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A Promised Land

by Barack Obama
A Promised Land

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ISBN13: 9781524763169
ISBN10: 1524763160
Condition: Standard
DustJacket: Standard

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A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making — from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy

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.

Review

“Barack Obama is as fine a writer as they come....[A Promised Land] is nearly always pleasurable to read, sentence by sentence, the prose gorgeous in places, the detail granular and vivid....The story will continue in the second volume, but Barack Obama has already illuminated a pivotal moment in American history, and how America changed while also remaining unchanged.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The New York Times Book Review

Review

"[A Promised Land] is the most anticipated presidential memoir in living memory, largely because of the quality of the writing than for any possible revelations....Obama has been called the most literary president since Abraham Lincoln..." The Guardian

About the Author

Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, elected in November 2008 and holding office for two terms. He is the author of two previous New York Times bestselling books, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope, and the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Michelle. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

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`
writermala , April 03, 2021 (view all comments by writermala)
This is the story of Barack Obama, the man, his rise to the presidency - yes leader of the free world - and the way he manages the turmoils of this office. Though we know all the incidents President Obama talks about, reading his account of it with some personal tidbits thrown in makes for interesting reading. I can't wait for Volume II.

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dexter_reilly , February 18, 2021 (view all comments by dexter_reilly)
Obama is an excellent writer. Words appear to come easy to him. I enjoyed ‘Promised Land,’ and enjoyed hearing his descriptions of world leaders. His observations on Lindsey Graham were spot on, it was something like, “regardless, he’ll save himself, so don’t put a lot of stock in the words he speaks on any issue.” His book closely followed the media report of events, with some insight as to what his position was on the media narrative. I was surprised, when he spoke about Abu Ghraib, and the fact that American’s don’t torture. For anyone who has dipped their toe into U.S. history, they will know the truth that the CIA has operated BLACK SITES AROUND THE WORLD SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CIA; WHERE THEY TORTURE PEOPLE, SOMETIMES TO DEATH FOR DUBIOUS REASONS. The fact is well documented, so I wonder why President Obama in his memoir pretended that TORTURE IN AMERICAN WAS AN ANOMOLY OR A ONE OFF. Was Obama the ‘Mr. Rogers of the Presidency?’ Or did President Obama think we didn’t know? Or did President Obama not know? Regardless it was disturbing to hear him ‘Mr. Rogers’ over the truth of American Imperialism and the historical, ongoing, bad behavior of the CIA. I wonder what Obama thinks of his policies now that the social fabric of America is in shreds in part due to his neo-liberal economic policies. He doesn’t appear to question any of his decisions or the path he took, which tells me that there is blood on every politician’s hands for the current state of insurrection.

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David Britton , January 03, 2021 (view all comments by David Britton)
A Promised Land is as well-written and introspective as one would have a right to expect from what is essentially a presidential memoir. If you're looking for something that explores his formative years and his struggle to find his identity and voice, then Dreams From My Father would be the place to start. This is, understandably, Obama's own contribution to the first draft of history. On the minus side, I would say Obama sometimes writes more like a lawyer than a pure writer, especially when dealing with complex subjects - sometimes it seems like too many words and too much background, and you wish he was better acquainted with the delete key. This book runs to 701 pages, and he's only half done! I also got the feeling in certain places that he was employing hindsight to construct a narrative that makes it look like he always knew what was coming, at least in terms of the social and political backlash his election caused. I was reminded of Grant's memoir: as punctiliously honest as he was in reexamining his life and career, Grant could never admit that he was taken completely by surprise on the first day at Shiloh (he was). But in both cases, the real story is in how they regrouped. On the plus side, this book has an introspective, literary quality that is usually missing in this genre. Even if you can't change the world as it is to the world as it should be, he asks, is it still worth it to try? His ultimate answer is yes - but it's never unequivocal.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9781524763169
Binding:
Hardcover
Publication date:
11/17/2020
Publisher:
Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Language:
English
Pages:
768
Author:
Barack Obama

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