The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir

Summary

A NEW
YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

ONE OF AUDIBLE’S BEST
AUDIOBOOKS OF 2019

A NEW
YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2019 • AN NPR BEST BOOK OF 2019 •
ONE OF TIME’S MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2019 • AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE
YEAR • A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF 2019 • A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST
BOOK OF 2019

“Her
highly personal and reflective memoir … is a must-read for anyone who cares
about our role in a changing world.”—President Barack Obama

An intimate, powerful, and galvanizing memoir by Pulitzer Prize
winner, human rights advocate, and former UN Ambassador Samantha Power.

In her memoir, Power offers an urgent response to the question
"What can one person do?" and a call for a clearer eye, a kinder
heart, and a more open and civil hand in our politics and daily lives. The
Education of an Idealist traces Power’s distinctly American journey from
immigrant to war correspondent to presidential Cabinet official. In 2005, her
critiques of US foreign policy caught the eye of newly elected senator Barack
Obama, who invited her to work with him on Capitol Hill and then on his
presidential campaign. After Obama was elected president, Power went from being
an activist outsider to a government insider, navigating the halls of power
while trying to put her ideals into practice. She served for four years as
Obama’s human rights adviser, and in 2013, he named her US Ambassador to the
United Nations, the youngest American to assume the role.

Power
transports us from her childhood in Dublin to the streets of war-torn Bosnia to
the White House Situation Room and the world of high-stakes diplomacy. Humorous
and deeply honest, The Education of an Idealist lays bare the searing battles
and defining moments of her life and shows how she juggled the demands of a
24/7 national security job with the challenge of raising two young children.
Along the way, she illuminates the intricacies of politics and geopolitics,
reminding us how the United States can lead in the world, and why we each have
the opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity. Power’s memoir is an
unforgettable account of the power of idealism and of one person’s fierce
determination to make a difference.

“This is
a wonderful book. […] The interweaving of Power’s personal story, family story,
diplomatic history and moral arguments is executed seamlessly and with unblinking
honesty.”—THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, The New York Times Book Review 

“Honest,
personal, revealing… about the development of a young woman’s inner strength
and self-knowledge.”—COLM TÓIBÍN, author of Brooklyn and Nora
Webster

“Truly
engrossing.”—RACHEL MADDOW