Readable biography

The biography covers the life of Condoleezza Rice from birth to her role as the first woman National Security Advisor. The story is well written and well researched and mostly covers the basic facts of her life.

Condi’s father, John Rice was a Presbyterian minister and academic, her mother was a pianist and teacher. She was born in segregated Birmingham Alabama in 1954. Felix explores Condi’s passions from football to music, weight training to Russia. The author covers Condi’s role as the first black woman and youngest person to become Provost of Stanford University. I found the fact that when Rice was a student of international affairs and Russian language at the University of Denver her mentor was professor Josef Korbell, the father of the first woman Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright most interesting.

The author in her research of the book included interviews with family, friends and colleagues of Rice but the major downside of the book in my opinion was that Felix did not interview Rice. What the book did was provided me with the desire to learn more about Condoleezza Rice. The author narrated her own book.

2 people found this helpful

An incredible woman!

I loved this biography. It's the type of story that will motivate you to do better for yourself.

Publicity stunt

When one reads "unauthorized biography" one expects at least minimal personal information. This is nothing but a prolonged press release. It is a long, long list of incredible accomplishments and successes and famous liaisons (not sexual ones - believe me she is completely virtuous). I'm hoping her own biography has at least a modicum of personal interest. The reader was fine. The content was interesting for about 5 minutes. Absolute perfection is absolutely boring.

A truely historic person

A very interesting biography of a true historic person. This book gives a lot of insight into the motivation and moral compass of Miss Rice, and how she brought herself out of the segregated south to a position of international prominence. I highly recomend this book.

An Inspiration for Everyone

Forget that Condi is a women - forget that she is black - this young woman's life should be an inspiration to everyone - it is the true fulfillment of all that is the "American Dream." The author tells the story of this remarkable world leader, and the family that made it possible in such an entertaining fashion that I didn't want it to stop. The story goes beyond the chronology of a life and dwells into the whys of the events that led from her humble but well loved beginnings in the segregated south to a respected leader in world politics, academics, and multinational corporate boardrooms with honorable mentions in football, ice skating, and classical music.

Side by side with the story of a true renaissance women is the story of her parents and grand parents that should be a required instruction manual for everyone who contemplates bringing new life into the world.

The only criticism I have is the sometimes mangled pronunciation by the author of a few world personalities and geographic locations.

3 people found this helpful

Great Audio Book

I loved listening to the life and times of Condi. She is a remarkable woman and very intelligent. She is a strong proponent for education and her example to go beyond the normal should be an inspiration to all of us. Also, her upbringing from insightful parents and family proved to be a great source of strength in Condi's life. I recommend this audio book to all ages.

4 people found this helpful

Needs More Balance

This is a great account of a truly remarkable woman. However this book lacks balance and sounds more like a biography produced by a publicist. It is all positive, with no negative comments, or even balanced critical appraisal of the world's most powerful woman. A more rounded view would only enhance what is a life of great achievement in overcoming obstacles along the way. Perhaps this abridged version left out the view from the other side.

1 person found this helpful