains to policy and diplomacy. He is still one of my heroes and I remember fondly meeting with him in his Pentagon office when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mike N.

Good read, a unique take on a great man's life.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

An interesting read, but the author seems to have a poor opinion of his subject. Starting from the beginning, he uses words like follower, and assigns a subordinate role to General Powell. He doesn't give him enough credit for his many accomplishments, and honors. He barely acknowledged his drive and sacrifice, and has a "glass half empty" attitude.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Laura Johnston Kohl

Colin Powell - So many great things about him - why give in to political pressure?

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a great book that doesn't skirt the obvious flaws in Colin Powell's role in the Bush Administration. It is thoughtful and honest. I appreciate that a scholar took on trying to decipher what happened, and why a person with such wide popularity and respect opted to succomb at such a pivotal time

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jim Peterson

New

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 31, 2019

Verified Purchase

The book was new as indicated.

Helpful

MJW

The best book on General Colin Powell I have read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 6, 2019

Having worked for General Powell at the White House when he was National Security Advisor, under President Reagan, and a big fan of his I was looking forward to reading Dr Matthews book. I have read A couple books about Gen Powell, including his autobiography and thoroughly enjoyed them. Professor Matthews book didn’t just regurgitate the same information we already knew about the General, but went into many of his decisions, both good and questionable through his entire career. Although Dr Matthews calls into question some of Gen Powell’s decisions and actions throughout his career, this book also highlighted the great decisions and actions that have made Gen Powell the American hero that most people know and admire. It was extremely well researched and documented using Gen Powell’s personal papers, public documentation and a personal interview with Gen Powell. Although the book goes into in depth detail of these decisions and actions, it is extremely well written and easy to read and follow. Anyone interested in Gen Powell and/or military history should definitely read this book!

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

David Watson

Not just for history junkies.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 1, 2019

What an incredibly well researched and thoughtful book. It’s an honest look at a person that served our country so faithfully for several decades and you really appreciate the human behind the medals. I highly recommend this book.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jennifer D Grimes

Wonderful mam

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

Always the Best of the best

Helpful

Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?

Report

Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?

Report

Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?

Report

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the Author

Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot Kindle Edition

Customers who read this book also read

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Jeffrey J. Matthews

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.