My American Journey: An Autobiography

Rating:
Summary: Living the American dream - From Bronx to the White House...
Review: "My American journey" is the story of Colin Powell. He is the living symbol of the American dream. Powell was born in Harlem, and grew up in South Bronx. His parents were hard-working immigrants from Jamaica. He went to school in New York, and later joined the ROTC.

"My American Journey" is a very well written biography. Together with lots of pictures from Powell's personal life, from his childhood in Bronx, and ending with his official career in the White House, the easygoing writing style makes this an interesting read. I truly enjoyed learning more about the Vietnam War and the bravery of the US soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. Additionally, after reading what Powell and Schwartzkopf experienced during the Vietnam War, I can better understand Powell's Gulf goals and actions. Previous to reading this book, I did not have a lot of knowledge about Panama and the invasion, therefore I found this part to be very interesting too.

The book provides us with a great study of leadership, while it also is a good study of military history and politics. "My American Journey" is an excellent story and example that shows us what possessing a strong motivation and integrity can lead to. You certainly do not need to be an American to appreciate the positive attitudes and the message that Powell sends through his book.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read about an interesting life, leadership, military history, and politics.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most Educational Books I have ever Read
Review: An American success story if there ever was one. Colin Powell vividly depicts his extraordinary life and career that could only take place in the setting of America. This autobiography wheels you through life in the poor neighborhoods in the Bronx to Washington Power broker. Colin Powell takes you though his life through his eyes, and into history, in some ways while reading it, I felt as though it was Forrest Gump on steroids, but the story is true.
Anyone interested in the policymaking process should read this book, as Powell describes his role as well as the role of other American leaders in making some of the most crucial decisions, the reader is swept into the pressures and challenges faced with America's leaders on a daily basis. The book delivers an account into the lives of Dick Cheney, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and others, allowing you to take a more personal look at American leadership. It is so easy to criticize from the outside looking in, but usually criticism as well as praise, is done by the uninformed.
One aspect I found particularly educational was how Powell provided a small glimpse to me (A young white male) of an educated man, a commissioned officer of the United States Army, refused service in restaurants, and discriminated in others ways. It is a credit to Powell, how he rose above narrow-minded bigotry and focused on the positive; resisting the temptation of "victimization" to become one of the most powerful and respected men in the country. I recommend this book to anyone, black, white, Latino, male, female, liberal, or conservative.

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Summary: Inspirational
Review: Back in the early 90's, I didn't understand America's love affair with Colin Powell. It was only after he was named Secretary of State by George Bush that I read My American Journey, originally published in 1995. While the book obviously doesn't provide much insight into Powell's sudden about-face in early 2003 on whether to invade Iraq, it does provide a great deal of background and context to allow Americans to understand that Powell probably felt he exhausted his options and had no choice but to support Bush's policy or to resign. It also makes plain Powell's disdain for Dick Cheney. Clearly, Powell did not expect to be working again so closely with Cheney when he published My American Journey.

Powell's lessons are inspirational. There is a reason that Colin Powell is one of the most admired leaders in America, and his autobiography makes clear that he cares about his troops and his employees. Strange, then, that he would have forced his Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs to "retire" in 2002 rather than stand up to the pressure he must have been under from the press and other government colleagues, including, perhaps, his boss, in the wake of numerous visa scandals. That she was one of the most respected and successful Foreign Service Officers shows that even such bigger-than-life heroes as Powell are only human after all.

My American Journey includes some of Powell's setbacks as well as his achievements. His vignette about a poor efficiency report he received at a crucial stage in his career helped me deal with a similar run-in with my boss. I practically quoted Powell to my boss, but was a bit more active than Powell has himself come across. (Powell essentially resigned himself to finding a new job.) In the end, Powell's first rule prevailed: "It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning."

Rating:
Summary: Great American, Yes; Great Book, No
Review: RE: AUDIO TAPE VERSION READ BY POWELL. I am a Colin Powell admirer but a definitive biography would better be told by a skilled independent writer, and after more "chapters" in his life are complete. Powell may indeed be a man of few faults but we can't be sure of that from his own words. I disagree however with reviewers who postulate that Powell has puffed-up his own accomplishments, on the contrary he's excessively modest. Rising to the highest position in the most powerful military in world history (and now to US Sec. of State) without benefit of a West Point education & connections describes a truly extraordinary individual. And far from savaging his detractors and the many incompetants he must have encountered along the way, Powell offers only a few token, and generally mild, criticisms. This book displays insight into Powell's background, development and beliefs but sidesteps tough questions of who screwed up and when. In that sense it is highly Politic - burns no bridges - and gives one hope that Powell may yet consider an Eisenhower-like leap to the highest civilian office.