Condoleezza Rice has excelled as a diplomat, political scientist, and concert pianist. Her achievements run the gamut from helping to oversee the collapse of communism in Europe and the decline of the Soviet Union, to working to protect the country in the aftermath of 9-11, to becoming only the second woman - and the first black woman ever -- to serve as Secretary of State.
But until she was 25 she never learned to swim.
Not because she wouldn't have loved to, but because when she was a little girl in Birmingham, Alabama, Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor decided he'd rather shut down the city's pools than give black citizens access.
Throughout the 1950's, Birmingham's black middle class largely succeeded in insulating their children from the most corrosive effects of racism, providing multiple support systems to ensure the next generation would live better than the last. But by 1963, when Rice was applying herself to her fourth grader's lessons, the situation had grown intolerable. Birmingham was an environment where blacks were expected to keep their head down and do what they were told -- or face violent consequences. That spring two bombs exploded in Rice’s neighborhood amid a series of chilling Klu Klux Klan attacks. Months later, four young girls lost their lives in a particularly vicious bombing.
So how was Rice able to achieve what she ultimately did?
Her father, John, a minister and educator, instilled a love of sports and politics. Her mother, a teacher, developed Condoleezza’s passion for piano and exposed her to the fine arts. From both, Rice learned the value of faith in the face of hardship and the importance of giving back to the community. Her parents’ fierce unwillingness to set limits propelled her to the venerable halls of Stanford University, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the university’s second-in-command. An expert in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs, she played a leading role in U.S. policy as the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union disintegrated. Less than a decade later, at the apex of the hotly contested 2000 presidential election, she received the exciting news – just shortly before her father’s death – that she would go on to the White House as the first female National Security Advisor.
As comfortable describing lighthearted family moments as she is recalling the poignancy of her mother’s cancer battle and the heady challenge of going toe-to-toe with Soviet leaders, Rice holds nothing back in this remarkably candid telling. This is the story of Condoleezza Rice that has never been told, not that of an ultra-accomplished world leader, but of a little girl – and a young woman -- trying to find her place in a sometimes hostile world and of two exceptional parents, and an extended family and community, that made all the difference.
在读此书之前,我认为我对赖斯算是比较了解的。在英国留学那一年,我在诺里奇当地的图书馆接触到这样一本书:Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story。—— 这本书不是自传,作者不是她本人。不过这并不影响我了解她的经历,从种族隔离的童年,到钢琴旁及滑冰场上的青少年,从学习...
评分 评分康多莉扎赖斯回忆成长经历主要是父母对其教育经历的回忆录。书花了很多的笔墨在她的父母身上,从中看到了教育的重要性。赖斯父母把大部分的花费都用在了赖斯的教育上,其成效可见一斑。 赖斯无疑是聪明、勤奋的,也是幸运的,但作者很谦虚,并没写到这些(想到文中写到她的爸爸...
评分我必须承认,这本书的结构非常大胆,甚至可以说是有些反传统。它没有采用传统的线性叙事,而是像一幅由无数碎片拼贴而成的马赛克,每一个章节都是一个独立的瞬间或人物侧写,但当所有碎片组合在一起时,一个宏大而复杂的主题便赫然浮现。这种跳跃感在初期会让人有些措手不及,我花了好一阵子才适应这种叙事节奏。但一旦适应,那种探索的乐趣便油然而生,仿佛自己是一个考古学家,小心翼翼地挖掘着埋藏在时间深处的真相。我尤其欣赏作者在处理不同人物视角时的切换技巧,那种声音的转换是如此自然流畅,你甚至能感觉到作者本人在这些不同角色之间穿梭时的呼吸频率。这种技法要求读者有极高的专注度,但回报是丰厚的——你获得了一种多维度的、立体的理解,而不是单一的、被引导的认知。
评分这本书给我带来的最强烈冲击是它对“时间”的处理。它似乎颠覆了我对时间流逝的固有观念。有些段落被拉伸得无限漫长,仿佛一个眼神的交汇就占据了整整一页篇幅;而另一些重要的转折点,却被轻描淡写地一笔带过,留给读者巨大的想象空间去填补那些空白。这种对时间感知的刻意扭曲,迫使我放慢阅读的速度,去品味那些“被放慢”的瞬间。它不是在讲述一个故事,而是在解构我们感知现实的方式。我感到自己仿佛进入了一种“慢镜头”的世界,得以细致观察那些通常会在眨眼间溜走的微小情绪波动。这种阅读体验,说实话,是近些年阅读中最具挑战性,也最令人满足的经历之一。它挑战了我的耐心,但也拓宽了我的心智疆界。
评分这本书的整体氛围是极其克制和内敛的,但正是在这种克制中,蕴含着巨大的情感能量。它没有采用煽情的手法去强迫读者共鸣,而是搭建了一个舞台,让角色在自己的光线下自然地燃烧或冷却。我最欣赏的一点是,作者似乎对人性中的灰色地带抱有一种近乎哲学的宽容。书中没有绝对的好人或坏人,每个人物都是复杂的矛盾体,他们的动机常常是隐藏在行为之下的深层渴望。这种对复杂性的呈现,使得人物的塑造异常真实可信。读完合上书本时,我没有那种如释重负的感觉,反而有一种与书中的人物在内心深处达成了某种无声的理解与和解。它让我反思了自己对“成功”与“失败”的定义,并意识到生命本身就是一场持续不断的、充满未定论的探索过程。
评分这本书的叙事方式简直太迷人了。作者似乎有一种魔力,能将最平凡的生活片段描绘得如同史诗般壮阔。我记得其中有一章,描述了一个家庭在某个寻常的周日早晨准备早餐的场景,每一个动作、每一次对话,都蕴含着深刻的情感张力。那种细腻入微的观察力让人叹为观止,仿佛我就是那个在厨房里忙碌的主角,能真切地感受到面包烘烤时的热度,以及空气中弥漫的咖啡香气。它不是那种高高在上的文学作品,而是脚踏实地、深入人心的。读完后,我开始重新审视我自己的日常生活,那些过去被我视为理所当然的琐事,现在都闪耀着不一样的光芒。那种感觉很奇妙,就像是被提醒了,真正的“非凡”并非遥不可及,它就藏在我们日复一日的呼吸之间。这本书成功地捕捉到了那种“在场感”,让读者完全沉浸其中,久久不能自拔。
评分从语言风格上来说,这本书简直是一场词汇的盛宴。作者的用词精准且富有张力,绝不堆砌华丽辞藻,但每一个词语的选择都像手术刀一样,直击要害。我注意到一些地方使用了大量生僻但极其贴切的动词和形容词组合,这让画面感极强,栩栩如生。举个例子,书中对雨天景象的描绘,完全摒弃了“淅淅沥沥”这类老套的词汇,转而用了一种更具重量感和金属质感的方式来呈现,读起来让人仿佛能闻到湿润的泥土气息和街道上蒸汽的味道。对于我这种喜欢琢磨语言结构的人来说,这本书简直是本教科书级别的范本,它展示了如何用最经济的笔墨,描绘出最丰富的情感层次。每一次重读,都能从那些看似平淡的句子中发现新的韵味和深意。
评分The strength to be she wants to be.
评分Really love this very personal book from Condi. Highly recommend it!
评分The strength to be she wants to be.
评分Really love this very personal book from Condi. Highly recommend it!
评分Really love this very personal book from Condi. Highly recommend it!
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