Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell

Washington Post reporter Karen DeYoung clearly finds the mark in her most auspicious biography of, in my opinion, America's finest leader in recent memory. Colin Powell truly is a great American and merits such a treatment of his life's story. I had the good fortune of speaking with him at some length one time on the telephone and found him to be a leader among leaders, in charge without being dictatorial, and utterly "cool." I trust that he will continue to inspire budding leaders of like integrity and ability to step forward and serve.DeYoung captures the essence of Powell by delving deeply into his world. This she accomplished through a series of comprehensive interviews that offer a full picture of the man. Powell may have his shortcomings, but try and find another like him! DeYoung also succeeds, because of her skills and experiences as a Washington insider. She talks Powell's language of "intel-speak" and "Realpolitik." A pragmatist and not an ideologue, Powell always has been a good soldier. He is at once loyal in service, yet also unafraid to raise a flag as a referee might do at a sporting event. He kept administration extremists at arm's length and tried to exert a moderating influence over policies and events.As good as he is, Powell is not Superman. In some ways, he fell short of steering administrations away from such pitfalls as the Iran-contra affair and the present quandary in Iraq. Even the euphoria of the 1991 liberation of Kuwait did not translate into a regime change in Iraq, because it would have fractured the coalition, turned the Muslim world against the US, and left America hard-pressed to win the peace amid sectarian violence and groping to come up with an exit strategy. Like today.From the 1980s on, Powell has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Gorbachev, George W. Bush, and almost everyone of power in between. Most of them he influenced for the better. A few got the better of him. Powell's 2003 UN presentation on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq exposed some of his flaws, but we can be sure that Powell did his homework. Perhaps his priorities got discombobulated, since hindsight now tells us that North Korea is a WMD threat, Iran is well on the way, and Iraq was grossly exaggerated.DeYoung presents all this and much more in a book that may well have a shot at a Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award. DeYoung gives us Powell's personal life as well, including a vignette about how relieved he and his family were when he finally let go of his quest for the presidency. Somewhat of an outsider, Powell was better suited to become an appointed Cabinet member and sounding board for a president open-minded enough to take advice from someone gutsy enough to disagree with him. And Powell is centrist enough to have served with such polar opposites as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. DeYoung also reveals that Powell is pro-choice on abortion, a stance that I disagree with strongly. Overall, however, the Colin Powell that DeYoung presents is a person I admire and one who continues to do much good for his country. Even the dust cover shows him wearing a little red wagon lapel pin, the symbol of his brainchild project America's Promise, an effort to help American children to become competent and caring adults. Like Colin Powell! With a boost from this outstanding biography, may he continue to inspire new leaders to follow his example and help make this world a better place. Fr. Dennis Mercieri

I bought this book to fill in the gap from his previous book, My American Journey. A good chunk of Soldier deals with the Iraq war and perhaps rightly so, as his UN presentation continues to haunt him. While I can appreciate all he had to go through, it's still hard to swallow some of his reasoning for doing that presentation as well as the defense of the Bush administration afterwards. I was hoping he would apologize candidly to the American people for misleading them. He adamantly refuses to do so and I wonder if he realizes this refusal puts him on par with the Bush administration refusing to acknowledge how bad things have become in Iraq, as well the false justification for this war.I like Powell, it was hard to see him strong-armed into pushing the Bush agenda for the Iraq war way back when this was all happening. Granted the CIA info fed to him was bad, I didn't realize how many alarm bells and red flags should've been coming up like crazy until I read this book. I got the feeling Colin decided to play ball with the neocons to prove his loyalty only to further his own political ambitions. Powell doesn't criticize Bush which is just a travesty considering what he and the State Department went through.Powell was such an icon before his UN presentation, he knew he was being dealt a bad hand and yet he still played it. He missed the opportunity to disagree with Bush and resign in protest. Read the book, in his bashing of Cheney and Rumsfeld you'll see all the warning signs. Powell goes on to claim he "served at the will of the president" and he had no reason to believe he was dealt a bad hand. Perhaps he was way too loyal, I just don't figure him to be such a fool. He's smart and a good leader. Iraq has become our own mini-Vietnam and he should've known better than to be their puppet. It was sad seeing him replaced by Condi, I then got the feeling both of them were the token minority with the good ole boys running the show. After reading this book, that only seems more apparent.Perhaps I am being too hard on him, I just feel like he missed another golden opportunity to soar above the neocons by apologizing. Stating he was a soldier, loyal, etc, I just cannot accept as an excuse. As in his first book there are many contradictions. I sincerely hope he can find some way to continue to represent our country once again.

great read

Born an Army Brat, schooled overseas, and a veteran of 24 years in the Air Force, a "fan" of Gen. Powell - I really wanted to like this book. Gen. Powell is a dynamic individual who took (often) unpopular stands that were generally right...and when he was wrong, he admitted it. He served in major leadership positions in the military during one of the most difficult transitions ever - the change from "old" military, Cold-War military, to the modern, 21st Century military. I really wanted this biography to explore all of this - and it often started to. But then...I read it to completion, but it was a challenge. I know authors will always write from their point of view - it would be almost impossible not to. But Miss DeYoung too often turned political in her writings, and only one side continually came through - her side. The thinly veiled contempt she holds for many not of her "vein" immediately comes through in her writing - an attitude that Gen. Powell, if he had, never showed. Thus, while I do not believe it was her intent, Gen. Powell began to take on the author's attitude towards others. This is a misrepresentation of Gen. Powell.Read with the understanding that the author has a fixed view towards conservatives, war, and the military, and you will be ok. Just don't expect to find Gen. Powell's view here. Rather, read his autobiography, to see General Colin Powell in truth. THEN, come back and read Miss DeYoung's picture of a true Soldier.

I enjoyed the book. It is an easy read and very relaxing style.

What a man. This is the third book I've read about him. I wish I could meet him.

I purchased this book as a requirement to read a bio. This is an excellent book and I really enjoyed reading it. At times I didn't, want to stop.