Library Journal
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Many will remember Jordan as a close friend of former president Bill Clinton who tried to help intern Monica Lewinsky get a job after she left the White House. Few will note that he was the Georgia field director of the NAACP at the time civil rights leader Medgar Evers was head of the same organization in Mississippi. Jordan also served as executive director of the United Negro College Fund and eventually became president of the National Urban League after the death of Whitney Young. He attended DePaul University in the early days of the Civil Rights movement and worked to secure the rights of blacks in Georgia. This is a standard, run-of-the-mill autobiography until Jordan reveals the assassination attempt on his life and his decision to leave the Urban League to join a private law firm. The author's reading is flat at points, and his Southern accent and mispronunciations are grating; one wishes that an actor had been employed to provide some emotion and continuity to the narration. Recommended for libraries with African American history, biography, and American studies collections. Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

While on summer break in 1955 from DePauw University, Jordan worked as a chauffeur for Robert Maddox, the racist president of the First National Bank of Atlanta. Maddox was dumbfounded to discover that Jordan could do more than drive that "Vernon can read." Jordan, most recently an informal adviser to President Clinton, presents an engaging memoir of his arduous yet successful struggle to claim the African American dream. The most entertaining chapters discuss a childhood molded by church, school, and family, especially his mother and "greatest friend," Mary Jordan. The chapters on his rising civil rights career, which include being a young attorney for the NAACP during the University of Georgia desegregation, serving as head of the United Negro College Fund, and following the legendary Whitney Young as chief executive of the National Urban League, are sprinkled with insights. These include the low priority given to African American concerns by Presidents Carter and Reagan and the observation that Northern whites are often more secretive and less trustworthy about their racial views than Southern whites. The power of this biography derives from Jordan's honesty and the simple elegance of his writing. Reminiscent of John Lewis's Walking with the Wind (LJ 5/15/98), this book is highly recommended for all public libraries. Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Jordan, a major U.S. civil rights figure, looks back with satisfaction at all the important threads that have made up his fascinating life and weaves them into an engrossing tapestry. To explain the title of his book, Jordan describes a significant incident that occurred when he served as the chauffeur for a member of Atlanta's white elite, who was surprised to come across a black man who could read. The greatest formative influence of Jordan's life was his mother, and he pays her great respect in the absorbing pages of this memoir (written with the help of coauthor Gordon-Reed). The philosophy she impressed upon him was to "make the most of what you have at the moment, do the best you can when it counts, and hope and expect good outcomes from your efforts." This sentiment served as the impetus behind the steps he took in his distinguished career, from entering the law to working with the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, and the Urban League. No one can gain a comprehensive view of the movement for equal rights in this country and the differences the struggle has made in the lives of blacks without paying attention to what Jordan says and stands for. --Brad Hooper YA: For teens interested in civil rights history. BH.

Publishers Weekly
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While Jordan's autobiography garnered interest from the moment its publication was announced, its ultimate form surprises. Disappointment awaits those expecting Clinton/ Lewinsky dirt, since the book "effectively ends in the 1980s. All that has happened to me since then is too close to be considered true memories," Jordan writes. But his narrative mission here is not recent political scandal. Jordan means to "bridge the gap" between the years African-Americans were forced to move to the back of the bus and the time when "a young black girl [Vernon's daughter Vickee] could be so confident in her humanity that she found it unfathomable that anyone could try and take it away from her." The bridge, of course, is Jordan himself, and he tells his success story with a concentration and devotion that gives it all the fervor and logic of a good long speech. While readers are treated to some particulars of Jordan's youth (waiting tables for his mother's catering business, attending segregated Atlanta schools in the 1940s and early '50s and then the predominantly white DePauw University) and the trajectory of his early career as a field director for the NAACP, executive director of the United Negro College Fund and president of the National Urban League), there are few more personal revelations. With its lack of extraneous detail and its studious avoidance of private thoughts, this is less a traditional memoir than an extended exposition of an impressive CV. Even so, it should remind people of this chapter in American history and Jordan's crucial role in it. (Oct. 22) Forecast: With Jordan's high profile, this is an automatic big seller. If it's marketed correctly, it should have a wide appeal, too anyone interested in the history of the civil rights movement will appreciate this detailed account of the people and organizations that helped transform a segregated nation. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Dismayed that his daughter, Vickee, showed little true comprehension of the world of the Deep South in which he grew up, a world of forced servility and oppression toward blacks, Jordan decided that telling his story would help to "bridge that gap" between their experiences. He set out to write a "very personal take on the black experience since the end of the Second World War." The title of this memoir comes from an incredulous outburst by Robert Maddox, "one of the leading figures in Atlanta's white elite" for whom Jordan worked as a chauffeur while home from college on summer break. The irony is that, although Jordan can write, the actual reading of his writing leaves much to be desired. Often a writer's reading of their own words adds depth to the work. Unfortunately, that formula fails here. The listener does not get the sense of being spoken to; instead Jordan reads in a somewhat formal, oratorical tone. Although the work does a fine job of chronicling the progress of blacks in Jordan's lifetime, it does not delve very deeply into Jordan's personal feelings and beliefs. This production's lack of personality echoes that sentiment. Based on the Public Affairs hardcover (Forecasts, Oct. 15, 2001). (Dec. 18, 2001) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved