A Promised Land
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- $30.99
Publisher Description
Brought to you by Penguin.
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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.
WINNER OF BEST NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR - AUDIE AWARDS 2022
'What is unexpected in A Promised Land is the former president's candour' David Olusoga, Observer
'Gorgeously written, humorous, compelling, life affirming' Justin Webb, Mail on Sunday
© 2020 Barack Obama (P) 2020 Penguin Audio
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Barack Obama’s first memoir was released when he was 34—more than 10 years before he made US history as the first African American President. He received the publishing contract after winning a different election, one which saw him become the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review. Narrated by Obama himself, the audiobook provides fascinating insights into his upbringing as the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father, who spent much of his childhood living in Hawaii and Indonesia. Both a personal, emotional reflection on his own life and an examination of race relations in the US, this beautifully written work introduces us to the man who'd go on to become one of the most important figures in modern politics. Obama’s writing is every bit as eloquent as his famously captivating speeches, and he reads his memoir with the same self-assured grace he brings to public speaking. First released in 1995, Dreams From My Father was republished in 2004, and in 2005 this audiobook earned Obama, then a US Senator, a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Customer Reviews
Bring on round to Mr President.
How’s down a great book, read by a great man! Thank you!
Captivating and insightful
Regardless of your political persuasion, this book provides some really interesting insights into what it takes to run a country and the delicate situations and nuances to be negotiated almost daily.