Synopses & Reviews
From one of our preeminent journalists and modern historians comes the epic story of Barack Obama and the world that created him. In Barack Obama: The Story, David Maraniss has written a deeply reported generational biography teeming with fresh insights and revealing information, a masterly narrative drawn from hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama in the Oval Office, and a trove of letters, journals, diaries, and other documents.
The book unfolds in the small towns of Kansas and the remote villages of western Kenya, following the personal struggles of Obama’s white and black ancestors through the swirl of the twentieth century. It is a roots story on a global scale, a saga of constant movement, frustration and accomplishment, strong women and weak men, hopes lost and deferred, people leaving and being left. Disparate family threads converge in the climactic chapters as Obama reaches adulthood and travels from Honolulu to Los Angeles to New York to Chicago, trying to make sense of his past, establish his own identity, and prepare for his political future.
Barack Obama: The Story chronicles as never before the forces that shaped the first black president of the United States and explains why he thinks and acts as he does. Much like the author’s classic study of Bill Clinton, First in His Class, this promises to become a seminal book that will redefine a president.
Review
"By showing us the young Barack Obama — breathing, moving across the world, traversing the bloodknot of race in America alongside family, relationships, and the hurly-burly of Chicago — David Maraniss has shown us a human soul growing almost inch by inch. This is a work of literature, and it possesses the kind of brilliance and verve that would have made James Baldwin himself proud." Wil Haygood, author of King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Review
"The books of David Maraniss are like majestic rivers rolling to the sea, gathering in all the other confluences as they go, gaining their incredible subsurface force. But here, in a multigenerational portrait of a young man owning the most improbable history, Maraniss has outdone himself. Finally, you can understand the man who became the 44th president." Paul Hendrickson, author of Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved, and Lost, 1934-1961
Review
"This is a highly textured and intimate look at the family stories behind Obama....A thoroughly fascinating, multigenerational biography that explores broader social and political changes even as it highlights the elements that shaped one man's life." Booklist, starred review
Review
"Another in the author's line of authoritative biographies....Maraniss' portrayal...is masterful and moving." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Maraniss delivers....The power of Maraniss's reporting becomes apparent in his treatment of the future President's 'dark years'....Maraniss captures Obama's search for purpose and the kindling of his ambition with an intimacy unlike that of other biographers — including Obama....[The book] offers the rawest account of his early life and a deeper understanding of his origins. Three and a half years and countless publications after Obama's Inauguration, that is a remarkable feat." Time
Review
"It's not often that a book has the potential to change the course of political history, which is why this one is probably the most eagerly anticipated American book of the year." NPR.org
Review
"This biography possesses a richness and scope that cannot be captured in short-form journalism, magazine excerpts or a mere review. Maraniss has written a global, multigenerational saga that culminates in the emergence of a young man who is knowable, recognizable and real....Maraniss approaches the task with deep research, crisp, clean writing and judicious reflection that never seems intrusive. He not only succeeds, he makes it look easy." The Washington Post
Review
"[T]his is a revelatory book, which anyone interested in modern politics will want to read, and which will certainly shape our understanding of President Obama's strengths, weaknesses and inscrutabilities. Every few pages Maraniss offers a factual nugget that changes or enlarges the prevailing lore...a richer view of the man we have become familiar with, without really knowing...after this book we know one public figure much better." The New York Times Book Review
Review
“…this is a revelatory book, which anyone interested in modern politics will want to read, and which will certainly shape our understanding of President Obama’s strengths, weaknesses and inscrutabilities. Every few pages Maraniss offers a factual nugget that changes or enlarges the prevailing lore….a richer view of the man we have become familiar with, without really knowing…. after this book we know one public figure much better.” —The New York Times Book Review
Review
“Maraniss delivers….The power of Maraniss’s reporting becomes apparent in his treatment of the future President’s ‘dark years’…. Maraniss captures Obama’s search for purpose and the kindling of his ambition with an intimacy unlike that of other biographers—including Obama….[The book] offers the rawest account of his early life and a deeper understanding of his origins. Three and a half years and countless publications after Obama’s Inauguration, that is a remarkable feat.” —TIME
Review
and#8220;Book is full of riveting stories, shrewd observations, and fascinating details. Itand#8217;s like reading Michenerand#8230;.There is something quite searching and wonderful about seeing much of history as a chaos of chance.and#8221; andlt;bandgt;and#8212; andlt;Iandgt;The New Yorkerandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
Review
"'Barack Obama' is a
Review
“This biography possesses a richness and scope that cannot be captured in short-form journalism, magazine excerpts or a mere review. Maraniss has written a global, multigenerational saga that culminates in the emergence of a young man who is knowable, recognizable and real....Maraniss approaches the task with deep research, crisp, clean writing and judicious reflection that never seems intrusive. He not only succeeds, he makes it look easy.” —The Washington Post
Review
“This is a revelatory book . . . which will certainly shape our understanding of President Obama’s strengths, weaknesses and inscrutabilities. Every few pages Maraniss offers a factual nugget that changes or enlarges the prevailing lore.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - The New York Times - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“[This] book is full of riveting stories, shrewd observations, and fascinating details.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - The New Yorker - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“Barack Obama is biography at its best. A prodigiously researched and exquisitely written multigenerational account…. With subtlety and sophistication, Maraniss captures and conveys Obama's sensibilities and sensitivities.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - San Francisco Chronicle - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“Remarkable . . . Maraniss captures Obama’s search for purpose and the kindling of his ambition with an intimacy unlike that of other biographers—including Obama….[The book] offers the rawest account of his early life and a deeper understanding of his origins. Three and a half years and countless publications after Obama’s Inauguration, that is a remarkable feat.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Time - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“Barack Obama is a work of monumental ambition. …Maraniss’ exhaustive research and lucid writing expands exponentially our knowledge of the president’s history.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Chicago Tribune - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“There's far more to this revealing and deeply reported coming-of-age story, a term usually applied to novels….[It] reads like a novel filled with stories too unlikely for fiction . . . which makes it the best kind of political biography.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - USA Today - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“Impeccably researched…. Stunning in its detail… Maraniss… gets out of the way and lets his first-rate reporting tell the story. . . . It is like watching a magician at work” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Milwaukee Journal Sentinal - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
and#8220;Maraniss offers not just a beautifully written book, but a real insight into what goes on behind the veil.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;Bandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;The Hillandlt;/iandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"'Barack Obama' is a
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andlt;divandgt;"'Barack Obama' is a
Review
and#8220;and#8216;Barack Obamaand#8217; is a biography at its best. A prodigiously researched and exquisitely written multigenerational accountand#8230;.Almost without exception, Maraniss' assessments are judicious and persuasiveand#8230;.With subtlety and sophistication, Maraniss captures and conveys Obama's sensibilities and sensitivities.and#8221;and#8212;andlt;Iandgt;andlt;Bandgt;San Francisco Chronicleandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;/Iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Another in the authorand#8217;s line of authoritative biographiesand#8230;Maranissand#8217; portrayaland#8230;is masterful and moving.and#8221;and#8212;andlt;bandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Kirkus Reviewsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
Synopsis
By the author of the bestselling
When Pride Still Mattered and the Pulitzer finalist for
They Marched into Sunlight and the definitive biography of the young Bill Clinton,
First in His Class, a stunning saga of the generations and geography that put Barack Obama on his path to the American presidency. Meticulously reported by one of our pre-eminent journalists, based on hundreds of interviews, the real stories of Obama's disparate forebears and his early life explain as never before the forces that shaped him.
Along the way is a story of passions, vain ambitions, survival and love. There is a sad description of his father's, and father's father's behavior and of their thwarted lives. Maraniss's portrayal of Obama's mother is critical and sympathetic. He shows us Obama as a small school boy in Indonesia, eager and polite, then as a prankster adolescent, a basketball-playing good scholar. The truth is that Barack Obama Jr. began inventing and defining himself from early childhood to undergraduate at Occidental and Columbia Colleges, on to Harvard and "home" to Chicago.
Maraniss evokes time and place so vividly that readers feel they are there. He corrects the record (even Obama's recollections) as he keeps the young Obama always at the center of this adventure.
Synopsis
From the author of
First In His Class, the definitive biography of Bill Clinton, and
When Pride Still Mattered, the bestselling biography of Vince Lombardi, and
They Marched Into Sunlight, the classic saga of the Vietnam era — a stunning new multigenerational biography of Barack Obama.
In a groundbreaking work based on hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama, and a trove of letters, journals, and other documents, one of our pre-eminent journalists presents a richly textured account of Barack Obama and the forces that shaped him.
This book begins in Kansas and Kenya, decades before Obama was born, and ends as he prepares for a political life. The reader gains a deeper insight into the first black president of the United States, revealing as never before the arc of his history, character, contradictions, and ambition. As with First In His Class, Maraniss's seminal book will redefine a president.
This seamless narrative moves through generations and around the world, evoking time and place so vividly that readers feel they are there. Maraniss explodes the myths as he explores the difficult and colorful lives of the president's forebears and then follows young Barack from Hawaii to Indonesia to Los Angeles to New York to Chicago as he struggles with self-identity and searches for home.
Synopsis
From one of our preeminent journalists and modern historians comes the epic story of Barack Obama and the world that created him.
In Barack Obama: The Story, David Maraniss has written a deeply reported generational biography teeming with fresh insights and revealing information, a masterly narrative drawn from hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama in the Oval Office, and a trove of letters, journals, diaries, and other documents.
The book unfolds in the small towns of Kansas and the remote villages of western Kenya, following the personal struggles of Obama's white and black ancestors through the swirl of the twentieth century. It is a roots story on a global scale, a saga of constant movement, frustration and accomplishment, strong women and weak men, hopes lost and deferred, people leaving and being left. Disparate family threads converge in the climactic chapters as Obama reaches adulthood and travels from Honolulu to Los Angeles to New York to Chicago, trying to make sense of his past, establish his own identity, and prepare for his political future.
Barack Obama: The Story chronicles as never before the forces that shaped the first black president of the United States and explains why he thinks and acts as he does. Much like the authors classic study of Bill Clinton, First in His Class, this promises to become a seminal book that will redefine a president.
About the Author
Born in Detroit, David Maraniss is an associate editor at andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt;. Maraniss is a Pulitzer Prizeandndash;winning journalist and bestselling author of andlt;Iandgt;First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clintonandlt;/Iandgt;; andlt;Iandgt;Rome 1960: The Olympics that Stirred the World;andlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;Barack Obama: The Storyandlt;/Iandgt;; andlt;Iandgt;Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseballandrsquo;s Last Heroandlt;/Iandgt;; andlt;Iandgt;They Marched into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967andlt;/Iandgt;; andandlt;Iandgt; When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardiandlt;/Iandgt;, which was hailed by andlt;Iandgt;Sports Illustratedandlt;/Iandgt; as andldquo;maybe the best sports biography ever published.andrdquo; He lives in Washington, DC and Madison, Wisconsin.