Madam Secretary
Author: Madeleine Albright
The New York Times best-selling memoir of former secretary of state now in paperback.
In this outspoken and much-praised memoir, the highest-ranking woman in American history shares her remarkable story and provides an insider's view of world affairs during a period of unprecedented turbulence. A national bestseller on its first publication in 2003, Madam Secretary combines warm humor with profound insights and personal testament with fascinating additions to the historical record. Includes a new preface written especially for this edition.
Madeleine Albright, born in Prague, was confirmed as the sixty-fourth secretary of state in 1997. Her distinguished career in government includes positions in the National Security Council, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and on Capitol Hill. She lives in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
Walter Russell Mead
Madeleine Albright, who rose from comparative obscurity as a daughter of Czech Jewish émigrés to become the first female secretary of state and thereby the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government, has given us the memoirist's equivalent of a tease. She lets readers see something of the private and rather endearing woman behind the public faзade and discreetly lets slip a few facts about her personal and emotional life, but Madame Secretary is a controlled performance, not a confessional. — The Washington Post
The New York Times
Work harder, be tougher, have fun. That could be Madeleine Albright's mantra in work and in life. Now she has given us her memoir, although it is unlike any other by a secretary of state. She tried on the memoirs of her predecessors for size, and they just didn't fit...It will make a great Mother's Day present.—Elaine Sciolino
The New Yorker
This memoir by America’s first female Secretary of State is a deeply conventional book, full of long accounts of negotiations and reflections on the proper uses of American power. Albright is not out to settle scores (her criticisms of colleagues are mild at worst) and seems, on balance, pleased with the foreign-policy record of the Clinton Administration. This might have made a dull book, were it not for Albright’s appealing character—personally ingenuous but professionally sophisticated, earnest but hard-nosed. Her eye for details—clothing, food, travel conditions—helps bring the diplomat’s world to life, and her portraits of foreign leaders are lively and evocative. The result is a book that creates a sense of policy made by real people, not by world-bestriding titans.
Publishers Weekly
As one might expect from someone with Albright's resume, the former Secretary of State speaks clearly, makes her points succinctly and doesn't stray into speculation, fancy or whimsy. She begins with her childhood in an intellectual Czechoslovakian family and moves fairly quickly through her education, courtship, marriage and motherhood before arriving at what can be considered the guts of the story-her impressive period of service as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and, eventually, as Secretary of State. Her no-nonsense tone is a perfect match for the material, her voice at once serious and warmly maternal. There are a few times when emotion seeps into her voice: when discussing her heated run-ins with Colin Powell or when relating details of the Kenyan embassy bombings and mass graves in Bosnia. An early passage in which she tells of the poor health of her twin babies and how she didn't want to name them until she knew they would survive is particularly moving. Such moments are necessarily rare in a memoir of this nature, but they help paint a well-rounded picture of this remarkable lady. Simultaneous release with the Miramax hardcover (Forecasts, Sept. 15). (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Albright, as Secretary of State the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States, recounts her life as a refugee fleeing the Nazis and then the Communists; as a new immigrant to the United States at age 11; her marriage into the prominent Guggenheim family and her painful divorce; and the life-altering discovery of her Jewish heritage. She also illuminates her remarkable public persona and her friendships and battles with world leaders such as Vaclav Havel, Vladimir Putin, Slobodan Milosevic, Hillary Clinton, and Kim Jong-il. Albright narrates her book in a strong, clear, and convincing voice. Recommended for public and academic libraries and for patrons with a strong interest in politics and world affairs.-Ilka Gordon, Marcell Community Lib., Cleveland Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Look this: Das Stellen der Moralherausforderungen der Führung: Licht werfend oder Schatten
We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah
Author: Patrick K ODonnell
The platoon included four pairs of best friends. Each of the four would lose a best friend forever.Five months after being deployed to Iraq, Lima Company’s 1st Platoon found itself in Fallujah, embroiled in some of the most intense house-to-house, hand-to-hand combat since World War II. Civilians were used as human shields or as bait to lure soldiers into buildings rigged with explosives; suicide bombers approached from every corner hoping to die and take Americans with them; radical insurgents, high on adrenaline, fought to the death. The Marines of the 1st Platoon (part of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment) were among the first to fight in Fallujah, and they bore the brunt of this epic battle. When it was over, the platoon had suffered thirty-five casualties, including four dead.This is their story.Award-winning author and historian Patrick O’Donnell stood shoulder-to-shoulder with this modern band of brothers as they marched and fought through the streets of Fallujah, and he stayed with them as the casualties mounted. O’Donnell captures not only the sights, sounds, and smells of the gritty street combat, but also the human drama of young men in a close-knit platoon fighting for their lives-and the lives of their buddies. We Were One chronicles the 1st Platoon’s story, from its formation at Camp Pendleton in California to its near destruction in the smoldering ruins of Fallujah.We Were One is an unforgettable portrait of the new “Greatest Generation.”With 16 pages of extraordinary photographs from the front lines of the Battle for Fallujah.
Marine Corps Gazette
Destined to be a classic of urban close combat and honors the memory of all who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Military Illustrated
An exhilarating and instructive read.
Midwest Book Review
Capture[s] vivid encounters between soldiers and civilians and re-create[s] loss and combat conditions.
Publishers Weekly
Military historian O'Donnell (Into the Rising Sun) embedded himself in the 1st Platoon of Lima Company, 1st Marine Regiment. His book describes its training and deployment to Iraq in 2004, where the platoon patrolled, fended off guerrilla attacks and finally "fought bravely and died in the Iraq War's fiercest battle" in Fallujah. Most of the book is a detailed, blow-by-blow description of the brutal street fighting, during which nearly the entire unit became casualties. As the author portrays them, these Marines were heroes and warriors with only macho flaws, such as heavy drinking or practical joking, while their enemies are simply terrorists. Maintaining that our troops fight because they love America and their buddies, but their opponents fight because they are drug-addled, suicidal maniacs, the author forgets what every military buff knows: one cannot be a great warrior without a worthy opponent. Like many embedded reporters, O'Donnell appears to have fallen in love with his subjects, adding to the growing genre of worshipful, jingoistic battle narratives about Iraq. Though these Marines fought with great courage and the details of their battle make gripping reading, the author's uncritical cheerleading reduces their accomplishment to fantasy heroics. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Recollections of action by U.S. Marines who fought in the Iraq War's fiercest battle. Military writer O'Donnell joined up partway through the battle for Fallujah with a unit from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and accompanied them through several days until the notorious Iraqi city, with its denizens of insurgent fighters, was pulverized. The bulk of the book, the author explains, is based on "corroborated oral history interviews which have been vetted." They were gleaned principally from surviving members of the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, nominated by O'Donnell as the troops having "seen the worst" of what was obviously a horrendous experience for anyone involved-some 14 of its original 45 members were left standing at the close of hostilities. Given those definitive circumstances, it is clear that he writes for no purpose other than to reflect the fullest possible credit on the individuals he happened to be embedded with. They are portrayed as uniformly dedicated and patriotic, bonded by a hatred of the enemy mujahadin and the overriding desire to protect one another and do the Corps proud. Some "love combat," while others have been able to overcome fear through indoctrination. The descriptions of urban warfare are graphic and grisly; most encounters result in at least one disfigured corpse (sometimes that of a Marine). A redundant line of justification reminds the reader that insurgents fight dirty, don't follow any of the rules of war and use civilians as shields, and that Marines in Iraq are often handicapped by engagement rules stemming from biased or inaccurate media coverage, etc. Clearly reflects valor and courage, but this is hardly "history" as most understand it.
What People Are Saying
Carlo D'Este
We Were One is a dramatic tale of courage, hardship and the extraordinarily difficult challenges faced by a gallant Marine unit in one of the world's most deadly places. Patrick O'Donnell brilliantly and compassionately recounts the story of our American sons called upon to fight, bleed, die, and survive in a hostile land.
—Carlo D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius For War
Hampton Sides
Here in these gripping pages is the Iraq War's fiercest battle, seen from the adrenaline-charged vantage of a few Marine buddies who are part of the next "Greatest Generation." We Were One is feelingly narrated by an intrepid war historian who risked his own life to capture every raw minute of their story.
—Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers
Bing West
A magnificent tale of combat-mixing valor, grit, love, blood and sacrifice. This book defines what it means to be a Marine grunt.
—Bing West, author of The March Up and No True Glory
Willy Buhl
Pat O'Donnell was with us on the ground in Fallujah-house to house. His story is historically accurate and describes the greatest personal and professional test of our lives. We Were One is destined to be a classic of urban close combat, and honors the memory of all who made the ultimate sacrifice for their brother Marines. I am deeply thankful that Pat kept his oath to Lima Company.
—LtCol Willy Buhl, CO Task Force 3/1, Operation AL FAJR
J. N. Mattis
As an embedded journalist in an Infantry Platoon, O'Donnell paints an authentic picture of our Nation's most precious assets--the Marine Riflemen--engaged in one of their fiercest fights. We Were One is a gritty, boots-on-the-ground account that enables readers to witness the overwhelming will and courage of Marines as they move against the enemy.
—J.N. Mattis, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force
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