• Nonfiction. By Swanee Hunt. Duke University Press, 424 pages, $29.95.Grade: A

Book in a nutshell: Hunt may be a daughter of the late arch-conservative oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, but she's clearly cut from another cloth. Rather than focusing on monetary riches, she's developed a passion for cultivating social change and expanding women's roles in shaping public policy. Her goal has always been to push past perceived limits, to operate outside the lines.

Serving variously as a political activist, Denver philanthropist and former U.S ambassador to Austria during the Clinton administration, Hunt forged a critical path toward social change around the world. Along the way, she pushed herself past perceived limits, physically as well as spiritually. On the spur of the moment, for example, she joined an Outward Bound women's trek in Nepal. There, she was astonished by the spare life of the villagers, who dwelled in one- room homes with leaf-covered roofs and dirt floors. And though never much of an athlete, she pushed herself through the Venice marathon - in a long five hours and 13 minutes - barely ahead of the race cleanup crew picking up cones alongside her.In this deeply personal and fascinating autobiography, Hunt is painfully honest and often self-deprecating while detailing the many struggles and victories she experienced in navigating between family needs and her goal to make a difference among the downtrodden.

Best tidbit: A quote summing up what Hunt believes: "Real security requires more than bombs and bullets. In an increasingly dangerous world, we won't be safe until we cultivate an understanding that every person's tears are the same color (to borrow a Bosnian phrase), and every dream carries the same weight. My life, my passion, my zeal are in service to that vision."

Pros: Hunt doesn't mince words in describing her father's distant relationship with his children (14 of them, with three women), the misguided affairs that disrupted her first marriage, and even her daughter's battle with bipolar disorder.

Cons: none

Final word: This must-read book is a great example of the power of one. Hunt's remarkable compassion and accomplishments stand tall as a lesson to us all.