Vernon Can Read!: A Memoir

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Summary: An Inspiring American Icon
Review: An awe inspiring American dream and triumph. A spiritual uplifting from a living icon. Vernon Jordan shares the depths of his life story, the obstacles of life and how he has continued to create opportunities which lead to success. An amazing lesson by his mother Mary Belle Jordan to impart the significance and expectations of reaching one's dreams whatever they may be. You can't help but feel motivated after reading this memoir. Vernon E. Jordan's life is an inspiration for us all.

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Summary: Withdrawn Lawer writes without emotion
Review: 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 demensional 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 Kathering Graham's house and was belting out tunes with Clinton (picture in the Book), but instead I got a lawer showing slides of his life.

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Summary: This book should be in every African American's home
Review: I listened to the unabridged audio cassette version of Vernon Can Read! This is a wonderful book. It has many dates and events in African American history of which Mr. Jordan contributed to, experienced and/or witnessed. These events are not only significant in the life of Mr. Jordan but also in the history of African Americans. The book is well written and easy to read and/or listen to. I told my five year old son about the experience of young Vernon Jordan and Mr. Maddock. It was inspiring to my son and we often listen to that portion of the tape while driving home from school. Mr. Jordan wanted the book to inspire his children and grandchildren and I suspect that it has. The book has also inspired my son. I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: Vernon can climb
Review: I saw on television part of a lecture the author gave at UC and was very impressesd with him and wanted to read his book. The highlights of his life given in the lecture covered the only interesting parts of the book, his childhood. The book is poorly written which might be acceptable if he wrote it alone, but he didn't, he had help. His childhood experiences growing up in a segregated society are interesting and his perspectives on segregation are, too, but once he graduates from law school he moves from one position to the next, seemingly moving up by being the right person in the right place at the right time knowing the right people. He must have been capable and a hard worker to handle those positions and, clearly, he learned people skills but there is nothing to indicate his thoughts or positions on any of the issues with which he was confronted except in the most general way. Nothing comes across as showing him as being inspiring, charismatic, or even interesting other than his being where he was, with the people he connected with and the times he participated in. The people he dealt with were giants, Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley as two examples in the legal profession, but he gives no insights into any of these people or even interesting anecdotes. Just a list of who they were. His reportage of his contacts with the Clintons, early on, after Bill lost his bid for re-election to the Governorship was that he told them that Hillary should stop using her maiden name and start using Clinton and when she did Bill got re-elected. There is absolutely no sense of the man, or of his contemporaries or, even, really, his times. Having lived through most of them, myself, I can place his story in the context of the times but for younger readers without a sense of the historical context it can't seem very inspiring. I'm glad I didn't buy the book but only borrowed it from the public library.

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Summary: We need the Unauthorized Biography.
Review: This book is an unfortunate piece of near puffery: much form, much superficiality, little substance. But what does one expect from a Power Broker? Truth or Dare?

In keeping with the unwritten Power Broker Creed, Mr.Jordan reveals very little about the inside mechanations that made him who he is (as opposed to who he was). That is to say, the book speaks volumes about those life experiences that made Vernon Jordan the moderate civil rights leader he was years ago, but says exactly nothing about the transition from that leadership role, to the man who had the president's ear (not to mention the man who kept his secrets)and the ear of the REAL powerful people in this global econonmy: the corporate mavens for whom Vernon was (is?) paid handsomely to dish out advice and counsel to.

We never hear in any detail about how Jordan quietly but persistently accumulated the power he achieved and, indeed, what motivated him in this pursuit. And no, I was not interested in any Monica dirt: Monica and the whole presidential thing, was (and is) beside the point when it comes to a rigorous Jordan analysis. That whole episode merely served as a template (and not a particularly good one) for the kind of back scratchery at high level that Jordan has been doing for years.

But then again, what does one expect? People like Jordan (and mind you, I am a big fan of his)live by the aforementioned unspoken creed: power is best accumulated and exercised quietly. Thus, one does not reveal the secrets of the kingdom to just any average reader (by the way Vernon, what really does go on at those Bildeberg confrences?).

We will not get the whole unexpurgated version of Jordan's life until some biographer decides to swim against currents and put one together.

Those of us interested in reading something much more telling than Jordan's superficial telling of the story of his life will have to wait. Just as we similarly anxiously awaited biographical treatments of other quiet power brokers in the Clark Clifford, Tommy "the cork" mode (the wait is soon over for those of us interested in Tommy the cork and, thanks to the same author, was over several years ago for a good analysis of Clifford's life. CLifford's own biography, Counsel to the President, left much to be desired, too).

As a high school to college level autobiographical treatment of the life of an important figure in post-world war II america, Vernon Can Read suffices. As anything deeper, it does not.

Vernon can certainly Read, but what Vernon wrote certainly leaves alot to be desired.

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Summary: An Inspiring Literary Work
Review: Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.'s "Vernon Can Read! A Memoir" is an exceptional piece of literature. Once I started reading I could not stop. Every page filled me with compassion and empathy towards Mr. Jordan. His life, His times, and His integrity . . . Make him one of the most outstanding individuals of this time.

I applaud Mr. Jordan in the way that he successfully ties past, present, and future. As an educator, I was inspired by Mr. Jordan's consistency, determination, and drive.

Thank you Mr. Jordan for such a lovely display of an African American family who kept their foundation through love, faith, and courage!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Frustrating
Review: Vernon Jordan was passionate about his work. Unfortunately, none of that passion is conveyed to the reader. Simply stating his accomplishments, interspersed with his exposure to the "Who's Who" of the civil rights movement, and a sprinkling of anecdotes doesn't convey the depth of the man. Although the book is informative, it lacks depth and leaves us wondering who Vernon Jordan really is.