Monday, November 15, 2010

NYC Public School Parents: Troubling Comments on Cathie Black's Book from Amazon Reader Reviews

NYC Public School Parents: Troubling Comments on Cathie Black's Book from Amazon Reader Reviews

Troubling Comments on Cathie Black's Book from Amazon Reader Reviews


So much was made in the 2008 Presidential election cycle about Barack Obama’s two memoirs, how they spoke for who he was, where he came from (philosophically speaking), and what he believed. Many Americans used those books in part to assess Mr. Obama’s character and suitability for the nation’s highest office.


Cathleen Black has left a memoir-style book by which her character and intellectual heft might be judged as well: Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). It was first published in 2007 and blurbed on Amazon by (among others) Donna Karan, Meg Whitman, and Gayle King (friend of Oprah). Perhaps it can stand as a measure of her fitness for the NYC schools chancellorship.


I haven’t read the book -- nor do I plan to -- but here are some telling excerpts (one block paragraph for each) from reviews posted on Amazon by her readers that suggest some rather troubling themes. Judge for yourself whether Ms. Black