historical

"Vernon Can Read!" is a joy to read for anyone with the slightest interest in the serious issues in American life for the past fifty years. This is an amazing book. As a very young man, Vernon Jordan deftly understood what America's potential could be. He continued to express the ordinary angers at the injustices commonplace after only "one biblical lifetime (seventy years) after slavery". But, most importantly, he had the savvy and personal intuition that constitutional democracy and life's natural transit through time-space could be leveraged in ways yet unattained. Here is an engaging memoir of the personal journey through that reality. Like others who knew Vern from old school days, we can attest that it is told with modest, personal authenticity of those events and relationships and their choices that shaped the future of a brave, decent and honorable man who has become a legendary figure of our time -- too often a rare combination. In addition, some readers may find here another testament, "food for thought" in his family's tradition, on nurture versus nature. It is one of the greatest stories of Coming of Age in America, and America is by far the better for it.

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.

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.