Review: Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom

Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom by Condoleezza Rice My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Highly readable, engaging summary by former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on democracy, and how countries transition from non-democratic to democratic. She provides many examples from her career, providing a personal bent to many of the stories of transition. Stories include Kenya, Ukraine, Poland, Columbia, Arab states and more. She ends with an overview from 2016 (when this book was written) that includes perceptions of challenges to democracy even here in the US, but nevertheless ends on a hopeful note.

Others have called this book dry, or suggested it’s hard going in parts, but I didn’t find it so at all. I must admit I did set it down half way through to pick up a short novel that I finished before coming back to it, but both halves of this book went by quickly.