Madam Secretary

Amid an increasingly unpredictable global climate, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s memoir Madam Secretary offers a fascinating glimpse into the vital contributions women can make to the field of international diplomacy. With warmth, humility, and wit, Albright looks back on the events that brought her from young Czechoslovak refugee to mother of three, Georgetown University professor, and finally the highest ranking woman in United States history.

Although she alludes to her pro-choice views and her version of some political events is predictably slanted, Albright provides a detailed and candid analysis of the diplomatic successes and failures of the Clinton administration, as well as the major conflicts and challenges (including North Korea) that have shaped the current global landscape. Her impressions of global leaders, including Vladmir Putin, Kim Jong-Il, and Yasser Arafat are particularly interesting. With a great deal of humor, Albright includes several anecdotes about the joys and difficulties of being a lady in a male-dominated field, as well as her quest to balance her work and family.

By embracing rather than downplaying her unique perspective as a woman, Madeleine Albright imbued her position with a remarkable intelligence, courage, and humanizing touch that would eventually make her one of the most respected figures in the diplomatic arena.