الجبروت والجبار

by Madeleine K. Albright

In The Mighty and the Almighty, Madeleine Albright examines the profound impact of religion on America's view of itself, the effect of U.S. policy of the rise of the Christian right, the Bush administration's successes and failures in responding to 9/11, the challenges posed by the war in Iraq, and the importance of understanding Islam. She offers a balanced but, when necessary, devastating analysis of U.S. strategy and condemns those of all faiths who exploit religious fervor to create divisions or enhance their own power.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Religion, Biography, Memoir, International Relations

248 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Czechoslovakian-born American diplomat Madeleine Korbel Albright, the first such woman, appointed secretary of state of United States in 1997, served in that position until 2001.

Bill Clinton, president, nominated her, born Marie Jana Korbelová, on 5 December 1996, the Senate unanimously confirmed her, 99-0. People swore her in office on 23 January 1997.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelei...

Reviews

[ولاء شكري · Rating 3 out of 5]

( على الرغم من أنني لم أوافق على بعض سياسات الحكومة الإسرائيلية وبخاصة الأكثر عدوانية فيما يتعلق بالمستوطنات، فإنني ملتزمة إلتزاماً كاملاً بالمحافظة على وجود إسرائيل وأمنها ويشعر غالبية الأمريكيين كذلك ..  لماذا ؟!!
إننا نعلم أن المجتمعات اليهودية اضطهدت من أيام العبودية في مصر إلى المذابح المدبرة في روسيا القيصرية، ولذا لم نرى أن في إنشاء إسرائيل إعادة تأهيل لشعب فحسب، وإنما أيضاً لفتة كياسة (لياقة) من قِبَل الجنس البشري بأكمله  .. ونقبل المقولة بأننا لم نطلب الكثير من العرب الذين لديهم مدن مقدسة أخرى وكثير من الأرض بإفساح متسع لشعب إسرائيل الصغير في المكان الوحيد الذي كان لديهم وطن حقيقي فيه )

مادلين أولبريت متحدثة عن إسرائيل

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I had a chance to really read this book, I found it almost impossible to put down. Even to eat. Or sleep.

If you've ever wondered about the part religion plays in world affairs, especially as this relates to Islam, this is a book you must read. This woman has been all over the world, has worked in both the Carter and Clinton administrations, and has served as the US Secretary of State. She knows her stuff, and as a college professor, she also knows how to teach.

She covers lots of history and visits nations all over the world in this book. At no time does she talk down to you or talk over your head. She just succinctly explains everything you need to know, and makes you curious as hell to learn the rest.

Awesome, awesome book. I will read everything she's written. Next, her memoirs. I'm really looking forward to that!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this audiobook at the library used book store because I am a big Madeleine Albright fan and I was looking for a new audiobook. I found the subject very fascinating and a good examination of some of the problems facing the world today, even though it is about 10 years old. Many of the issues she discussed in terms of what is happening with Iraq, Al Qaeda, and the surge in "conservative" or "radical" Islam (or those who claim to represent that religion) were quite prescient and I wondered what an addendum to this book would be like, with the new issues of the Arab Spring, the election of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the changes in the government in Turkey, and the rise of ISIS.

She starts off with the concept that for so long, people's religious beliefs, while important to them, were not really given much play on the world stage because they were believed to be personal. But 9/11 changed all that, making religious points of view crucial to diplomatic dialogue, and the many screeching voices of bigotry within religion, from Pat Roberston to the reigning clergy in Iran, have only made matters worse. In addiiton to discussing history and how the different cultures and religions view the central issue of individual dignity and the question of freedom, Albright covered ideas on how to foster tolerance. I was impressed with her candor, and her willingness to see a basis of reason in many of the actions by President George W. Bush that the Left often write off as mere examples of hubris and/or stupidity. Her arguments are compelling and her tone both thoughtful and passionate. In the end, she offered ideas for working together to create a better world for everyone.

Normally, I would look to pass along this copy of the book to another, but it had several discs with some big skips or scratches in them -- probably costing the ear-reader no more than a paragraph or two at a time -- which were annoying and would likely mar the listening experience of others. But I would recommend it to anyone interested in world affairs and the role that religion plays on the world stage today.

[Mary-Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Madeleine Albright. In my opinion, she's one of the most amazing people in the modern world. An immigrant, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a professor, an advisor, a diplomat, a writer - she's exactly the type of woman I would like to emulate.

This book is the second I read by M. Albright. The first was her memoir. Another fantastically interesting read! The Mighty & The Almighty, however, is so relevant to the time in which we're living. She recounts history of conflicts that perhaps someone under 50 years old would not know. Or just about anyone from the Western, anyways. Then she sheds light in the relevance of where / how the history of these conflicts plays a role in what is happening today with the U.S.'s relations in the Arab / Muslim world. It goes beyond the black & white debate presented by the modern media.

Brilliant, must read for anyone who is interested in current affairs.

[Dina Nabil · Rating 4 out of 5]

بينما امر على رفوف المكتبة اذ لمحته..ذلك الكتاب السميك بغلاف احمر تتصدره صورة مادلين اولبراييت مبتسمة ابتسامة غامضة نوعا...دفعنى لقراءة الكتاب رغبتى فى معرفة كيف تفكر تلك المرأة التى طالما كرهتها فى صغرى , فمنصب وزير الخارجية الامريكي دائما ما حظى برجال و نساء يمتلؤون بالقوة و غالبا الكراهية من بلادنا العربية...و تتركز ذاكرتى فى مادلين على تنورتها السوداء القصيرة كاشقة على جزء غير قليل من ساقها...و تخيلت ان الكتاب مجرد مذكرات لشاغرة منصب رفيع

لذا كانت مفاجأة عندما وجدت ان موضوع الكتاب عن الدين و السياسة و المفاجأة الاكبر انى اعجبت فعلا بالكتاب و تشابه افكارى مع افكار مادلين كثيرا...فكلانا مؤمن بدينه ذا قناعة واضحة به,مقتنع بان معظم الاديان تؤدى نفس الوظيفة,نمتلك قدر كبير من التسامح مع الغير,و كلانا مقتنع ان استخدام شعارات الدين فى السياسة غالبا نية سيئة و نتائج اسوأ

كان عندى قناعة ان موضوع "الدين" محسوم فى بلد متقدم غربى اصيل زى الولايات المتحدة...لكن اتضح ان رأى يوسف زيدان الذى عارضته من قبل صحيح رغم كل شئ"لا يمكن فصل الدين عن السياسة حتى لو اردنا" فمازال رؤساء امريكا يخبروا شعبهم بان امريكا مميزة عند الله او ان الرئيس بشخصة موكل من الله
مازالت القوة المتشددة التى يسمع الى المواطن الامريكى اليها تدين المنظمات النسوية و منها حادثة حقيقية حدثت لمادلين نفسها حين وصفوها بالشيطان لمجرد مشاركتها مع هيلارى كلينتون فى مؤتمر فى الصين عن حقوق المرأة
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فى الشق السياسى تتحدث بقوة منتقده سياسيات الرئيس بوش و حكومته التى اغرقت امريكا فى بحر الارهاب و اغرقت العالم كله به بتصرفات طائشة بعد 11 ايلول باحداثة...كيف ان العراق كما كانت افغانستان مستنقع للجميع , كيف ان حكومة بوش و بدلا مع جمع البلاد الاسلامية المعتدلة -المتضررة نفسها بالارهاب- الى حزمة البلاد الاخرى لمواجة شبح العنف , توجهت الى صب الزيت على النار و النتيجة الطبيعية مئات القتلى فى حوادث عنف متفرقه و الالاف من جراء حرب العراق
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و فى فصل مميز يدعى"الصليب و الهلال و النجمة" تتحدث فيه عن صدام الاديان السماوية الثلاث فى حروب متتالية و فى ظل عدم وجود فوز ساحق لاحدهما على الاخر عبر التاريخ تظل الدائرة مستمرة...فصدق او لا تصدق فالثلاث اديان التى تعبد نفس الاله هم الاكثر عنفا تجاة بعضهم البعض
فتقول
فى تراث اليهود القدماء تعزى الانتصارات الى ارادة الله, و قد ارجع المسلمون الاوائل فضل الانتصارات العسكرية الى الله, و كان الاسبانيون الكاثوليك واثقين من ان الانتصارات فى انجاز امبرطورية وراء البحار مكافأة من الله على اضطهاد المسحيين الهراطقة و المسلمين و اليهود
و فى كل الحالات هناك نصا دينى ما يشجع الجميع الى قتل بعضهم البعض باسم الاله...نفس الاله
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لكن ما صدمنى اكثر من اى شئ هو هذا الجهل المطبق عند الغرب لمفاهيم الاسلام اصلا...ففى خطبة قس يوجه حديثة الى الناس بان: الصراع كله صراع دينى, صراع بما اذا كان هبل اله مكه الذى يرمز الى القمر و المعروف باسم الله هو الاسمى ام اله اليهود و المسحيين الوارد فى الكتاب المقدس
الى هذا الحد يكون الجهل؟..ففى فصل قصير لكنه غنى للقارئ الغربى تستعين مادلين بفقيه اسلامى لمحاولة تلخيص الاسلام و تاريخة و مذاهبه فى 7 صفحات ...و المثير للعجب ان اول جمله فى هذا الفصل كان : المسلمون يعبدون الله نفسه الذى يعبده المسيحيون و اليهود حدثت نفسى أمن الممكن ان يكون قتال السياسيات و الكراهيه و العنف ناتجين فقط بسبب الجهل...و على الرغم من ان تلك الفرضية مريحة لكنها قطعا ليس كل المعضله لعله جزء لكن افتراض ان الامر كله على هذا الشكل مضلل الى حد بعيد
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و طبعا فى كتاب يتحدث عن الدين لم يكن تجنب دولة كالسعودية ممكن...و كعادة وجهة النظر الامريكية فالسعودية هى شعب مقموع و نساء من وراء حجاب كثيف لا يستطعن حتى قيادة سيارة و نخبة جشعه تنهب ثروة السعودية ولا تطبق على نفسها نفس القواعد "الاخلاقية" التى تفرضها على الشعب
ربما كان هذا صحيحا..ربما لا...لست ادرى لكنى انحاز لاختيار الشعب السعودى ان اختار هذا النوع من الحياة و لكن الكارثة تكمن فى اننا لن نستطيع تقييم اختيار هذا الشعب او نسبته
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اختلفت و اتفقت مع الكتاب لكنه فى المجمل كتاب جيد يكشف كثير من وجه النظر الامريكية التى نرفض فى التفكير بها

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be honest. I read half of it and skimmed the rest. Any student of politics need not read this book. It will tell you nothing you haven't already learned (or should have learnt) about politics, September 11, US policy in the Middle East etc. To me it seemed that the earlier parts of the book lacked coherence. Albright delves into the religious aspects of politics and statesmanship fairly well, and her brief synopsis of Islam is a credit to her, but I could never really forgive her open espousal of a quote from Candide by Voltaire "Everything is for the best, in this best of all possible worlds". Those who have read Candide (I recommend it) will know that Voltaire devotes the entire book to mercilessly lampooning and systematically disproving this statement.

[Eraldo Elezi]

Nuk kam asnje dyshim qe ky eshte nje nder librat me interesant qe kam lexuar gjate vitit 2018. Gjate leximit kam nxjere shume shenime te cilat jane shume aktuale ne ditet e sotme dhe gati duket sikur ndeshemi me to cdo dite. I shkruajtur ne menyren me te mire te mundshme, ky liber eshte padyshim ai qe duhet te lexojne te gjithe ato njerez qe duan te dijne me shume rreth ceshtjeve te jashtme, menyren se si jane menaxhuar ceshtjet me ndikim global dhe natyrisht tregon edhe problemet e Amerikes, shtetit me te fuqishem ne bote. Shpjegon pse lufta me Irakun ishte nje hap i gabuar dhe padyshim pranon dhe verteton qe pasojat e asaj lufte akoma i jetojme dhe do te vazhdojme ti jetojme. E paraqet fene si nje element pajtues dhe qe na udhezon drejt parimeve te drejta dhe hyjnore por natyrisht tregon edhe sa lehte mund te keqinterpretohet ajo dhe se si mund te shendrohet ne nje mejet konfikti.
Me poshte do te shkruaj disa fjali te shkurta te shkeputura nga ky liber:
Zjarrit i jemi pergjigjur me zjar pa menduar qe zjarri mund te shuhet me uje.
Liria eshte dhurata e zotit, demokracia eshte krijim i njeriut.
Feja duhet te shihet si nje mjet pajtimi dhe jo mjet konfliktesh.
Demokracia eshte mjet i fuqishem per mobilizimin e shpreses.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every season I wince watching The Amazing Race, at the team that each season believes so loudly and self-righteously that God is rooting for them to win. Those are the ones I especially wish would read this book for Albright's insightful views on religious tolerance.

It took me literally five years but I'm glad I stuck with it and finally finished. Not only is she brilliant, a former US Secretary of State and Ambassador to the United Nations, but Madeleine Albright is uniquely qualified to tout such a stance on tolerance as a born Czechoslovakian whose family emigrated to the US and only revealed to her their actual Jewishness after she'd been raised Catholic and married Episcopalian. I love the straight-up full-on pragmatism, common sense approach and mutual respect that she preaches and also practices. Like the importance of specifying our enemy being "Al Quaeda and their allies" rather than "Muslims," "Islamists," or "Jihad."

Albright is quite candid in breaking down insensitive gaffes made by Bush, Falwell and the Pope and explaining how years of diplomacy have thus been undermined. She provides an amazing collection of quotes and anecdotes, I just felt so much like the choir being preached to it got repetitive after a bit.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madeline Albright totally threw me for a loop with this one; not only did she re-establish her relevance, even as a sidelines commentator, in the foreign policy arena, but she also proved that her ideas are still applicable today, though proved may be the wrong word. There's no proof of such a thing, but the insinuation is certainly there, and I immediately believed it.

She's a lot more "wide-scope" than I imagined her to be, a refreshing trait for a statesperson (though shouldn't that be the norm), and this book not only provided a nice little history refresher, but in the specific context about which she's interested she explores the decades old hurts and issues that are just now coming to a head. Scary enough, but really enthralling read.

[Margaret Kenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book shortly after it was published in 2006 and decided to reread it. The information is still relevant, and many of the people and places discussed are still in the news. The commentary is a very insightful and gives a diplomat's view of the role religion plays in our interactions with other nations. It also focuses on the ways that our actions are perceived by other nations and groups within those nations.

[Terry Earley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although somewhat dated, Albright is a delightful, and thoughtful author.

She points out that religion is central to world politics and culture whether we want it to be or not. Our values should drive our decisions. Including many examples, though from over 10 years ago, it is still an important read today.

[Nihal Zaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I don't worry much about lies. Lies can be easily dismissed, but "half truths", especially when they are smartly told, can go a long way.

I paused long before rating and reviewing this book. I can't deny that it was a very enjoyable and informative read, written by one of the smartest and most professional diplomats alive. I liked a lot Mrs. Albright's ability of summing up long historical conflicts in a nutshell, along with her rarely matched rhetorical skill in describing the most complex of situations in compact, accurate and persuasive sentences. I have to admit that her just and fair views astonished me in many parts. Actually, as a Muslim, I found her explanation of sectarian conflicts within Islam along with her explainiation of extremists' and terrorists' manipulation and extracting some Quranic verses out of their context, I found all that stunningly accurate, simplified and fair enough to take hats off for.

Albright never tells lies, so don't worry this is not a book of lies, actually she doesn't even tell half truths, she tells "most" of the truth, accurately and fairly.
It's just that the former Secretary Of State, may from time to time "skip" one single info, or event, but it is usually THE "one" piece that is stirring the situation ;
for example she condemns Saddam Hussien openly and fairly, yet she cleverly skimmed the reason why had he conquered his neighbour state Kuwait, encouraged and given green light by whom?!!!
She condemned openly and fairly the killing of civilians committed by palestinian radicals, she just skillfully skipped mentioning that Israelis are committing the same crime with victims of the later largely outnumbers victims of Former.
She mentioned briefly the "Marshall Plan", she again selectively "skipped", how largely had the USA benefited from that plan!

In other parts of the book, Mrs. Albright chose to disarm the reader by playing fair; mentioning the with and against as openly and fairly as possible. She here doesn't skip facts or incidents, but just giving them a very subjective little weight compared to what she considered grave crimes. For example she goes very lightly over the fact of building settlements by Israel, and throwing the original land owners to refugee camps, yes she did mention the fact , but in a "no big deal" tone!!. She very briefly mentioned the killing and displacements of civilians by US troops in Iraq as a "side effect", she denounces the torture of prisoners in US prisons (built in third world countries for obvious reasons), as a mistake which can add fuel to the "misunderstanding" of US policies within the Arab world!!

Despite all of the above, I still suggest that the book is a great read, if not for any of the valuable information it contains, then for learning the skills of persuasion and manipulating facts without telling a single lie ;)

Merged review:

Personally, I don't worry much about lies. Lies can be easily dismissed, but "half truths", especially when they are smartly told, can go a long way.

I paused long before rating and reviewing this book. I can't deny that it was a very enjoyable and informative read, written by one of the smartest and most professional diplomats alive. I liked a lot Mrs. Albright's ability of summing up long historical conflicts in a nutshell, along with her rarely matched rhetorical skill in describing the most complex of situations in compact, accurate and persuasive sentences. I have to admit that her just and fair views astonished me in many parts. Actually, as a Muslim, I found her explanation of sectarian conflicts within Islam along with her explainiation of extremists' and terrorists' manipulation and extracting some Quranic verses out of their context, I found all that stunningly accurate, simplified and fair enough to take hats off for.

Albright never tells lies, so don't worry this is not a book of lies, actually she doesn't even tell half truths, she tells "most" of the truth, accurately and fairly.
It's just that the former Secretary Of State, may from time to time "skip" one single info, or event, but it is usually THE "one" piece that is stirring the situation ;
for example she condemns Saddam Hussien openly and fairly, yet she cleverly skimmed the reason why had he conquered his neighbour state Kuwait, encouraged and given green light by whom?!!!
She condemned openly and fairly the killing of civilians committed by palestinian radicals, she just skillfully skipped mentioning that Israelis are committing the same crime with victims of the later largely outnumbers victims of Former.
She mentioned briefly the "Marshall Plan", she again selectively "skipped", how largely had the USA benefited from that plan!

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, what's this? I'm rating a Professor Maddy book 3 stars? Yes.

This book exists in 3 parts - (1) God, Liberty, Country / (2) Crescent, Cross, Star / (3) Final Reflections. Parts 1 and 3 garner my usual Albright 5 stars for their piercing wit, intelligent analysis, and sharp-tongued dose of reality. Part 2 is meandering, loses the plot, and is a bit difficult to read - its very current to the time it was written (2006) but a lot of it has aged extremely poorly, and reading it in 2022 is like peering into a particularly alienating time capsule; Albright's assessments are probably astute for the time, but I live in a world where Saudi Arabia can't really be viewed as gently as she views it.

I love the concept of this book though -boldly addressing the fact that whether we like it or not, huge swaths of people actually do base their political actions on religion. Her exploration of the ways in which that must be understood and accounted for is prescient and astute. The analysis suffers from a limited focus; it pretty much addresses only the 3 major Abrahamic religions, and often spirals into very specific "Islam vs. Christianity" philosophizing - not out of place given the year it was written, but I think Albright discussed Islam poorly in a political sense, and I also think this book lacked an appropriate discussion of atheism - yes, it was about the influence and interplay of religion in diplomacy and in governance, but in order to properly explore that, the point of view of the non-religious must be explored as well.

Despite all the ups and downs of it, I still found this a really fascinating read because it was dogged, honest, and reflective; it was also a challenge for me personally, because I needed some of the education Albright was given - frankly, I can't imagine actually using "god" or "religion" to guide my decisions, and I found myself having to consciously force myself to put myself into the shoes of those who do ... mainly because until I was an adult, I thought everyone in the world who professed religious faith was just doing so out of lip service - it did, and still does, come as a bizarre little shock to me when someone professes genuine faith (that isn't to say I think its foolish, its just outside the realm of my considerations - and i was raised a Catholic, as Albright was)

all in all, albright remains an engaging writer, and is just an incredible erudite woman. would recommend, even if it is not one of my favorites.

[Margie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started reading this book after finishing Prague Winter. I loved reading Prague Winter and was very curious about her treatment of the topic of religion even though the book was written in 2006 and in a very different political climate. Clearly, as a former Secretary of State, a renowned professor and the 20th ambassador to the United Nations she can write with authority on many matters of state. I borrowed two copies from my library - one in audio form and one in written form so I could actually hear her read the book as I simultaneously studied the text in her written version. Because Albright was raised Catholic but discovered later in life she was actually Jewish, I assumed she would have a unique and compelling viewpoint on religion. Unfortunately she is totally out of her realm in writing about it.
In addition she comes off as self-righteous and arrogant. Her arguments are contradictory and circular and other than bashing Christians, she never really explains any of her arguments conclusively enough to be convincing. This surprised me. What happened? This book is so biased to the left and so anti-Christian I could not read it without feeling a deep hurt. Labeling Christians as “paranoid” and “fearful” of modern society and culture seems to be her only argument to prove why Christians are wrong and everyone else is right. “Faith does not produce wisdom”, she says. This might actually be her one true statement because it is the fear of God that is the beginning of wisdom and not faith alone. I’ll let others draw their own conclusions. I will never judge Albright because I respect her too much to assume I know why she wrote what she wrote. Maybe she was just out of her realm of expertise. Or maybe Bill Woodward or her publishers revised and bent the text to ensure it portrayed the left wing liberal narrative they wanted to push in order to sell the book to their like minded followers.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent reflections from Madeleine K. Albright bring wise perspective on the historical role of religion in American politics.

Notably, in her historical survey, President John Quincy Adams emerged as a hero for me (which he also did when I was reading "Hell and Other Destinations).

Given the span of this powerful book on politics, both the geographical span and the historical span, Madeleine Albright brought wisdom, facts, and a can-fix perspective... a down-to-earth version of such a perspective, as befits a septuagenarian who never stops learning.

In the final section of this book she concludes with wise-and-balanced observations about how America -- and the rest of the world -- can move forward. From lips to God's ears!

MOST IMPRESSIVE TO ME

Easy to find the clear winner for me. That is how the former Secretary of State was able to discuss hot-button topics for me, such as terrorism and women's rights. Yet however hot the topic, her approach was even-handed, balancing, non-reactive, helpfully humane. What a teacher Albright is to me!

Moreover, since I read this title as an audio-book, I could hear her tone of voice while narrating everything in the book. Having developed a kind of x-ray ability to hear people's voices, including the nuances that many would miss, I can tell you this unequivocally: Madeleine Albright has made her own peace with all she included in this book, every word that she voiced.

I don't think any amount of rehearsal would have fooled me on that score.

Praise like "equanimity" doesn't begin to do justice to this attainment. In conclusion, I learned much about ways to grow, ways to be.

Sending a FIVE STAR thank you to Madeleine Albright!

[Jake · Rating 1 out of 5]

Albright does what many foreign policy intellectuals who have served in senior level White House positions do: write a book on a foreign policy topic to which they know little to nothing about, but believe that because of their experience indel upon them some divine wisdom. This book should have been an article. Albright's basic thesis is that the post-9/11 world demands a greater focus on religion. That's it. She peppers her novel with personal anecdotes that have little bearing on her argument. She admits that she had little understanding of religion's impacts on foreign affairs in the late 20th and early 21st century because she had thought, up until 9/11, that religious issues were a thing of the past. She even states that the peace of Westphalia had solved the issues between Catholics and protestants, an absurd statement which ignores hundreds of years of religious conflict, showing her outdated, overly broad look at foreign policy through "big" events that "fix" issues like a SALT treaty. At one point, she even states that the purpose of American foreign policy is "to convince other countries to do what we want."

[Jennifer Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably even more relevant now than when it was first written, even though it was first released shortly after the 9/11 attacks. I think now more than ever there is a push to use religion and religious books/ideas to justify horrendous acts worldwide, not only from a terrorism perspective but also through violations of human rights. It is also impossible not to consider the situation in the US currently and how religion, specifically Christian nationalism, is driving policy both internally and externally.

I loved Madeleine Albright's perspective, as an immigrant but also a Christian who spent time in the State Department. I was also very pleasantly surprised at the amount of space she took to speak about Islam and, in a large part, to defend it. At the end of the day, there are extremists in EVERY religion, even (and sometimes especially) Christianity. Also, much to the dismay of many, the US is in fact not God's chosen nation.

Really well done and well delivered.

[Deb W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently finished listening to the most recent book by Ms Albright, and was so impressed by it that I decided to read/listen to her previous works in my library holdings. This is the earliest. It wasn't as easy for me to follow, which I attribute to the breadth and depth of a topic that is so familiar to her, but not to me. What I did gleen from it is still phenomenal, and I suspect I would get even more from it if I read it.

I am now a huge fan of this woman's body of work, her verve, her depth of compassion of the plight of others regardless of which side of the table they might sit from her.

Everyone can learn something we all need to learn from this book.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read as context for diplomacy and religion in the second half of the 20th century/first half of the 21st, but the conscientious reader will bear in mind that it was published before:

- the Obama administration
- the Arab Spring uprisings
- the capture and killings of Hussein and bin Laden
- the Trump administration and it’s attendant global political polarization
- the COVID-19 pandemic
- the January 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington DC

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't agree with everything she believes in this was a good book. It made me realize I have paid more attention than I thought I had to the news since 9/11. It is important to understand the culture and faith of people and countries we are trying to negotiate, cooperate and have relationships with. Some good takeaways and an excellent source of recent history.

[Dania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not form an opinion on the impact of the Almighty on her personally. It seemed a little shy. The ironic thing is that, from a political point of view, I agree with her on the Bush administration but I guess that is a cheap shot. Who doesn't agree looking back?! But even then, her description of Saudi is very shallow and uneducated. I did not expect a well rounded politician like herself.

[Kamda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeleine Albright is a true role model. This book was a great explanation of the inpact of religion on politics. If you don’t understand the connection between islam and the way gowerments of countries with the majority of muslims acts, start with reading this book.

[Robert Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice & polite 2006 view!
Pre-Obama
Pre-Hillary
Jews/ Christians/ Muslims are similarly linked in her essays!
NOTE: Madeleine Albright gave speech in 2004 to YALE Divinity School on religion & American foreign policy!
She's college-professor- level-smart!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book showing the competing policies of our government with the policies of government and religion of the Arab world. Albright digs into background and discusses how the power of the Bush administration hurt the careful, methodical policies, planning and choices of the US.

[Leon Olivier, Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and a worthwhile read. Secretary Albright is an intelligent and insightful author. She makes an observation that seems like common sense but remains elusive in our in our world that discounts religion for the secular. While much information is dated it is a good read.

[Saad · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب أكثر من رائع لا اعرف لماذا لم اقرأه منذ زمن.. يتناول الكتاب نبذة عن حياة الكاتبة وهي شخصية سياسية مشهورة وأول وزيرة خارجية للولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.. ودور الدين في السياسة.. أحببت كثير من فصول الكتاب.. يوجد كثير من الحكم في ثنايا الكتاب..

[Amela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this as an audiobook since it is read by the author. The intended audience is US policymakers, specifically in the Bush admin after 9/11. Thus, I don't think this would appeal to those who 1) aren't familiar w/ Middle Eats politics during the 2000s, 2) like history and 3) have foundational understanding of US foreign policy over last few decades.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book...specifically about the United States' relationship with Muslim-predominate countries in the Middle East and Africa prior to 9/11 and how 9/11 changed that.

[Nancy Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing her at a restaurant recently in NYC, reminded me of this book on my shelf to read. Enlightening, informative, and more importantly taught several misconceptions of terrorism.

[Jan Kroken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, good overview of modern history in the US relations to other countries. However, it is not deep and does not contain significant amounts of inside information.