Book - Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family

Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family

by Condoleezza Rice, Crown Publishing, 352 pp

I enjoyed this inspiring book. The prose was elegant yet simple to understand.

Condoleezza (derived from a musical term meaning “with sweetness”) Rice grew up in Titusville, Birmingham, Alabama, when blacks were deeply segregated and she recalled that "daily life was full of demeaning reminders of the 2nd-class citizenship accorded to the blacks". Throughout the 1950's, Birmingham was an environment where blacks were expected to keep their head down and do what they were told -- or face violent consequences. They were not allowed into swimming pools, amusement parks, and not to mention the white schools and hospitals and many other places.

The African-American woman who served as a national security adviser and Secretary of State under George W. Bush, grew up with high expectations and determined insistence on excellence and hard-work from her God fearing parents who "never tolerated victimhood". So she has to "be twice as good".

This book is a loving tribute to her deceased parents.

Her father, John, a Presbyterian minister and educator, instilled in her a love of sports and politics.  From him, she learned she could achieve whatever she desired. Her mother, a systematic and demanding school teacher, launched Condoleezza academically, developed her passion for piano and exposed her to the fine arts.  From both, Condoleezza learned the value of faith in the face of hardship and the importance of giving back to the community.

Her parents’ fierce unwillingness to set limits propelled her to the venerable halls of Stanford University, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the university’s second-in-command.  An expert in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs, she played a leading role in U.S. policy as the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union disintegrated.  Less than a decade later, at the apex of the hotly contested 2000 presidential election, she received the exciting news – just shortly before her father’s death – that she would go on to the White House as the first female National Security Advisor.

This is the story of Condoleezza Rice that has never been told, not that of an ultra-accomplished world leader, but of a little girl – and a young woman -- trying to find her place in a sometimes hostile world and of two exceptional parents, and a supportive extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) and community, that made all the difference. And not forgetting the church who provided the final pillar of support.

Hardly a word about her White House stint, but many photos in the book.

About the Author
CONDOLEEZZA RICE was the 66th United States Secretary of State and the first black woman to ever hold that office.  Prior to that, she was the first woman to serve as National Security Advisor.  She currently teaches at Stanford University.