Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Thomas (1934--2021), the first Black American to lead a major philanthropic organization, details a life dedicated to helping others in his posthumous memoir. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Thomas was taught by his parents to value education and to believe that "if you could imagine it, you could accomplish it." After serving in the Air Force and graduating from Columbia Law School, he forged an impressive career that spanned six decades, beginning as an attorney for the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency in 1963. In the late 1960s, Sen. Robert Kennedy recruited Thomas for the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. His success as the group's president didn't go unnoticed, which led to directorial roles at major organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Thomas's narrative is written in exacting detail, and though his heavy focus on his professional trajectory doesn't give readers a full picture of him as a person, his sense of conviction and humility easily come through ("I didn't define myself as a leader," he writes in response to a newspaper announcement about his appointment as the seventh president of the Ford Foundation). This portrait of selfless civic duty will encourage readers to think beyond the limits of their ambitions. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Thomas achieved an historic sociopolitical impact within the Black community, the United States, and on an international level. Born to immigrant Barbadian parents in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, Thomas excelled academically and attended Columbia Law. When Senator Robert F. Kennedy spearheaded urban revitalization in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Thomas was appointed executive director. In his own community, he mastered techniques of combining public and private funding with community engagement to affect meaningful change. This model was applied toward his work supporting anti-apartheid initiatives in South Africa during the 1970s onwards, and as the president of the Ford Foundation in the 1980s. He sought to further racial equality and made significant inroads. This book captures how Thomas didn't directly seek out these opportunities but rather was chosen for positions, which played to his strengths. His first-person narrative is engaging. Poignantly relevant as the nation continues to struggle with racial conflict, his story will resonate with most readers. VERDICT Thomas's extraordinary life, lived in service to community, equality, and basic human rights, will inspire readers to accept the mantle of bettering society.--Jessica A. Bushore
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Black leader charts his distinguished career. Thomas (1934-2021), president and CEO of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in the late 1960s and president of the Ford Foundation from 1979 to 1996, recounts a life marked by talent, determination, and success. Born to immigrant parents and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Thomas excelled at school even while working to help his widowed mother support the family. He graduated from Columbia in 1956 and from Columbia Law School in 1963. After a few years in the U.S. Attorney's office, he was named as deputy commissioner for legal matters for the New York City Police Department. Thomas characterizes the trajectory of his life as "unplanned." Clearly, he was in the right places at the right times to make fortuitous connections, but his many achievements reflect his own vision and leadership. In the late 1960s, he met Robert Kennedy, who intrigued Thomas with the innovative idea of promoting urban revitalization through community and for-profit collaboration. That meeting led to Thomas' taking the helm at a major restoration project that created a new urban development model--which incited fractious debate. As he gained prominence, he was invited to join the boards of major institutions, including Columbia University, Citibank, Alcoa, PepsiCo, and Conoco. "In more cases than not," he notes, "I'd be made lead director of those boards as well, the first time a Black person would have the position." Serving as a trustee of the Ford Foundation during its search for a new president, he soon was tapped for the position--a challenging job at a time when the foundation needed major restructuring and refocusing. At the same time, he devoted his energies and influence to ending apartheid in South Africa. In a memoir that privileges the public over the private, Thomas imparts the political, cultural, and economic milieu from which he emerged and the world he indelibly shaped. Darren Walker, the current president of the Ford Foundation, provides the foreword. A vividly detailed record of significant accomplishments. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
