Democracy: The Long Road to Freedom

From the former Secretary of State and bestselling author - a sweeping, definitive look at the birth, life and struggle of global democracy.

From the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the ongoing struggle for human rights in the Middle East, Condoleezza Rice has been on the front lines of history. She was a child when her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama became the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement.

In DEMOCRACY, Rice explains what these epochal events teach us about democracy; how no two transitions to democracy are the same and, in the absence of perfect circumstances, how to move forward under difficult ones. At a time when people around the world are wondering whether democracy is in decline, Rice shares insights from her experiences as a policymaker, scholar, and citizen, in order to put democracy's challenges into perspective.

Condoleezza Rice is currently the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution; and a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. She is also a founding partner of RiceHadleyGates, LLC. From January 2005-2009, Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first African American woman to hold the post. Rice also served as President George W. Bush's Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) from January 2001-2005, the first woman to hold the position. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Rice earned her bachelor's degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver; her master's from the University of Notre Dame; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Rice is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded eleven honorary doctorates. She currently resides in Stanford, California.