“Yes we can”. These three simple but effective words became the symbol of Barack Obama’s legacy. He is no doubt one of the most influential men of modern times – his presidency was historic and for 8 years he gave post 9/11 U.S.A a reason to hope and believe again. In A Promised Land, we finally get a look behind the curtain of his political career and the events that shaped his time leading up to and in office.
Barack Obama
The first of two volumes, A Promised Land begins with President Obama recounting his upbringing in Hawaii, sharing about his relationship with his grandparents and his mother. Here, we discover how Obama’s love of books in his later school life led to his college pursuits. The book then touches on his rise in politics in Illinois, where he first gained attention for being one of the first Democrats to oppose the war in Iraq. He would then go on to become a senator in 2004 before making his eventual Presidential bid and celebrating an historic win as the first African American President.
What’s remarkable about this book is the sheer impressiveness of Obama’s writing, which will come as no surprise to those who read his first memoir, Dreams From My Father. He recounts every moment so clearly and vividly – a perfect example of this is when he describes what it was like for him when he stepped into the Oval Office for the first time. Reading it, you honestly feel as if you are right there with him in one of the world’s most famous rooms.
As a companion to previous Presidential autobiographies such as My Life by Bill Clinton and Decision Points by George W. Bush, A Promised Land is excellent. But what I personally feel sets his book apart from the others is that it gives us the ability to share in Obama’s own sense of hope. It beautifully recounts his journey towards achieving the dream that he always had for America – as a place where anything is possible and anyone could grow up to have a fair chance.
As America moves into a new, yet no less turbulent chapter of history, Barack Obama’s A Promised Land is the perfect book for our times, and at nearly 800 pages long, it’s truly one to savour. Let’s hope that Volume 2 isn’t too far away …
A Promised Land: The Presidential Memoirs Volume 1 by Barack Obama (Penguin Books Australia) is out now.
This book is part of our 2020 Christmas Gift Guide! You could win 1 million Qantas Points when you order any product featured in our Christmas Gift Guide between 2 November and 14 December, 2020.*
A Promised Land
The Presidential Memoirs Volume 1
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...
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Barack Obama announces new memoir, A Promised Land
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