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donifaber's review
3.0
An even-handed and engaging narrative about someone very different from myself. While I wouldn't want to emulate Rice's ambition, she does inspire me to pursue my own interests with more determination. As a child, Rice was a gifted pianist who devoted many hours to practicing. But more striking than that to me was her skating which she had no skill for at all, but continued to practice devotedly anyway.
Rice once told an eight-grade girl, "Don't ever let anybody set expectations for you of what you want to be and what you want to do. Those should be completely up to you."
Another theme that really struck me is that we tend, in the United States, to think so much in terms of individuals that we assume the President is responsible for domestic and foreign policy. But really, as Rice's story demonstrates, there is a whole group of people shaping that policy, people that often don't agree. I came away with the impression that Cheney and Rumsfeld were responsible for a lot of the most heinous aspects of the Bush presidency, but also that Bush wasn't a mere puppet in their hands like many people claim.
Rice once told an eight-grade girl, "Don't ever let anybody set expectations for you of what you want to be and what you want to do. Those should be completely up to you."
Another theme that really struck me is that we tend, in the United States, to think so much in terms of individuals that we assume the President is responsible for domestic and foreign policy. But really, as Rice's story demonstrates, there is a whole group of people shaping that policy, people that often don't agree. I came away with the impression that Cheney and Rumsfeld were responsible for a lot of the most heinous aspects of the Bush presidency, but also that Bush wasn't a mere puppet in their hands like many people claim.
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