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 façade 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.
From the Publisher
One of the most diverting political bios in recent memory.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Her portraits of foreign leaders are lively and evocative. . . . The result is a book that creates a sense of policy made by real people.” — The New Yorker
“Madeleine Albright has written a different kind of memoir. . . . It’s Albright unplugged.” — USA Today
“Albright is frank, assertive. . . . straight-shooting.” — The New York Times
“The fascinating story of a remarkable person who has served her country well.” — The Dallas Morning News
Entertainment Weekly
One of the most diverting political bios in recent memory.
The Dallas Morning News
The fascinating story of a remarkable person who has served her country well.
USA Today
Madeleine Albright has written a different kind of memoir. . . . It’s Albright unplugged.
The New Yorker
Her portraits of foreign leaders are lively and evocative. . . . The result is a book that creates a sense of policy made by real people.
USA Today
Madeleine Albright has written a different kind of memoir. . . . It’s Albright unplugged.
The New York Times
Albright is frank, assertive. . . . straight-shooting.
