A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making--from the
president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE - NAMED
ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK
REVIEW
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post -
Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times - NPR - The Guardian - Marie
Claire
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential
memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from
young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world,
describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education
and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency--a
time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.
Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political
aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the
power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008,
when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the
first African American to hold the nation's highest office.
Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful
exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential
power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan
politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the
Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo,
Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles
his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure
of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure
passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S.
strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the
devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation
Neptune's Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden.
A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective--the
story of one man's bet with history, the faith of a community organizer
tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of
running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a
generation buoyed by messages of "hope and change," and meeting the
moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the
forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the
White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal
self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that
inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always
possible.
This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama's
conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something
founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by
day.
