Education of an Idealist

Ika reviewed Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

Review of 'Education of an Idealist' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

3.5/5

A detailed and vivid account of Samantha Power's journey as a child immigrant, a war correspondent, and a representative of America in the United Nations.

I come out of this book having learned that the government/UN is not an entity, but a building in which individuals come together and engage with complex decisions quite unlikely to be ideal to all. As such, changing the world is not accomplished by one grandeur act, but by doing good in individual events and enacting change in ways within one's reach.

The writing is blunt and very detailed, but I found that the strength of the storytelling waned as the pages went on. There were parts of the book that deeply engaged me, but others were difficult to get through. This inconsistency is my only concern. Aside from that, the content of the book was informative and positively calls for further introspection from …

3.5/5

A detailed and vivid account of Samantha Power's journey as a child immigrant, a war correspondent, and a representative of America in the United Nations.

I come out of this book having learned that the government/UN is not an entity, but a building in which individuals come together and engage with complex decisions quite unlikely to be ideal to all. As such, changing the world is not accomplished by one grandeur act, but by doing good in individual events and enacting change in ways within one's reach.

The writing is blunt and very detailed, but I found that the strength of the storytelling waned as the pages went on. There were parts of the book that deeply engaged me, but others were difficult to get through. This inconsistency is my only concern. Aside from that, the content of the book was informative and positively calls for further introspection from the readers.

brunosan reviewed Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

Review of 'Education of an Idealist' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

An extremely inspiring and powerful person doing an account of her life circumstances, motivation, and path (so far!). She is a great living example of the grit of an extremely motivated immigrant girl path to the most powerful public places.

The book itself is a great narrative of all historical events she has lived and influence so far. 5/5 stars. IMHO it slows down too much towards the end, perhaps is the same kind of work, or more details than earlier pages. Nonetheless, a fantastic book.

Can't wait to see what she does at the head of USAID, and whatever comes next! The world needs Power.

Anne Merrill reviewed Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

Review of 'Education of an Idealist' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Main lesson I took from this book: there are plenty of warning signs before genocides. Just like pandemics, we don't hear much about the genocides that are prevented. Sam Power was the US Ambassador to the UN during Obama's second term. She met Obama when he was a senator, after she sent him a copy of her first book, an investigation into whether it is possible to prevent genocide. This book is her memoir from childhood up through the end of the Obama administration. It's probably too long for most people, but I am particularly interested in so many of the themes in her story: emigration from Ireland to the US, dealing with a strong ethical sense in a corrupt world, being female and smart in a male dominated world, being proud of what's best about the US and horrified by what is worst about it.