The New York Times Book Review - David E. Sanger
[Hell and Other Destinations] is by turns poignant and hilarious, as [Albright] moves from the classroom to the boardroom of the New York Stock Exchange…to the indignities of being a "former somebody."
Publishers Weekly
03/09/2020
Former secretary of state Albright (Fascism: A Warning) weaves geopolitics with her own life story in this intelligent and personable memoir. Opening with her departure from the U.S. state department in 2001, Albright writes that she was determined to say “hell, yes” to all opportunities to help promote democracy and empower women. Though she criticizes fellow secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice for their failure to adopt a “logical strategy” to confront terrorism after 9/11, Albright also points out her own mistakes, including an insensitive answer to a 60 Minutes question about UN sanctions on Iraq. In several chapters, she highlights personal connections with women, including family members and old friends. She also describes her relationship with Hillary Clinton and the disappointments of the 2008 Democratic primary and the 2016 election, and promotes building educational opportunities for girls. Other chapters deal with lighter issues, including a Gilmore Girls cameo. Albright ends by lauding the power of the Constitution to protect American democracy and expressing confidence that, at age 82, she’s ready for new projects. She proves to be a capacious storyteller, willing to share personal disappointments, such as the dissolution of her marriage, as well as professional accomplishments. This appealing memoir will charm readers interested in contemporary politics and women’s issues. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
This richly detailed memoir by the former Secretary of State covers the period since her departure from government, in 2001. With clarity and wisdom, Albright recounts moments of pride, like receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2012, and acknowledges recent criticisms of her record, including those concerning the human cost of the sanctions that the Clinton Administration imposed on Iraq. Ultimately, the book presents an intricate portrait of a diplomat, and her ardent belief in democratic values and human rights, transatlantic partnerships and arms control, and open economies and sturdy institutions.” — The New Yorker
“By turns poignant and hilarious.” — New York Times
“In a blunt and revealing memoir, the former secretary of state reflects on the final stages of her career, working productively in her later decades and the state of the world since she left office in 2001.” — USA Today
“The book reflects the energy and churn of her post-State Department life…What resonated with me most were the human moments…her successes and her failures. The changes she’s witnessed and the glass ceilings that remain.” — NPR
“A humorous, self-deprecating account of her past two decades as a professor, businesswoman, mother and grandmother.” — Wall Street Journal
“This passionately told account of Albright’s ‘afterlife’ will inspire readers to become involved in the issues meaningful to them. Recommended for all interested in politics, leadership, and women’s studies.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Former secretary of state Albright weaves geopolitics with her own life story in this intelligent and personable memoir….She proves to be a capacious storyteller, willing to share personal disappointments, such as the dissolution of her marriage, as well as professional accomplishments. This appealing memoir will charm readers interested in contemporary politics and women’s issues.” — Publishers Weekly
"Dishy, as policy-wonkish memoirs go, and a pleasure for readers interested in the art of negotiation." — Kirkus Reviews
The New Yorker
This richly detailed memoir by the former Secretary of State covers the period since her departure from government, in 2001. With clarity and wisdom, Albright recounts moments of pride, like receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2012, and acknowledges recent criticisms of her record, including those concerning the human cost of the sanctions that the Clinton Administration imposed on Iraq. Ultimately, the book presents an intricate portrait of a diplomat, and her ardent belief in democratic values and human rights, transatlantic partnerships and arms control, and open economies and sturdy institutions.
New York Times
By turns poignant and hilarious.”
Wall Street Journal
A humorous, self-deprecating account of her past two decades as a professor, businesswoman, mother and grandmother.”
USA Today
In a blunt and revealing memoir, the former secretary of state reflects on the final stages of her career, working productively in her later decades and the state of the world since she left office in 2001.”
New Yorker
This richly detailed memoir by the former Secretary of State covers the period since her departure from government, in 2001. With clarity and wisdom, Albright recounts moments of pride, like receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2012, and acknowledges recent criticisms of her record, including those concerning the human cost of the sanctions that the Clinton Administration imposed on Iraq. Ultimately, the book presents an intricate portrait of a diplomat, and her ardent belief in democratic values and human rights, transatlantic partnerships and arms control, and open economies and sturdy institutions.
NPR
The book reflects the energy and churn of her post-State Department life…What resonated with me most were the human moments…her successes and her failures. The changes she’s witnessed and the glass ceilings that remain.”
The New Yorker
This richly detailed memoir by the former Secretary of State covers the period since her departure from government, in 2001. With clarity and wisdom, Albright recounts moments of pride, like receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2012, and acknowledges recent criticisms of her record, including those concerning the human cost of the sanctions that the Clinton Administration imposed on Iraq. Ultimately, the book presents an intricate portrait of a diplomat, and her ardent belief in democratic values and human rights, transatlantic partnerships and arms control, and open economies and sturdy institutions.
New Yorker
This richly detailed memoir by the former Secretary of State covers the period since her departure from government, in 2001. With clarity and wisdom, Albright recounts moments of pride, like receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2012, and acknowledges recent criticisms of her record, including those concerning the human cost of the sanctions that the Clinton Administration imposed on Iraq. Ultimately, the book presents an intricate portrait of a diplomat, and her ardent belief in democratic values and human rights, transatlantic partnerships and arms control, and open economies and sturdy institutions.
USA Today
In a blunt and revealing memoir, the former secretary of state reflects on the final stages of her career, working productively in her later decades and the state of the world since she left office in 2001.”
Wall Street Journal
A humorous, self-deprecating account of her past two decades as a professor, businesswoman, mother and grandmother.”
Library Journal
★ 04/01/2020
After her term as the first woman to hold the office of secretary of state ended in 2001, Albright contemplated life as a private citizen but ultimately opted to spend her time advocating for issues important to her. As a follow-up to her previous best seller, Madam Secretary: A Memoir, Albright's new book focuses on the past two decades of her life, and the initiatives and activities with which she is involved, ranging from starting her own consultant agency and giving speeches to teaching and chairing committees on international issues. She discusses major world events, such as the Arab Spring and the Iraq War, and her assessment of key players in those conflicts including her successors as secretary of state, from Colin Powell to Hilary Clinton to Rex Tillerson. Additionally, Albright relates more personal details of her life's story, particularly discovering her Jewish heritage and coming to terms with aging and other late-in-life transitions. She ends with her assessment of the Trump administration from a foreign policy perspective and her hopes for future national unity. VERDICT This passionately told account of Albright's "afterlife" will inspire readers to become involved in the issues meaningful to them. Recommended for all interested in politics, leadership, and women's studies. [See Prepub Alert, 12/1/19.]—Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
APRIL 2020 - AudioFile
For Madeleine Albright, her tenure as U.S. secretary of state was not the end of her career; it was just one stop in a life of continual service. This memoir covers her life after leaving government service in 2001. It’s an intimate portrayal, made all the more so when delivered by the author herself. Her narration is polished and engaging. She nearly laughs out loud along with listeners during humorous episodes and all but cries with them during heartrending ones. Through most of the audiobook, she delivers her story with an evenness honed by countless public speeches. Her only quirk—and it’s a small one—is her tendency to pause just before the end of sentences. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-02-18
The former secretary of state reflects on the world that has emerged since she left office in 2001.
Following her previous memoir, Madam Secretary, and particularly the self-explanatory Fascism: A Warning (2018), Albright begins by confessing that the end of her tenure as secretary of state found her “a little overcooked.” She was worn out, frazzled, and out of shape from too little home cooking and not enough exercise. Yet, she allows, she didn’t want to retire, so, after ceding her post to Colin Powell, she examined her options: write a memoir, hit the lecture circuit, teach, establish “a small consulting firm, run primarily by women.” Never one to be pinned down to one thing, she did pretty much all of them. She founded that firm, which had a hard take on its mission: Do good, and “whatever the cost to our bottom line, we didn’t want our children to think of us as creeps.” Therefore, no lobbying for big tobacco or the gun lobby, and by her account, Albright and colleagues steered big pharma into a few beneficial measures. The lecture circuit was a touch less satisfying, as was “the endurance test known as a book tour.” But postgame diplomatic analysis turns out to be her thing, always from the perspective of one who understands that diplomacy is the art of persuading “each side to settle for part of what it wants rather than prolong a squabble by demanding all.” Naturally, she despairs at the Trumpian approach, to say nothing of the man himself (“It was one thing to crave change; quite another to choose Donald Trump to define it”). And is he a fascist? Maybe not by dictionary definition, though not for want of trying—and in any event, Albright concludes, “he has the most antidemocratic instincts of any president in modern American history.”
Dishy, as policy-wonkish memoirs go, and a pleasure for readers interested in the art of negotiation.
