Madam Secretary: A Biography of Madeleine Albright

In this lightweight bio, Blood, a Washington, D.C., lobbyist, reduces the productive life of our current secretary of state to puffery: ""President Clinton...knew that Madeleine Albright's greatest asset was simply being Madeleine Albright."" Laden with quotes from admirers, the text describes Albright as a brilliant diplomat, a wonderful mother, an outstanding hostess and a trusted friend to luminaries such as Barbara Streisand. Blood covers Albright's career as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. (1993-1996), a period that encompassed the U.S. invasion of Haiti, the massacres in Rwanda and the war in Bosnia, describing these events in a way that places his subject in the most flattering light. The revelation, made public immediately after Albright's confirmation as secretary of state, that she had Jewish grandparents who perished in the Holocaust--not Catholic ancestors as she had stated--led to rumors that she had deliberately misrepresented her heritage. Blood dismisses these charges as unfounded. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)