Barack Before Obama
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- 239,00 kr
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- 239,00 kr
Utgivarens beskrivning
A People Pick of the Week
One of USA Today’s 5 Books Not to Miss
One of Forbes’ 5 Books to Read in December
A personal, intimate photographic celebration of President Barack Obama, featuring over 200 rare and never-before seen images from the years prior to his presidency, from photographer, friend, and former aide David Katz
In 2004, David Katz worked alongside then Senate-hopeful Barack Obama as a photographer and personal aide. He spent approximately six days a week alongside the future president as Obama campaigned across downstate Illinois, and the two developed a close, professional, and personal relationship. What began as a long-shot Senate run culminated with the election of America’s first African American president in 2008, which Katz also photographed.
During this time, David was never without his camera, capturing quotidian scenes from the life of a man who would soon become known the world over: a dad playing with his small daughters; a young unknown politician walking the streets of New York by himself with no one noticing; a devoted husband lovingly making faces at his wife in an elevator. In 2004, after seeing the unique and touching photographs David had amassed, Annie Leibovitz gave him some advice: “Don’t release these photos of Obama for at least fifteen years. They need time to age.”
Now, fifteen years later, Barack Before Obama is the treasury of these photographs. Pulled from an archive of more than ninety thousand images, every photograph in this volume is like nothing that has been seen before: the ease in which David captures the spirit and essence of one of our most beloved first families is unparalleled, and it is in this affectionate familiarity that his photographs sing. Warm, engaging captions tell the stories behind the photos—the surprise meeting with Nelson Mandela, the back room conversation before the rally, the emotion after sending one of the Obamas’ daughters off to school—bringing readers closer than ever to the spirit and motivation behind the extraordinary man who became our forty-fourth president.
Barack Before Obama is a unique collection of images illustrating the making of an American icon. A moving document of an historic moment, it’s the perfect gift for all those who want to remember it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Photographer Katz chronicles the career of Barack Obama from 2004 to 2008 in this remarkable photo collection. His pragmatic approach to photography ("Pictures come alive when your subjects are so comfortable with you that they do not even notice you," he writes) is evidenced in photos of Obama casually strolling through Central Park or sharing a laugh with his wife and daughters. In documenting Obama's activities on the campaign trail, Katz captures the energy of a small crowd behind a house in Southern Illinois and a gigantic rally held during a heavy rainstorm in Virginia. Stunning crowd shots and photos of the grassroots campaign make clear the sheer number of individuals who were inspired by Obama's message. A poignant anecdote by speechwriter Jon Favreau recalls him working with Obama on a speech for the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech: "He choked up, went to the bathroom to compose himself. When he returned, he told us that it finally hit him that he was going to be the first African American nominee of the party." This historic collection captures the transformation of Barack Obama from hopeful candidate to 44th president of the United States.