Imagine a life spent as a stranger, as a refugee from an oppressive regime in search of freedom, education, and opportunity. Imagine a life spent honoring a family rich in love, respect, and honor. Now imagine being told that this whole life was a lie. To one person in particular, this was not fictitious. This was reality; this was Madeleine Korbel, also known as Madeleine Albright, the United States’ first female Secretary of State.

Ann Blackman recently released her biography of Madeleine Korbel Albright called Seasons of Her Life (Lisa Drew Book/Scribner). It is the story of a Czechoslovakian girl who managed to escape not only from the Nazis but also from the Communists who had invaded her country. Once she escaped from the new totalitarian regime, Albright’s story continues with her ascent to the fourth highest position in the United States government. Like most biographies, the story is replete with humor, tragedy, and honor. However, by the end of the book, the reader not only leaves with an intimate knowledge of Madeleine’s struggle to the top, but also with a mentor.

What makes her story so remarkable? Who is Madeleine and why does she stand out from the rest of the Washington crowd? Why does her life deserve to be immortalized in a biography? There are many elements of Madeleine’s life that differentiate her from the rest of our nation’s heroes. Her family’s history, her education, and her passion for foreign relations have all contributed to this woman’s uniqueness and her amazing ability to break through our culture’s traditions, gender boundaries, and social restrictions.

As a young girl, Albright experienced first hand what very few people our age ever get to experience. Her father, Joseph Korbel, a Czechoslovakian diplomat with strident anti-Communist ideas, was forced to flee his native country with his wife and children in February 1948 to escape the newly formed Communist regime. Having originally fled to London to escape the war, the Korbel family was no stranger to refugee life. As a result of living as a stranger throughout her childhood, it became necessary to learn how to quickly assimilate into a new culture. When the Korbels finally reached America, Madeleine’s political skills were already finely tuned. As she carved her niche in school, her desire to follow in her father’s footsteps grew, her passion for foreign relations flourished, and her skills as a leader became manifest in all aspects of her life.

Madeleine’s education thus greatly influenced her success. Like many prominent female leaders, Madeleine graduated from Wellseley. She graduated at a time, however, when a woman was expected to develop a career within her own house, not within the White House. It was a catch-22. Although women could develop their minds in college, they were not allowed to actually use them once outside of college. Like most women of the 50’s, Madeleine was prepared to follow these expectations unquestioningly. But, like women of the 90’s, however, Madeleine could do both.

When she met and married her husband, she was a senior in college. A few years later, when most women of today are taking the bar exam or preparing for surgery, Madeleine gave birth to twins. While taking care of twins is not only quite difficult but also an honorable job, Madeleine wanted, and needed to do more. After experiencing the tragedy of a stillbirth, Mrs. Albright enrolled in graduate school at Columbia University. With her family firmly in place, Madeleine broke one of our culture’s traditions by earning her degree and entering the workforce. At this point Madeleine was a pioneer venturing into a world that was just opening its eyes to gender parity and feminine ambition.

Although she married into a very prominent family with many connections, Madeleine, like all inexperienced job hunters, started at the bottom. She started out as Chairman of a local school board and worked her way up. From Senator Ed Muskie’s Presidential campaign in 1972, to television and radio commentator, to professor at Georgetown, to Geraldine Ferraro’s foreign policy advisor when she ran for Vice-President under Walter Mondale, Madeleine enhanced her thinking and social skills. By the time she became an Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine knew several languages, had a vast amount of advising experience, and commanded a solid reputation for assertive negotiation skills. But, what Madeleine possessed was a unique passion for learning and the ability to apply what she knows. Working in a democratic country was more than a job or an opportunity. It was her dream. It was a dream that originated with her father and culminated in her appointment as the first female Secretary of State.

Madeleine’s life was lucky but not without its tragedies. She experienced what many of her generation experienced. Divorce was common, as men felt threatened when their wives chose to succeed at both a career and a family. She witnessed the death of her child, her father, and her mentor, Ed Muskie. One tragedy, however, hit her during a time when she felt invincible, but in reality, was the most vulnerable. Following on the footsteps of her appointment as Secretary of State, Madeleine was informed by the media that she was Jewish. She had made it to the top and enjoyed the journey, but nothing could have prepared her for the news she would receive at the top. This simple background story on the new Secretary had revealed to the public and to Madeleine’s family that everything she had been told while growing up had been a lie.

Her grandparents were Jews and both had died in the Nazi concentration camps during the war. In fact, a large part of her family had died in the camps. She had fled the war and her native land not because of her family’s political ideology as she was told but because of her religion. Madeleine Korbel Albright dealt with this news as she did with all of the events in her life. She sought the truth, leaned on her friends and family for support throughout, and ultimately turned a very negative experience into a positive blessing. To this day, her Jewish background has not yet prevented her from playing a major hand in important world events such as the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.

To read Madeleine’s biography is an experience. While her career is well known to us all, her life before her career is virtually a mystery. If one remembers that this biography is not fictional but rather is the story of the life of our nation’s first female Secretary of State, her story will be inspirational.

Visit Our Bookstore

for more informatin about Madeleine Albright