THE EDUCATION OF AN IDEALIST A Memoir

Samantha Power's appealing voice exhibits gravitas, humility, and humor in this remarkable memoir. She is clear and compelling as she reflects on multiple turning points in her life--emigrating from Ireland as a child, visiting Dachau and Anne Frank's house, reporting on the Bosnian genocide, being a foreign policy advisor to President Obama, and becoming U.N. ambassador. Power struggles to retain her natural activism--a desire for American intervention to stem human rights abuses--while operating within the real constraints of American governmental and military institutions. Managing a young family along with a super-busy professional life generates lighter moments. It's hard not to giggle when her son Declan stomps away after unsuccessfully trying to get her attention during a political crisis, muttering "Putin, Putin, Putin. When will it be Declan, Declan, Declan?" A.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2019]