My American Journey by Colin Powell with Joseph E. Persico
1995 / 612 pgs

I, like many, have a wish list of desired books to devour. This one has been on this list for many years. I found a hard copy at a used book store and sat down with it with my eager mind ready to dive in. It didn’t disappoint by any stretch of the imagination!

Colin Powell’s journey from New York to through ROTC and eventual rise to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is not a normal journey for any officer in any of the services. As he went along his path, he faced many challenges not only in the forests of Vietnam but also the rasim that raged in the nations south in the 1960’s. As I read his trials and tribulations dealing with racism and his thoughts and his message for the nation and even individuals, I realised this book was published in 1995 and we are still dealing with it today, 25 years later! People who haven’t read My American Journey should because it is painful to realise the truth that, yes, we as a nation have gotten better over time, but we are still dealing with this ugly multi heading snake today.

Reading about Gen Powell’s journey and how it impacted his family as some dream jobs he finally attained, like command of V Corps, before he even gets half way through the traditional command, he is pulled back to Washington to sit at the highest position guiding our nations international policies. How he believes a few times that this is the end his journey, however, it keeps going. While the family with move after move is impacted. Military families sacrifice a lot to follow those that serve their nation and this one made many!

This book is very inspirational and I would absolutely recommend it!

One of my favorite quotes “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more that science of management says is possible.” – Gen Colin Powell

Crack open a good book and enjoy the coffee!

Lopaka