Overview

A revealing portrait of a young Black man asking questions about self-discovery and belonging - long before he became one of the most important voices in America. The son of a white American mother and a Black Kenyan father, Obama was born in Hawaii, where he lived until he was six years old, when he moved with his mother and stepfather to Indonesia. At twelve, he returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Obama brings readers along while facing the challenges of high school and college, living in New York, becoming a community organiser in Chicago, and travelling to Kenya. Through these experiences, he forms an enduring commitment to leadership and justice. Via the lens of his relationships with his family - the mother and grandparents who raised him, the father he knows more as a myth than as a man, and the extended family in Kenya he meets for the first time - Obama examines the complicated truth of his father's life and legacy and comes to embrace his own divided heritage. On his journey to adulthood from a humble background, he forges his own path by trial and error while staying connected to his roots. Barack Obama is determined to lead a life of purpose, service and authenticity. This powerful memoir will inspire readers to reflect on both where they come from and where they are capable of going.

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9781838857202

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Reviews

An American classic, written with grace and precision * * Observer * * Extraordinary . . . It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that -- TONI MORRISON Thoughtful, moving and brilliantly written * * The Times * * Obama has written a memoir . . . that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community . . . Obama is a born narrator, with a mastery of colour, scene and personality, deftly stirring them into the melting pot of a shared American identity. Rarely has that identity found so vivid a portraitist * * Sunday Times * * A touchstone for future politicians * * Daily Telegraph * * A well-written account of Obama's struggle to establish his own views on identity and race, and all the more entertaining for its honesty * * Financial Times * * With its honesty and cool language, and by virtue of having a story worth telling, the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir * * Sunday Herald * * Obama is a subtle writer, with an extraordinary breadth of vision * * Sunday Herald * * A man with a phenomenal life story * * Spectator * * Obama's writing is characterised throughout by a graceful eloquence, a generosity of perception and spirit rare in young men of many gifts and charisma . . . here is a testimony for the ages * * Independent * *

Author Information

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 three #1 New York Times bestselling books, Dreams from My Father, The Audacity of Hope and A Promised Land, and is 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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