A Promised Land
2020
- nyt:combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction=2020-12-06
- obama, barack, 1961-
- united states, politics and government, 2009-2017
- presidents
- biography
- african american politicians
- racially mixed people
- politics and government
- biography & autobiography / presidents & heads of state
- political science / american government / general
The story
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 b
What it’s like
Measured, unhurried prose with the feel of a long late-night conversation with someone thoughtful who has lived inside power and is still working out what it cost. Sentences are plain and reflective, moving between close, quiet scenes (a hotel room before a speech, a family dinner, a conversation with a staffer) and wide views of cabinet meetings, Situation Room briefings, and trips to Moscow, Cairo, and Beijing, rendered through careful description of rooms, faces, and the weight of decisions. The tone is earnest, self-questioning, and calm rather than tense, with dry humor surfacing now and then. Its pace is steady and essayistic, circling back to ideas of power, compromise, and identity. Violence is discussed rather than shown: war, the bin Laden raid, and a major oil spill appear as briefings, reports, and reflections, with no graphic detail and little dread. It suits a quiet weekend, a long commute, or a reader who wants to understand how political decisions felt from inside the room. For readers curious about governance, the psychology of leadership, and the experience of being the first in a role.
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