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Exceptional "Reading" Skills Nov 27, 2001 (11 of 11 found this helpful)
Until reading this uncommonly personal and revealing memoir, I knew very little about Jordan the human being although I was already well-aware of his public career which includes leadership positions in the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, and the Urban League as well as subsequent prominence in the private sector as (for lack of a better term) a "powerbroker" in Washington, D.C. while continuing to serve on the governing boards of several major corporations. Unfairly, I think, he is most widely recognized as the friend to whom then President Clinton turned for assistance when attempting to help Monica Lewinsky obtain a job after that scandal began to unfold. In this memoir, however, Jordan limits his attention to the years ending in 1981 when he resigned from the Urban League. Whatever differences there may be between him and Jack Welch (obviously there are several), both men credit their mothers with giving them the values, determination, and encouragement needed as they took on progressively greater challenges while encountering progressively more formidable obstacles. I was especially interested in Jordan's straightforward explanation of his differences with other black leaders, notably his determination to work within the economic system (capitalism) to achieve social and political objectives. He also disagreed with those black leaders who supported the Palestinian cause and thereby exacerbated black-Jewish relations. Jordan seems to be a consummate pragmatist, determined to produce desired results (e.g. a higher standard of living and a better quality of life for all have-nots, whatever their race) rather than merely indulge in self-serving rhetoric and public posturing (e.g. conducting press conferences in conjunction with crises to generate personal publicity). In this book, he shares dozens of anecdotes without at any time seeming self-serving. "Vernon can read!" but he also knows how to forge alliances, to open and then nourish channels of communication and cooperation, and -- in process --to celebrate his own humanity in ways and to an extent no resume could possibly indicate. If and when he deems it appropriate and is so inclined, I hope Jordan will shift his attention to the last 20 years and again discuss his experiences, not as a public figure but as a man with much of value to share.
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A Random Walk Down Race Street...Through Grace & Discipline Dec 9, 2001 (8 of 8 found this helpful)
In finishing Vernon Jordan's book, I'm impressed by the fact of how important memoir's are to our culture. He is a black man who has not only done very well, but one who also has lived well by virtue of the fact that he began life within the warmth and care of two very nurturing parents who had the wisdom to cultivate his best talents, and those of his siblings, no doubt. As a Christian family, the values imparted were purposeful, deep and rooted in the dignity of equality even while social inequities were a part of our American life. That strength has seen him though the vagaries which always accompany the offensiveness of that inequity that alone can produce the injustice which undermines entire lives. There is little doubt that his has been a life of reserve and limited self expression within the context of the larger world upon that rise to esteem he has worked so hard and so humbly to achieve, and he acknowledges the fortunate guidance and commitment of his wonderful mother whose pride is unmatched as only a mother's can be. Under her tutelage and that of his dad, he has had the good fortune to meet and marry two wonderful women who've provided him with the care, intimacy and support his mother taught him to expect because he deserved that. Through that love, the beginnings of strength flower into a tolerance for life that can supercede hardships to enable the radiance of such warmth and excellence to be noticed by others and embraced by them for the benefit of others, confident in one's own purpose and direction. Part of his charm is that he lived during a time, obviously, when women were respected for their value and their ways, and men were willing to work for that privilege of romance and companionship that makes for healthy and committed relationships. It is particularly striking in that these qualities are seen in the life of a black man rather than where we are conditioned to view it, in a white man. That fact greatly enhances the value of his memoir to the African American population who have had few role models at so high a level of business, law, government and politics. Much of his success appears to be due to his incredible ability for self reflection along with the ability to make decisions that work in the wider world as he was able to define it for himself always keeping his mother (and others) as his chief confidant in her belief of his potential. It also shows the value of human potential through that love and confidence and its ability to transform our lives despite setbacks. It's a very worthy and candid look inside a world few can glimpse but many can learn from, and should be an inspiration to all of those who embark upon his journey through his revelations. To whites, it should dispel myths and satisfy curiosities about the reliability and excellence of executives in people of color, and show that it is the style, character and personality of the person rather than the color of the skin that is the real difference.
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But Vernon Can't Write ( A Biography) Jan 12, 2002 (11 of 13 found this helpful)
At one point Vernon reflects on a gathering of contemporaries during the 1970s. Asked to speak openly about himself and his emotions during a gathering (Author quips~ in a very seventies fashion) Vernon got so fed up at the gathering and being asked to open up to others that he said "This isn't going to happen" got up and left. And I think the same mentality carried oven when Vernon Can Read was written. Mr Jordan never had the propensity to open up and let the reader feel emotionally involved in this book, and in his life. As we watched him hop job to job and talk in acronyms(for entirely too long), we got a very two dimensional character, as if we were being led on a slide show of Vernon's life. He comes off as being brash, self-important and rude in some spots, but the reader never got to appreciate his rudeness or infact to really get to know him. His reputation led me to read the book, but this was also the downfall of Vernon Can Read, the author tried to uphold his reputation while witholding frankness and vulnerability. In the end I was left clamoring for the guy who got drunk at Katherine Graham's house and was belting out tunes with Clinton (picture in the Book), but instead I got a lawyer showing slides of his life.
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Interesting and Frustrating Sep 1, 2002 (9 of 11 found this helpful)
This book is both interesting and frustrating. It is interesting because of the information it gives about life for African Americans in Georgia prior to the end of Jim Crow. And for the information Jordan provides about starting out practicing law in Georgia with attorney Donald Hollowell.
After that it becomes frustrating because of all it leaves out. And once you read interviews with Vernon Jordan about why he wrote "Vernon Can Read," you understand something about his character. It appears that the sole reason he wrote the book is because so many Caucasians had never heard of him prior to the election of Bill Clinton as president (and the Monica Lewinsky scandal), and he wanted to let them know he had an entire career history before Clinton was even heard of...
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Vernon Tells It Like It Is Nov 13, 2001 (9 of 11 found this helpful)
I love history and this was a wonderful walk through history. I actally lived these episodes along with Vernon Jordan as have millions of other Americans. I'm a year younger than Mr. Jordan so we traveled many of the same experiences. His was a little toughter than mine as I was born in the west, but not that much different as I'm still black.
His book is refreshing and cleared up a lot of rumors I'd heard about him through the years. It was wonderful to learn of his devotions to his wife Shirley. I too did the Madison and shook many a tail feather back in the day.
I'm proud of Vernon Jordan and I'm proud of his accomplishments. I am in politics and wish I had been as wise as he was and is, because pro bono gets tired after while. But somebody's got to do it, sometimes.
He has been a wise man and had wise and wonderful counsel from his parents and friends. Glad he was able to separate the wheaat from the chaff though. I just loved the book and will recommend it to everyone. I have some Caucasian acquaintainces who need to read it. Perhaps they will recognize themselves in some of the portraits Vernon has painted. They are still practicing the same stuff.
Good book. In fact I ordered it on tape but couldn't wait for it to arrive. I'm going to give the tape as a gift to someone else. I had to get the book and read it. Did it in two days. Clever and wonderful title! Annette Gordon-Reed helped him do an excellent job.