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Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three- Star General in the United States Army

Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three- Star General in the United States Army

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $24.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Behind every powerful woman should be a meticulous editor.
Review: As a journalist and enlisted soldier, I would have no qualms about handing this "manuscript" back to Ms. Kennedy and telling her to start over. She has an amazing story and is one of the great pillars of the military, but one has to wonder, who is her audience here?
She lost her enlisted readers after remarking that she had to use "the enlisted latrine" as a captain in the middle of a freezing night near the demilitarized zone in Korea because the officer's latrine was to far away. It had nothing to do with the story and deepened the huge gap between officers and enlisted soldiers. Besides, in the field, a latrine is a latrine and I'd be rather happy to even have one available! I was very disappointed in this fact (as well as in the disorganized context, vague discriptions, and non-existent chronology). What sad messages to hear from one of the Army's pioneers.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointed
Review: As an Army Intel Officer, I hoped to learn something about my chosen profession from an officer who was at the peak of the Intel world. Instead I found myself skimming ever forward to find something new. Given the 5 pages of explanations of Army terms at the back of the book it should have been no surprise that General Kennedy wrote to a general audience, not a military one. I think she missed the mark. Most of her "management" lessons have been given elsewhere and better. Most of her military leadership lessons have been too. Her stories of her early days and the transition from WAC to regular army were good and I wish she had continued. She could have related her views on the change from the Army Security Agency (ASA) to the current INSCOM as someone who was part of ASA and then Commanded INSCOM. Where were the stories of the growth and then near death of tactical SIGINT? I had hoped for a book about an Intelligence professional, and Army Officer and a Female soldier. Instead General Kennedy wrote the reverse emphasis with far more about being a female than an intelligence professional. I was also disappointed that General Kennedy glossed over so many difficulties. She speaks of the "myth" of female soldiers getting pregnant to avoid deployment yet one check of the medical stats at Ft Hood during Desert Storm would dispel the thought that it is a myth. Why not show that just as many male soldiers suffered sudden lower back problems or other ailments that made them non-deployable too. Avoiding deployment is equal opportunity but pregnancy is not so why pretend it doesnt happen? She also missed the opportunity to take to task women like Lt. Kelly Flinn and the Army officer who insisted on breast-feeding at work. Her silence gives the impression of support. Maybe the money she earned from this book (I did my part) will give General Kennedy the opportunity to write another book. Get a better editor if you do General!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A noxious work
Review: Claudia Kennedy under wartime circumstances would be tried for treason for her emasculation of the U.S. Army. This woman has done more to destroy the warrior spirit and class than can be measured. Finally, she left many personal details out of her account of her tenure at Field Station Augsburg.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Kennedy's Book is a Flop, but a good Fairy Tale.
Review: Claudia Kennedy's recent book "Generally Speaking" is both comical and sad. Comical in that this woman thinks she was a top soldier and officer, and many people believe that. Oh, she was a general, all right, but one who never felt the sting of battle, ever saw a shot fired in anger, or ever led or commanded soldiers in war or conflict. These three experiences are what constitute a military leader of soldiers, not the university classroom and the corporate planning seminars. Kennedy falls far short on the critical skills that define a military leader.

For the Army to have had elevated her to general officer, it is akin to promoting the fireman, who stays back and sweeps the fire house and does not go to fires, to Fire Chief. Claudia Kennedy, known to me for many years, was simply the army's way of getting contemporary credit for being supportive of equality and equal opportunities. It is not an uncommon scenario, covet and protect the fair-haired favorite, promote them and assign them far from where that action is. Kennedy's belief, and that of her mostly liberal female supporters, the ilk of Hillary Clinton and former Lawmaker Patricia Schroeder, that she was a fine soldier is what is sad.

Claudia Kennedy did more damage to the United States Army, than is calculable. Her idiotic statement of, "this is not your father's army", is largely viewed as the single greatest problem with the army today, among many of the older combat experienced officers and non-commissioned officers, who know what being a soldier calls for. General Kennedy made it a personal mission to feminize the army as much as she could and her legacy is a grossly weakened combat capability.

Kennedy left the army under a cloud of disappointment punctuated by the ever-so-common sexual harassment charges. In the end, when she did not get her 4th Star, she showed her true colors by suddenly remembering that a male general, who was about to receive a promotion and a new high placed job, touched (groped) her two years earlier.

Her credibility is Zero amongst real soldiers, I have seen scores of other General Officers laugh at her, about her, and roll their eyes when she was present or spoken of. Peer respect and mutual appreciation, of another soldier's qualities must be earned in the military, amongst contemporaries. Such respect cannot be mandated. One proves their mettle and justifies this esteemed peer evaluation. Kennedy was the "under-wraps" laughing stock of the General Officer Corps. Her book is a waste of money and time, however if you are
into fairy tales, it is a keeper!
Repectfully,
J. David Galland
Founder & President, "Bound & Overwatch-The Military Observer"
(...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: M, N & B. Bethesda, Maryland
Review: Crisply-written,interesting story about a trail-blazing military officer who attained heights that no other woman ever had. A Great example for young women considering their careers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 3 Star General's Book is 5 Star Reading!!!!!
Review: Fascinating and powerful reading of the career of
our Army's highest ranking woman. General Claudia Kennedy
is and was "the best that she could be." This
book is for everyone ... those with military
experience and those without ... the only requirement
is love of country! You won't be disappointed.
You will enjoy reading the memoirs of General Kennedy
who achieved what no other woman ever has and what
very few men have.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Memoir
Review: Gen. Claudia J. Kennedy has recounted her life and service to this country. She starts with her story as an Army Brat and finishes as Lt. General. The writing is excellent and the story is interesting. Well done General!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great book from one of the greatest women of our times
Review: Gen. Claudia Kennedy was bold enough to be first and strong enough to make her tenure count. She did not cower when it came to standing up for herself, other women or a better Army, and now shares her experiences and perspectives for the first time. She doesn't dish dirt, but rather, uses her experiences to tell the powerful story of a general -- an extraordinary general -- who was a woman standing out front, blazing trail.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: devotion to duty/the rise of a remarkable woman
Review: Generally Speaking is a book worth reading and should be read by every American. Claudia J. Kennedy devoted her adult life to the service of her country. The United States Army was her home. Her choices benefitted her career and her country. Generally Speaking leads you through the process. It is fascinating to read about a single woman rising through the ranks of the military successfully and yes, gracefully.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: interesting if biased
Review: I am a former dependant of a Naval officer who retired in the mid-60s. I wanted to hear how it was to be a woman in the military service - especially from years ago until recently. It does this but there is a lot of drumming of patriotic themes that I found sometimes distracting. I just skipped over much of it. The organization of content isn't the greatest and the amount of personal information/thoughts/feelings is lacking but if you want to get an idea of how you'd have to think to serve in the military, read this book. I'm not really sure that woman have come that far in the military after reading this book and I would have liked to have more details presented directly from Ms. Kennedy rather than being referred to documents I have no idea how to access as a civilian.


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