The Foreign Service Journal, March 2003

$6.99, paperback, 644 pages). Powell describes his life as the son of Jamaican immigrants in the South Bronx, his rise through the ranks of the Army and subsequent political career. In Colin Powell: Soldier/States- man, Statesman/Soldier (Ballantine, 1992, $5.99, paperback, 369 pages), Howard Means uses 120 interviews, including one with Powell, to recount the secretary of State’s military career from Vietnam to the Reagan years, and then considers his modest start in life and rise to power. While not solely devoted to Powell by any means, Bob Woodward’s Bush at War (Simon and Schuster, 2002, $28.00, hardcover, 400 pages), a narra- tive description of the inner workings of the Bush administration immedi- ately after the Sept. 11 attacks, gives an account of Powell’s role in the administration and his relationship with Bush. This work is based on hun- dreds of interviews with White House insiders, government records and a four-hour interview Woodward con- ducted with President Bush at his Texas ranch. Admirers from a wide variety of political persuasions have praised the secretary of state for his managerial style. In The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell (McGraw-Hill Trade, 2002, $21.95, hardcover, 278 pages), Oren Harari gives his interpretation of the key aspects of Powell’s leadership methods. (Powell did not contribute directly to this book.) Harari, a profes- sor of management and consultant, based his analysis on Powell’s autobi- ography ( My American Journey , noted above) and his speeches. A general before taking over at State, Powell follows a long line of African-Americans in uniform. The African-American Soldier: From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell (Michael Lee Lanning, Citadel Press, 1999, $16.95, paperback, 320 pages), a historical narrative, describes the chal- lenges that he and other African- Americans have faced in the U.S. armed forces over the past two cen- turies. As the founding chairman of the national non-profit organization America’s Promise — The Alliance for Youth, Powell has inspired a number of books for young readers. These include Colin Powell: A Man of Quality (Libby Hughes, iUniverse. com, 2000, $12.95, paperback, 188 pages), and Colin Powell (Junior World Biographies Series) by Melissa Banta (Chelsea House Publishing, 1994, $8.65, library binding, 79 pages), both intended for children between the ages of 9 and 12. — Stephen E. Mather, Editorial Intern 56 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 3 B O O K S Correction In the December 2002 focus, “In Their Own Write” (p. 20), there was an inadvertent error of attribution in the first entry concerning Margaret Bender’s book, Foreign at Home and Away: Foreign-Born Wives in the U.S. Foreign Service. This book is definitely a woman’s story, an immigrant’s story and a Foreign Service story with rele- vance to all people living and working abroad, but Ambassador Marion Creekmore did not say that. He said: “Margaret Bender has written an illumi- nating, highly readable book on the challenges that confront foreign-born spouses of U.S. Foreign Service offi- cers. Her subjects are courageous, committed, and inspiring. ... This engaging book, which I strongly rec- ommend, also provides important insights on the demands faced by all Foreign Service spouses.” An InvItAtIon For S u mm e r F I c t I o n o nce again the Foreign Service Journal is seeking works of fiction of up to 3,000 words for its annual summer fiction issue. Story lines or characters involving the Foreign Service are preferred, but not required. The top stories, selected by the Journal Õs Editorial Board, will be published in the July/August issue and on the Journal Õs Web site. The writer of each story will receive an honorarium of $250. All stories must be previously unpublished. Submissions should be unsigned and accompanied by a cover sheet with authorÕs name, address, telephone numbers and e-mail address. Deadline is April 1. No fooling. Please send submissions to the attention of Mikkela Thompson, Business Manager, preferably by e-mail at thompsonm@afsa.org. Stories will also