First published 2010
Young Condoleezza Rice cannot learn to swim because Birmingham's public safety commissioner shuts down city pools rather than integrate them. She lives in a world where black families shield their children from racism's worst effects, but by fourth grade the violence escalates. Bombs explode in her neighborhood during Klan attacks. Four girls die in a church bombing months later. Her father John, a minister and educator, teaches her to love sports and politics. Her mother, a teacher, nurtures her piano skills and introduces her to fine arts. Both parents refuse to accept limits for their daughter. Rice advances to Stanford University and climbs to second in command there. She specializes in Soviet affairs and helps shape policy as communism collapses in Europe. The contested 2000 election brings news that she will serve as the first female National Security Advisor. She receives this exciting development shortly before her father dies. Rice reveals family moments alongside her mother's cancer struggle and confrontations with Soviet leaders. This candid account shows not the accomplished world leader but the girl finding her way in a hostile world.
Genres: 20th-century, african-american, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Birmingham, Stanford University
Period: 1960s, 2000s
333 pages · Hardcover · Crown Archetype
Content warnings: racism, violence