Rating: 
Summary: Can I give it 6 stars?
Review: This is a wonderfully gripping book from the very first pages, an inspiring story of just how much one person can accomplish in a short period of time. The writier effectively keeps Ingrid human, exploring her relationships with her children and others, while keeping the focus on her political activities. This woman has sacrificed everything for her country. Others have suggested she is arrogant or self-serving - that does not come across to me at all. Ingrid has since been kidnapped - I hope others will read this book to get at least a brief look at the political climate of Colombia and consider what we can do to help.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating story (shallow at times)
Review: This is an excellent story about Ms. Betancourt's struggle to serve the Colombian people honestly and with dignity in a society that seems to lack both of those virtues among its political leaders. It's a fast read and inspired me to learn more about contemporary Colombia. Her story is amazing, and her matter-of-fact manner of telling it is refreshing. My only critique is that the story seemed rushed, and felt a bit shallow at times when the narrator rushed through facts. She glossed over certain periods, and at times characterized others (such as the other former female presidential candidate) in a strong, negative fashion but then didn't explain in detail. This made me question her factual presentation at times.
Rating:
Summary: Is fighting for a better world a waste of time ?
Review: True: this book does not tell you everything about the current political and economical situation in Colombia. True: you should definitely complement the reading of this book by others, starting with Nobel laureate G. Marquez's News of a Kidnapping ; now that Mrs. Betancourt is herself detained against her will... But if we are all on this planet, it is probably to understand what our best human potentials are. Helping making this world a better place surely is one of the better ways. Mrs. Betancourt courageously started to do this in Colombia. I think you will not loose your time knowing her story, and understanding why it should not be stopped. Peace and happiness are contagious: let's do what we can to be infected !
Rating: 
Summary: MISLEADING, SPOILED AND UNREALISTIC
Review: Where has this writer been living? Where is that country she depicts so badly? This book is just another unfortunate, but very representative dimension of a divided society, where spoiled rich kids produced the official vision of reality, and then cry out having to endure from the distance, views of violent worlds themselves have been creating in their backyards for generations. Well, here you have another sad example of denial and lack of first hand experience of most high class well prepare but not grounded intellectuals eclipsing Colombian reality overseas. Unfortunate because we need critical and direct approaches. This book does not develop seriously any topic, the need for an agrarian reform, the need to stop relations between drug producers, weapon market, and the violence actors (including all) is dismissed bluntly. Betancourt lives in another reality, this book should be classified as fiction, a really bad one.
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