The first biography on the most important woman in U.S. government today, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, by the author of Laura: America's First Lady, First Mother. As National Security Advisor to the president and winner of the NAACP Image Award, Condoleezza Rice has never wasted time getting where she wants to go, and for the first time, this biography tells the story of her remarkable lifefrom her precocious childhood to her dreams of becoming a concert pianist to her role as the president's most trusted advisor, following a distinguished career as scholar, professor, provost, and foreign policy advisorall by the age of 47. Condi, as she is known, was named after a musical term, con dolcezzato play "with sweetness"by her music-loving parents who, both educators, set forth a standard of excellence for their only child that would give her the "twice as good" edge that was necessary to be on an even standing with her white peers in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, in 1954. Topics covered include: A sweeping, intriguing look at the Rice family legacy, from slave owners and slaves to "evangelists of education" and finally to a prominent government figure and presidential advisor The big switch: why Rice changed her career goal from concert pianist to scholar Point-by-point look at Rice's foreign policy outlook on Russia, China, Israel, Afghanistan, and other nations Read Less