This is the remarkable and galvanizing true story of Condoleezza Rice—sixty-sixth United States Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, who once said about his close confidante, “Dr. Rice is not only a brilliant person, she is an experienced person. . . . America will find that she is a wise person.”With the current release of her own long-awaited memoir, Condoleezza Rice is more fascinating than ever. Drawing from exclusive interviews with dozens of friends, relatives, colleagues, and teachers, as well as scores of previous articles and interviews, this thoroughly researched and detailed biography paints a compelling portrait of a born leader of resolute character who broke all barriers to excel as a black woman in an arena usually dominated by white men. From her childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, where her parents fostered a love of learning and excellence at an early age, to her calling to the arts as an outstanding classical pianist, to her rise through the political ranks to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., Condi is a revealing look at the most gifted and influential woman in American political history.