intervention in Syria after Assad’s nerve gas attacks, only for him to backpedal and fail to secure Senate support. One senses her frustration when she thought she had a commitment from the President for U.S. The narrative is a story of a passion to save human lives, and to stand up for human flourishing, where ideals often ran up against reality. ambassadors, who she visited rather than making them call on her. An internship with Mort Abramowitz where she researched the Bosnian conflict led her to the adventure of trying to see that war up close as a war correspondent–setting the precedent for her commitment to get “on the ground” whenever she could to understand a crisis–whether the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, the Ebola crisis, or even the missions of other U.N. A European trip awakened her to genocide, oppression, and the fissures that would eventually erupt in Yugoslavia. I was fascinated to learn that until about mid-way through her time at Yale, she was more interested in sports than international affairs. This is a woman who first of all knew both love and loss, and understood both the pain of feeling she’d abandoned a father, and the flourishing she experienced with her mother and step-father who were for her every step of the way. Beyond the curriculum vitae outlined above, we come to understand the shaping of a woman passionate in the pursuit of human rights and how she persisted when her passion ran up against political realities and limits. Fitting for an interesting life, Power tells an interesting story, an un-put-downable story at least for me. The Education of an Idealist covers everything except for that last sentence. She returned to government in 2021 as the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development. Leaving public office in 2017 afforded more time with her husband, legal scholar at Harvard, Cass Sunstein, and their two children, Declan and Rian as well as resuming teaching duties at Harvard Law School and the Kennedy. Ambassador to the United Nations, where she served until January 2017. She later joined his administrator on the National Security Council, where she served as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights. She campaigned for Obama, resigning at one point, when what she thought was an off-the-record conversation about Senator Clinton was published. She left Harvard in 2005 for a one-year fellowship with then-Senator Barack Obama, helping shape his efforts to press for American intervention in Darfur. She returned to Harvard, teaching at the Kennedy School for Government and serving as Executive Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. she plunged into law school while doing the research on her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, A Problem From Hell, ( review), a history of genocide in the 20th century. After graduating from Yale, she ended up as a freelance war correspondent in the former Yugoslavia, where she encountered the genocidal efforts against Bosnian Muslims, culminating in Srebenica. She played basketball and ran cross country in high school and is an avid baseball fan. She and her mother became naturalized citizens and Vera married Eddie, who provided not only the love but the stability she needed. Born in Ireland, she emigrated with her mother Vera to the United States as a young girl, leaving an alcoholic father who eventually drank himself to death at a young age. Samantha Power has led an interesting life, by any measure. Summary: A memoir on immigrant-American, war correspondent, human rights activist, and diplomat Samantha Power. The Education of an Idealist, Samantha Power.
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