Title: Soldier The Life of Colin Powell
Author: Karen DeYoung
Publisher: Vintage Books
Date: 2007
Pages: 613
Soldier The Life of Colin Powell (book review)
Karen DeYoung, the author, was a former editor of the Washington Post. She did research into the entire life of Colin Powell and wrote his story.
The story begins with Colin’s parents and how they moved from Jamaica to the United States to become citizens there. Although he was sheltered from it, they had to overcome racial prejudices that were common at that time when he was a child born in America.
As a child he was told he would not amount to anything, which pushed him to strive to become the best at whatever he did. Once he graduated school, he chose to join the army. Over time he worked hard and quickly rose in the ranks until he became a four-star general. His greatest accomplishments in the army were seen during Desert Storm.
The majority of the book, however, looks at his life after he retired from the army and became Secretary of State under several presidents. Great detail is looked at various decisions made by the presidents he was under and how he influenced the choices or was also ignored. It looks at the second war in Iraq and later in Afghanistan and the problems that occurred in both.
This book is not a Christian book in anyway but is very interesting to read. I had personally had a chance to meet General Colin Powell at the time he was retiring from the army, making this book even more interesting to me. It describes a man who faced all challenges and difficulties head on and overcame them to become take on one of the highest positions in America.
The final, nearly, one hundred pages are just the references to all of the quotes throughout the entire book, not a part of the story. There is a little foul language in a few spots when quoting various people, but it is very little.
I would recommend reading it if you like biographies and interested in politics. It is a very long read, but was worth it.
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