My Time with General Colin Powell: Stories of Kindness, Diplomacy, and Protocol

A 2024 LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA LITERARY AWARD NOMINEEDo you enjoy peeking "behind the curtain" when the great and powerful reveal their true human nature? In My Time with General Colin Powell, you will learn about his tenure as Secretary of State, his professional speaking career, see his humorous side, and what a beloved humanitarian he was. General Powell was well respected and loved by people on both sides of the political divide.
He was the youngest and the nation's first African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest position in the US Military. He was also the first African American appointed Secretary of State, the world's leading diplomat. The world saw him as a military leader, a diplomat, a senior statesman, and an advocate for young people. To friends and family, he was so much more -funny, charming, self-deprecating, practical, generous, gracious and kind.
He was also a song and dance man, a car aficionado, a handyman, a lover of comfort food, a standup comedian, and a storyteller. Lautenslager shares a small portion of her time of over 25 years of working with General Powell. She reveals how close they became with a shorthand of knowing side glances and raised eyebrows in her enlightening memoir. Leslie Lautenslager's career in protocol began in 1986 when she was hired by U.
S. Chief of Protocol Selwa "Lucky" Roosevelt as assistant to the manager of Blair House, the President's Guest House. Ambassador Roosevelt later promoted her to a protocol officer in the Ceremonials and then Visits division at the U. S. State Department. In addition to working on state and official visits of chiefs of state and heads of government, she organized and lead delegations representing President Reagan at various events around the world.
After her administration appointment ended, Leslie joined the Battle of Normandy Foundation where she oversaw special events and protocol for over five years leading up to the 50th anniversary of D-Day. In April 1996 Lautenslager was hired by the co-founders of the Washington Speakers Bureau to assist one of the most popular speakers on the international stage: General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) and her life changed.
Despite their different backgrounds, they quickly developed a unique rapport and language that lasted until his death over 25 years later. On the professional speaking circuit, she was his liaison to clients, responsible for the logistical details of travel and preparations to make him "smart" about each event. A graduate of the College of William & Mary, she has a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Psychology and in Fine Arts.
Bradley Harper is a retired US Army COL and pathologist who, after a brief and undistinguished stint as an Infantry officer went to medical school. He retired after thirty-seven years of active duty with four commands and two years in the Pentagon on the personal staff of the US Army Surgeon General. His writing credits include A Knife in the Fog, a 2019 Edgars Finalist in which a young Arthur Conan Doyle stalks Jack the Ripper.
COL Harper has an associate degree in creative writing from Full Sail University, and a Masters in Creative Writing from Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Endorsements"Leslie has written an intimate portrait of a man who had many sides that few people got to see. Our family is grateful to Leslie for capturing the richness of our beloved patriarch." -The Honorable Michael Powell, Colin Powell's Son"Reading Leslie's narrative, whom I consider a "sister from another mister, " is a tremendous gift.
It is a window into parts of my sweet daddy's life to which I had no access, and which will help keep his memory alive for me and my children." -Anne Powell, Colin Powell's Daughter