Product Description

The first full biography of Colin Powell, from his Bronx childhood to his military career to his controversial tenure as secretary of state, with a new afterword detailing his life after the Bush White House.

Over the course of a lifetime of service to his country, Colin Powell became a national hero, a beacon of wise leadership and one of the most trusted political figures in America. In Soldier, the award-winning Washington Post editor Karen DeYoung takes us from Powell’s humble roots as the son of Jamaican immigrants to his meteoric rise through the military ranks during the Cold War and Desert Storm to his agonizing deliberations over whether to run for president. Culminating in his stint as Secretary of State in the Bush Administration and his role in making the case for war with Iraq, this is a sympathetic but objective portrait of a great but fallible man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #311672 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-06
• Released on: 2007-11-06
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 9.20" h x 1.30" w x 6.05" l, 1.75 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Washington Post reporter DeYoung covers Powell's entire career in this nuanced, comprehensively researched first complete biography to bring to life the Jamaican immigrants' son who became chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretary of state and a widely supported potential candidate for president. DeYoung presents her subject as above all a soldier, with an ethic of honor and service shaped by his career in the U.S. Army, during which he brought a combination of intellectual force and moral courage to his senior military appointments that distinguished him among his contemporaries. DeYoung, who obtained six in-depth interviews with Powell, explains that he wrestled with whether or not he had the duty to run for president in 2000, but ultimately realized he didn't want the presidency from the "depth of [his] stomach or soul." She correspondingly demonstrates that his continuing commitment to public service drove his ascension to secretary of state—a commitment that was strained to the limit during Powell's four years in office. DeYoung paints a favorable but balanced portrait of Powell, and she avoids using him as an instrument for Bush-bashing. Powell emerges from her account as a person who grew to meet his wider responsibilities. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct. 10)
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From AudioFile
No one epitomizes the American dream more than Colin Powell, the son of immigrants who rose to the highest levels of government through his own talent and hard work. Yet as a black man in America, Powell did not escape the sting of racism. But the overarching theme of this biography of Powell is learning from experience--especially his tours of duty in Vietnam and his early tenure as a White House staff member. Roscoe Orman is solid as the reader. His tone is even, without being reverential or bombastic. His reading is easy to listen to and makes the material flow. The abridgment is choppy in the early portions. For example, the author discusses a blind date Powell went on, and in what seems the same paragraph, Powell heads to Vietnam for the first time. It's smoother for the later years, especially during his time as Secretary of State. Orman gives a good presentation of DeYoung's biography. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Despite the slight tarnish to Powell's reputation following revelations that his earnest testimony before the UN in support of the war on Iraq was mostly baseless, he remains one of the most trusted figures in the U.S. Washington Post editor DeYoung offers an absorbing look at Powell's long journey from the son of Jamaican immigrants to one of the most powerful and esteemed soldiers and statesmen of our time. DeYoung details Powell's challenges in a 35-year career to overcome racial restrictions and to navigate the cultures of military and civilian life as well as politics. Powell eventually gained a status that often superseded issues of race and made him a frequent object of speculation as vice president and even president. Through a series of powerful positions from national security advisor under Reagan to Secretary of State under the current Bush, Powell was in the midst of controversies from the first Gulf War to the current war in Iraq. Readers will, no doubt, be most interested in the later chapters of the book that detail Powell's mounting reservations about the Bush policy in Iraq and visceral tensions with other powerful--and considerably more hawkish--advisors, including Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, eventually leading to Powell's resignation. A thoroughly engrossing look at a man of uncommon duty and loyalty who has held his tongue at some cost to his reputation. Vanessa Bush
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