No Higher Honor
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| Guide to Political Revolution, by Bernie Sanders (2017) | |
| Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders (2018) | |
| Promise Me, Dad , by Joe Biden (2017) | |
| Conscience of a Conservative, by Jeff Flake (2017) | |
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| Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders (2016) | |
| This Fight Is Our Fight, by Elizabeth Warren (2017) | |
| Higher Loyalty, by James Comey (2018) | |
| The Making of Donald Trump, by David Cay Johnston (2017) | |
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| What Happened , by Hillary Clinton (2017) | |
| Higher Loyalty , by James Comey (2018) | |
| Trump vs. Hillary On The Issues , by Jesse Gordon (2016) | |
| Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton (2014) | |
| Becoming , by Michelle Obama (2018) | |
| Outsider in the White House, by Bernie Sanders (2015) | |
| Book Reviews | |
(from Amazon.com) | |
(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com) |
No Higher Honor
A Memoir of My Years in Washington
by Condoleezza Rice
(Click for Amazon book review)
No Higher Honor takes the reader into secret negotiating rooms where the fates of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Lebanon often hung in the balance, and it draws back the curtain on how frighteningly close all-out war loomed in clashes involving Pakistan-India and Russia-Georgia, and in East Africa. No Higher Honor: a Memoir of my Years in Washington, by Condoleezza Rice, read by the author, Produced by Random House Audio, downloaded from audible.com. This book is one to be reread in a few months, maybe more than once. It’s a remarkable history of the eight years of the Bush presidency. 'No Higher Honor: The U.S.S. Yorktown at the Battle of Midway' by Jeff Nesmith is a insightful account of the men who made up the crew of the US aircraft carrier 'Yorktown' at the Battle of Midway. As one of the previous reviews has mentioned the title may be a bit misleading as the book really starts before America's entry into World War Two. No Higher Honor book. Read reviews from world’s largest community for readers. Like its World War II namesake of Leyte Gulf fame, USS Samuel B.
No Higher Honor Review
from No Higher Honor, by Condoleezza Rice (number of quotes indicated): |
BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:
Those looking for insight into Condoleezza Rice's personal history won't find it in this autobiography. It's 'A Memoir of My Years in Washington', so it starts with Bush's 2000 campaign for the White House. There's nothing about Condi's early life, nor even much about her life outside the White House.
The book does cover Condi's years as National Security Advisor (Bush's first term) and her years as Secretary of State (Bush's second term). Condi writes about everything she did in those two roles -- in other words, there's hardly anything on domestic policy either.
I complained about Tom Ridge's naivete on foreign policy matters as expressed in his book, The Test of our Times; Condi is not naive about foreign policy. I complained about Tom Ridge that I knew more about foreign countries than him; Condi knows more about foreign countries than me, or than just about anyone. Condi thrilled me by using the term 'Pashtunistan' -- the only time I've ever seen the term in print except in my own article on Pashtunistan. ('Pashtunistan' means the ethnically-defined region that spans the Pakistan-Afghan border; both countries' presidents prefer to include 'Greater Pashtunistan' in their own country, according to Condi, pp. 445-6).
What about a run for elective office? Condi has only one brief quip, regarding Sen. Barabara Boxer (D, CA) and why the Senator might have disliked Condi: 'Perhaps she bristled at speculation that I'd one day take her on for that seat. She needn't have worried.' Condi seems to be saying she won't run against Sen. Boxer -- but we read-between-the-line pundits note that Condi used the PAST tense, so maybe, just maybe, there's hope for a FUTURE run. We found little in this book to substantiate a rumor, but we'd love to start an unsubstantiated rumor, so here goes: 'Condi might run for California Senate against Barbara Boxer in 2016.'
Those interested in Condi's personal life, or her views on domestic policy, will have to wait for another book. Those interested in whether Condi plans on running for office will have to wait for another book, too -- but if she DOES run, it will have been worth the wait.
-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, Dec. 2011
P.S. This book was written in 2011, and, as mentioned above, the reader did not have to wait long for a book on Condi's personal history: her personal autobiography, My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me, came out in 2012.
| OnTheIssues.org excerpts:(click on issues for details) |
| Civil Rights Condoleezza Rice: Appointed State Department's first chief diversity officer. |
| Drugs Bill Clinton: Fight war on drugs in all of the Andean states. George W. Bush: Afghans wanted roads; Bush wanted aerial poppy eradication. |
| Education Condoleezza Rice: Encourage critical languages: Faris, Chinese, Arabic. Condoleezza Rice: Spotlight the importance of foreign exchange student program. |
| Energy & Oil Condoleezza Rice: Kyoto Protocol fatally flawed, but address climate change. Dick Cheney: Drew a line in the sand: Nothing to do with Kyoto Protocol. |
| Foreign Policy Colin Powell: Liberia is part of U.S. history; stay involved there. Condoleezza Rice: Liberia is part of U.S. history; stay involved there. Condoleezza Rice: Post-WWII push for democratic institutions reflected values. Condoleezza Rice: Support democratic aspirations abroad, not just stability. Condoleezza Rice: Development assistance should support US objectives. Condoleezza Rice: Be respectful but determined with China on human rights. Condoleezza Rice: Channel Arab Spring into positive development. George W. Bush: Millennium Challenge Account: no more money down a rat hole. Margaret Spellings: Spotlight the importance of foreign exchange student program. |
| Homeland Security Condoleezza Rice: 1990s: Dreams of a missile shield died with the Cold War. Condoleezza Rice: Bin Laden's death vindicated CIA interrogation programs. George W. Bush: Bush Doctrine: Put state sponsors of terrorism on notice. Margaret Spellings: Encourage critical languages: Faris, Chinese, Arabic. Ronald Reagan: 1983: Anti-missiles replace mutually-assured destruction. |
| Principles & Values Colin Powell: OpEd: Worldview is nuanced; decisionmaking by consensus. Donald Rumsfeld: OpEd: Worldview is black-and-white; decisionmaking secretive. |
| Technology Alberto Gonzalez: Speeding up FISA very important in the war on terror. Condoleezza Rice: Pushed to improve intellectual property rights in China. |
| War & Peace Condoleezza Rice: Saddam was a cancer in the Mideast, even without WMD. Condoleezza Rice: We should have admitted 'The 16 Words' were a mistake. George W. Bush: 2003: Sent warships to force Liberian president to resign. |
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Condoleezza Rice No Higher Honor
No Higher HonorA Memoir of My Years in Washington
by Condoleezza Rice.
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No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf
By Bradley Peniston
Foreword by Adm. (ret.) William Crowe
Naval Institute Press, 2006 (hardcover), 2013 (paperback, Kindle). 288 pp., 15 photos, 6 x 9 inches. $23.95 list, ISBN 9781591146766. Kindle edition.
A U.S. warship in deadly peril
The USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) was a small warship built for escort duty — much like its namesake vessel, one of the tin-can heroes of Leyte Gulf. But its skipper imbued his brand-new crew with their forebears’ fighting spirit, and when the guided missile frigate was thrust into the Persian Gulf at the height of the Iran-Iraq War, there was no better ship for the job.
For two months in 1988, captain and crew sailed a Gulf aflame, escorting tankers in Operation Earnest Will, the largest convoy operation since World War II. Forbidden to fire unless fired upon, they relied on wit and nerve to face down Iraqi fighter jets and Iranian warships.
The Roberts’ sternest test arrived on 14 April, when an Iranian mine ripped open its engineroom, ignited fires on four decks, and plunged the ship into darkness. With seawater rising around their boots, the crew fought flames and flooding into the night.
The ship’s tale of bravery and cool competence has become part of Navy lore and a staple of naval leadership courses. No U.S. warship since the Korean War has come closer to sinking in hostile action. The mining provoked Operation Praying Mantis, the biggest surface-ship battle in decades; helped end the Iran-Iraq War; and set the stage for conflicts to come.
PRAISE FOR “NO HIGHER HONOR”
“A first-class work that should get high marks from all interested in ships and the sea — and especially in the saving of a sinking ship. Peniston has captured the soul of the USS Samuel B. Robertsand the ship’s crew, recounting their ordeal in riveting prose.” —Norman Polmar, author of RICKOVER and SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S. FLEET
“As fast-moving and tightly built as a Perry-class frigate, NO HIGHER HONOR drops the reader into the crucible of the 1988 tanker war in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy’s most harrowing combat theater since World War II. The astonishing story of the saving of the USS Samuel B. Roberts illustrates the value of inspired naval leadership and the transcendent power that comes from pride of heritage.” — James D. Hornfischer, author of THE LAST STAND OF THE TIN CAN SAILORS and SHIP OF GHOSTS
“A great read. This is a story about the kind of command leadership that makes our Navy the greatest in the world.” — Vice Adm. (ret.) Henry C. Mustin, former commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet
No Higher Honor Bradley Peniston
ABOUT THE BOOK
No Higher Honor is the first book to detail the extraordinary tale of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) and the crew’s heroic efforts to save the ship after it hit an Iranian mine in 1988. Drawing on years of research and scores of interviews, Bradley Peniston chronicles the origins of the Perry-class frigate; the crew’s training; its operations in the Persian Gulf; the U.S. retaliation against Iran, which became the biggest surface battle since World War II; and the complex repairsthat returned the ship to duty.
No Higher Honor Book Review
Published by Naval Institute Press, the 275-page book contains 20 photos, several diagrams of the damage, and a muster list of the shipmates aboard the Roberts during its fight for survival.