Download Audio Books from Audible.

Customer reviews

5 star		81%
4 star		12%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Book Lover

The 800 pound gorilla

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2019

Verified Purchase

I wanted to like this book, I really did. My priors were that Samantha Power is an interesting, intelligent, and well-intentioned person. Which I continue to believe. And I agree with the majority of the comments, that the book is well written.

However, and this is a big however, she reveals what to me seems a huge blind spot, on the order of those exhibited by one of her mentors, Richard Holbrooke.

The blind spot is this. Ms. Power consistently praises the US for its diversity, while she consistently criticizes various other countries for genocide. What is wrong with this? It is certainly not wrong to criticize genocide! What is wrong is to ignore the important link between diversity and genocide. Genocide is an extreme response by governments to minorities in their populations from which the majority differs in some important way. Without those differences -- which can be ideological, religious, political, or racial -- there is no basis for persecution or discrimination of any sort of the minority(ies) by the majority, let alone for the extreme response of genocide. In short, diversity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for discrimination of all sorts, up to and including genocide. This is one lesson of history, and the examples are simply too many to ignore.

In short, Ms. Power appears to advocate diversity within nations as a purely good thing, while history teaches us that such diversity is a best a mixed bag. And so, Ms. Power appears to be asserting that governments can, going forward, constrain their citizens to react differently than citizens of the past have repeatedly done in the face of racial and other differences between them, which is to cluster in tribes and to distrust strangers. In short, she expects that governments are capable of altering basic human nature. That is one VERY optimistic assumption. It is especially problematic when one considers that ALL forms of government, not limited to democracy, provide strong incentives for those in power to cater to the power blocs in their populations in order to maintain control. And one way to do that, a way that is especially prominent in today's political world, is to demonize the opposition, in this case, those who differ in race, gender, politics, and/or religion from the majority.

It seems to me, when discussing policy in diverse populations, one should at least consider the possibility that diversity could be a governance problem, as it turned out to be for the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example. And in Bosnia. And in Yemen. This, I imagine, is the basis for support of a two nation solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This issue is, of course a very large and contentious one. All the more reason why Ms. Power should have addressed it in her book. Otherwise it is, and unfortunately remains, the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

Well written

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Reading a book over 500 pages long is a daunting task. The mitigation is that Samantha Power is a good writer who holds the reader's interest. Young enough to be my daughter, she has lived enough for three normal length lives. Hence the necessity of a long autobiography.

It should be no surprise that she writes well because she started out as a journalist. Her desire is to affect the world for the better. She became an expert on genocide. This makes the book depressing in spots, but she might be helping bend the curve away from genocide in the long run. It depends upon which way we go in 2020, I guess.

Besides her journalistic career and her expert knowledge on genocide, and her diplomatic career, she has managed to have two children. It is all there - her childhood in Ireland, her travels, her loves, her failings, her government work, her child rearing. Her book reminds me of how there are so many people in the world who are smarter and more energetic than I.

It was hard to put the book down because it was so interesting, but even so, it took be the better part of three days to read.

Gregory J. Auger

Can't put it down

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

It's been a long time time I had to force myself to put a book down and get out of my official reading chair. It's a beautiful, warm fall day out there and all I want to do is turn these pages. It's not often that you find a foreign policy geek who also knows how to write.

EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2019

This woman can write:
- Pulitzer Prize winner
- journalist

This woman has something to say:
- idealist
- immigrant
- human rights advocate
- mother
- former US Ambassador to the UN

And she says it very well.

hah

Candid, detailed high energy, good read.

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2019

Verified Purchase

I pre-ordered and read it so fast, couldn’t put it down. Not just her writing but it’s her energy that keeps you going. It’s candid and detailed, loved getting an insight to how bureaucracy works (or doesn’t) inside the government. You might be a Democrat or republican, doesn’t matter, her humanitarian missions alone make the book worth reading. And it proved to me that Obama wavered at key decisions, he got distracted with the noise around him that blurred his vision with foreign affairs. I admired how Samantha is very direct and clear and never loses focus, something I consciously practice everyday.

NYCBOOKMAN

Great Read

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Powerful story that will grab you from the start. Refreshing and honest read that left me fully captivated. If the author overcame so many obstacles to succeed, why can't you or me do the same.

GK

A Shockingly Large Waste of Time

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2019

I confess I knew little about Samantha Power before reading this book. After finishing it I can't help wonder .....what in God's name possessed her to write it.
The image that springs to mind during much of the tome is that of the donkey in Shrek jumping up and down behind the crowd yelling 'pick me, pick me!'. Power writes like some kid with an unsatiated need for attention and approval, and quite honestly, parts of the book are excruciating to read. She injects herself into every situation wanting to take some measure of credit. One has the feeling that if she'd been in Nazareth, year 0, she would have been telling people that she delivered Jesus Christ.
Reading through the lines it's pretty clear that Obama and his administration didn't quite know what to do with her. Clearly they couldn't sack her...although it must have been tempting.
The thing I keep coming back to is, why did anyone let her write this? It felt like an act of self sabotage. Everytime she mentions Obama he's saying something terribly kind, but the undercurrent feels like placate the simpleton.

N. D. Curry

you need to read this

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a really well written book, Samantha is a really amazing person.

Top reviews from other countries

Richard

Doesn’t do what the tin says

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

Somewhat disappointing. The title suggests an insight into the changing perceptions and thinking of a person entering government and facing the realities of power. The book is a diary of events, and doesn’t explore how power in government compromises an idealist. It has, however, motivated me to read some of Obama’s words.

Forlornehope

One can but weep

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

The early part of the narrative is a bit "Angela's Ashes" with a dash of "Boys Own Paper" adventure but the book gives, inter alia, a fascinating insight into what really goes on in the White House and the United Nations. However, when I stopped to reflect on the difference between the administration that she describes which, for all its many faults, was made up of intelligent, well informed, thoughtful and, most importantly, fundamentally decent people, and what has replaced it, all that is left is tears.

Peter Doyle

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

For a book recommended by so many, I wanted it to be more insightful regarding foreign policy but didn't illuminate.my understanding of conflicts.
It's quite biased, reading this you wouldn't be aware of all the problems the US government's interventions caused in middle East and Arabic world's.
On top of that it's not particularly well written, (it's not badly written either) just ok.
Seems a bit pointless all in

Shahram Chubin

Insightful, fascinating. gripping book by diplomat/scholar

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

A charming insight into the world of diplomacy and US politics written by a modest and decent person who is as honest and principled as one could hope from a government official. Well worth reading.

An amateur

Idealistic, Inspiring, Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

From humble beginnings as a journalist to being part of Obama's cabinet, Power comes across as someone who cares a lot about human dignity. She inspires us to make a difference and to not expect results to come overnight.

See all reviews