- Paperback: 355 pages
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA); Reprint edition (11 Oct 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0307888479
- ISBN-13: 978-0307888471
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 2.1 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 949,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Condoleezza Rice has excelled as a diplomat, political scientist, and concert pianist. Her achievements run the gamut from helping to oversee the collapse of communism in Europe and the decline of the Soviet Union, to working to protect the country in the aftermath of 9-11, to becoming only the second woman - and the first black woman ever -- to serve as Secretary of State.
But until she was 25 she never learned to swim.
Not because she wouldn't have loved to, but because when she was a little girl in Birmingham, Alabama, Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor decided he'd rather shut down the city's pools than give black citizens access.
Throughout the 1950's, Birmingham's black middle class largely succeeded in insulating their children from the most corrosive effects of racism, providing multiple support systems to ensure the next generation would live better than the last. But by 1963, when Rice was applying herself to her fourth grader's lessons, the situation had grown intolerable. Birmingham was an environment where blacks were expected to keep their head down and do what they were told -- or face violent consequences. That spring two bombs exploded in Rice’s neighborhood amid a series of chilling Klu Klux Klan attacks. Months later, four young girls lost their lives in a particularly vicious bombing.
So how was Rice able to achieve what she ultimately did?
Her father, John, a minister and educator, instilled a love of sports and politics. Her mother, a teacher, developed Condoleezza’s passion for piano and exposed her to the fine arts. From both, Rice learned the value of faith in the face of hardship and the importance of giving back to the community. Her parents’ fierce unwillingness to set limits propelled her to the venerable halls of Stanford University, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the university’s second-in-command. An expert in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs, she played a leading role in U.S. policy as the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union disintegrated. Less than a decade later, at the apex of the hotly contested 2000 presidential election, she received the exciting news – just shortly before her father’s death – that she would go on to the White House as the first female National Security Advisor.
As comfortable describing lighthearted family moments as she is recalling the poignancy of her mother’s cancer battle and the heady challenge of going toe-to-toe with Soviet leaders, Rice holds nothing back in this remarkably candid telling. This is the story of Condoleezza Rice that has never been told, not that of an ultra-accomplished world leader, but of a little girl – and a young woman -- trying to find her place in a sometimes hostile world and of two exceptional parents, and an extended family and community, that made all the difference.
From the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this and thought it would be rather political. To my surprise it is mainly historic and does not give into the normal partisan politics.
This is instead a great read about the normal upbringing of a person who later became prominent in the media as the secretary of state.
I really enjoyed this book and the insightful look at the Rice family and life in America during the second half of the 20th century.
This is instead a great read about the normal upbringing of a person who later became prominent in the media as the secretary of state.
I really enjoyed this book and the insightful look at the Rice family and life in America during the second half of the 20th century.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
80 reviews
66 of 73 people found the following review helpful
An Inspiring Story, Beautifully Told
13 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
How do you raise someone to not only succeed against daunting odds, but to do so with grace and poise? How do you raise a person of character, someone who combines authority and confidence with a winsome personal humility?
Condoleezza Rice has penned a candid, revealing look at the origins of her personal journey. Here is a woman of great accomplishment who is also relaxed and open about her frailties, her struggles and her doubts. The story itself is remarkable, yet what shines in these pages is the author's ease and capacity in telling it. This is a well-crafted work, written by someone who clearly loves to read.
One need not be Republican, or female, or a Stanford alum in order to value this impressive new book. One need only be a citizen of the world in this 21st century --- a world illuminated by policies and strategies shaped in part by this remarkable Secretary of State (among her other high-ranking offices).
An inspiring story, beautifully told!
Dr. David Frisbie
The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
Del Mar, California
Condoleezza Rice has penned a candid, revealing look at the origins of her personal journey. Here is a woman of great accomplishment who is also relaxed and open about her frailties, her struggles and her doubts. The story itself is remarkable, yet what shines in these pages is the author's ease and capacity in telling it. This is a well-crafted work, written by someone who clearly loves to read.
One need not be Republican, or female, or a Stanford alum in order to value this impressive new book. One need only be a citizen of the world in this 21st century --- a world illuminated by policies and strategies shaped in part by this remarkable Secretary of State (among her other high-ranking offices).
An inspiring story, beautifully told!
Dr. David Frisbie
The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
Del Mar, California
66 of 76 people found the following review helpful
My parents too!
12 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
Very well written, insightful and deeply personal. She has the megaphone to tell the story that I wish I could tell about my parents and family. Core attributes that today's society desperately needs... parenting, support, and unconditional love. Thank you Secretary Rice for sharing with us the moving story of your life and your extraordinary, ordinary parents!
Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family
Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family
49 of 57 people found the following review helpful
a truly inspirational life
12 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
Condoleezza Rice's memoir is warm and open and full of her love for her remarkable parents. What a beautifully told life, and what an inspiration to follow your passion.
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