Now, that I finished The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power, I want to write a proper review, not just a short note.

I loved everything about that book! First of all, I loved the writing style. The book is written in a very personal way, yet it talks about the most critical global problems, about the historical event which shaped the past and present of our country and the world in general. And Samantha’s personal story is intervened with the history at large in such a natural way that I can’t even imagine that story to be told differently. If I would ever end up writing my own story, that’s exactly how I would want it to sound :).

Samantha Power has been in all the places where history has been happening in the past twenty years. If she were not physically present there, she would still be deeply involved with the issues. Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, Syria, working for Obama’s first presidential campaign, working in the White House, being the US ambassador to the UN, trying to resolve Russian – US issues, staying for LGBT rights – and wherever she goes she remains true to herself.

Reading this book, I understood more of the background of some actions or absence of those; for example, now I know why Obama was avoiding calling Armenian genocide a genocide.

Another thing I love about that book is how she talks about being a mother and being in public service, not sugar coating the problems, but making it clear that all the sacrifices were made consciously, and she would never decide differently.

I have to mention the hilarious episode from this book; it was so funny that I laughed out loud while listening. Samantha asked her stepfather to babysit when she was called for some White House duties on a short notice. Her stepfather started to panic when he could not find the milk to feed the baby, and Barak Obama saw Samantha on the phone, trying to calm down her stepfather. Obama took the phone: Eddie, that is the President of the United States speaking. Eddie, you can do it!

I might later come back and write more, but for now, I am finishing this review with the conclusion that this is one of the best books I read in the past year.

I am horrible with writing about the books I’ve read, so ai decided at least to mention several books I read earlier that year. I do not have detailed reviews for them, but I wanted to let my friends know that I think those are important books, and worth reading.

The first one is Madeleine Albright The Mighty and the Almighty. I liked that book somewhat less than the “Fascism” book, or rather I was less excited by it. But I still think that for those who want to understand better the rationales behind American foreign policies, it is a must-read. 

The Nuremberg Trials is a very detailed description of the unique international trial against the war crimes conducted by Nazi Germany during World War II. I especially recommend it for those of my friends who went to school in the Soviet Union and didn’t have a chance to revisit their knowledge about the famous Nuremberg Trial since then. Even for the broader audience, it’s very educational and thought-provoking.

This book about Rwanda genocide is an absolute must-read for those who do not know much about the Rwanda genocide, except that “something bad happened.” It shows how horrible things might turn if the world is ignorant. 

That concludes my first quarter reading, at least the books which I find worth reading, and I hope to write in more details about the books which I read in April and May.

I have a list of at least ten books which I read and never reviewed, and I do not want that book to end up in the same list, that’s why I want to write just one paragraph here.

I am currently listening to The Education of an Idealist, and it is so good!!! May be it is just me, but I laugh and cry while I am listening to this book on the go.

I will write more when I will be done.