I have always been a big fan of Madeleine Albright. I think she is a very smart and talented person, but she is also really down to earth and funny. I had really enjoyed her autobiography (Madam Secretary) when it came out a few years ago.

One of the things Albright was well-known for was her elaborate pins. She took great care in choosing her pins for official functions in order to send a message. They might be related to the geographic location she was visiting or the type of impression she was hoping to put forth.

In this book, Albright takes her readers quickly through her life as she highlights a number of pins she has worn. In between the interesting tales and amazing pictures, she also seeds some interesting historical or geographical details about the use of pins and other jewelry or about the symbolism of certain plants and animals in regard to her selection.

Albright also includes her usual wit and humor as she shares her collection with the reader, which makes for her very enjoyable read.

Her final quote pretty much summarizes the book nicely:
As these pages illustrate, pins are inherently expressive. Elegant or plain, they reveal much about who we are and how we hope to be perceived. Styles have changed through the years, as has jewelry's role in relations between the genders and in the affairs of state. I was fortunate to serve at a time and in a place that allowed me to experiment by using pins to communicate a diplomatic message. One might scoff and say that my pins don't exactly shake the world. To that I can reply only that shaking the world is precisely the opposite of what diplomats are placed on Earth to do.