avisholkoff's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I could give this 4.5 stars.
As someone who's teenage years were spent during the Obama presidency, I knew about his background but didn't know how truly radical it was that he became president, and for that reason I'm grateful for this book.
Further, as someone just beginning a career in organizing, campaigns and politics, I'm especially grateful for the insights that Remnick provided on Obama's Senatorial, State and Congressional campaigns. It illuminated the strategy and goals behind it as well as what worked and what didn't.
Learning about his background was incredibly fascinating. I mean the guy had an absentee father, a mother who loved him but was clearly focused on studying, and who didn't really directly care for him.
It's clear that Obama greatly benefited from specific institutions which provided him opportunities to succeed, but it's also evident that he wanted to help in some way seeking out community organizing roles and leading voter registration drives after law school. For someone in my place in my life, I appreciated Remnick's illuminating of Obama's mindset and atttidue toward seeking these opportunities.
Why 4.5 stars? I felt at times that the historical context at the beginning of many chapters was unnecessarily long. I came to read about Obama and while, as Remnick points out Obama "stood on the shoulder of giants" these parts seemed to run on when they could've been truncated. I liked the constant motif of John Lewis, a personal political hero of mine, but other parts I felt were long and were more suited for a political history of African Americans than a book on Obama.
Overall a great book and I learned a lot. Would recommend to anyone interested in Obama, beginning a career in politics and curious about African American History.
As someone who's teenage years were spent during the Obama presidency, I knew about his background but didn't know how truly radical it was that he became president, and for that reason I'm grateful for this book.
Further, as someone just beginning a career in organizing, campaigns and politics, I'm especially grateful for the insights that Remnick provided on Obama's Senatorial, State and Congressional campaigns. It illuminated the strategy and goals behind it as well as what worked and what didn't.
Learning about his background was incredibly fascinating. I mean the guy had an absentee father, a mother who loved him but was clearly focused on studying, and who didn't really directly care for him.
It's clear that Obama greatly benefited from specific institutions which provided him opportunities to succeed, but it's also evident that he wanted to help in some way seeking out community organizing roles and leading voter registration drives after law school. For someone in my place in my life, I appreciated Remnick's illuminating of Obama's mindset and atttidue toward seeking these opportunities.
Why 4.5 stars? I felt at times that the historical context at the beginning of many chapters was unnecessarily long. I came to read about Obama and while, as Remnick points out Obama "stood on the shoulder of giants" these parts seemed to run on when they could've been truncated. I liked the constant motif of John Lewis, a personal political hero of mine, but other parts I felt were long and were more suited for a political history of African Americans than a book on Obama.
Overall a great book and I learned a lot. Would recommend to anyone interested in Obama, beginning a career in politics and curious about African American History.
silverdragon's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
jackwwang's review
3.0
Be fully warned, this book is not about the Obama administration, but rather the events in his life leading up to it. To be fair though, a more careful dissection of the title would have clarified the subject for me.
Remnick offers a sprawling, detailed, and almost obsessive/compulsive chronicle of the "life and rise" of Obama. I thought I'd enjoy Remnicks writerly sensibilities after enjoying his podcasterly sensibilities as the host of the NYer podcast and his editorial sensibilities for the magazine I have such a spot in my heart for. However as a chronicler, I found him too obsessed with details.
Remnick starts 2 generations removed from the subject, with his Kenyan and Kansasan grandparents, and painstakingly works his way to the subject that by the time we get to Obama himself in earnest we're almost 100 pages in. It's obvious that he has a keen knack for detailed research, but it's less clear that he has a natural ability to synthesize research into compelling stories and arcs.
What we end up with is a detailed account of Obama's family history and biography. Perhaps the most interesting to me was the account of Obama's childhood in Hawaii. Here we delve into the formation of his racial identity, and the reader gets a sense of how his confidence, preternatural skills of facilitation and calm may stem from a atypical path to African American identity. Unlike most other American blacks who grow up in the thick of prejudice, bigotry, and often violence in explicit and hurtful terms, Obama was sheltered from much of the explicitly harm aspects of his identity in a relatively harmonious Hawaiian society. He also came to his identity as African American on his own under his own terms; it was something he sought out and molded as an adolescent, unlike so many others whom it was thrust upon. There's lots of fascinating armchair psychology to be done here, but I'll stop here.
The chronical of his meteoric political ascent is also interesting, but I was more captivated by his intellectual formation. Stories of his self-imposed academic rigor starting in the middle of college, his interactions with peers and teachers at Harvard, and formation of his political sensibility as a community organizer all have delectable detail for any politics nerd. When it actually came to his political ascent, the story made a turn for the unreal. Looking back it's still hard to believe he rose so fast so quickly in politics, perhaps even more surprising that (at least IMHO) he did so well in his presidency given his such quick rise and relative greenness at national politics when elected.
If you don't mind length and details, and wish to understand Obama the person better, especially aspects of his racial identity, it's a good read.
Remnick offers a sprawling, detailed, and almost obsessive/compulsive chronicle of the "life and rise" of Obama. I thought I'd enjoy Remnicks writerly sensibilities after enjoying his podcasterly sensibilities as the host of the NYer podcast and his editorial sensibilities for the magazine I have such a spot in my heart for. However as a chronicler, I found him too obsessed with details.
Remnick starts 2 generations removed from the subject, with his Kenyan and Kansasan grandparents, and painstakingly works his way to the subject that by the time we get to Obama himself in earnest we're almost 100 pages in. It's obvious that he has a keen knack for detailed research, but it's less clear that he has a natural ability to synthesize research into compelling stories and arcs.
What we end up with is a detailed account of Obama's family history and biography. Perhaps the most interesting to me was the account of Obama's childhood in Hawaii. Here we delve into the formation of his racial identity, and the reader gets a sense of how his confidence, preternatural skills of facilitation and calm may stem from a atypical path to African American identity. Unlike most other American blacks who grow up in the thick of prejudice, bigotry, and often violence in explicit and hurtful terms, Obama was sheltered from much of the explicitly harm aspects of his identity in a relatively harmonious Hawaiian society. He also came to his identity as African American on his own under his own terms; it was something he sought out and molded as an adolescent, unlike so many others whom it was thrust upon. There's lots of fascinating armchair psychology to be done here, but I'll stop here.
The chronical of his meteoric political ascent is also interesting, but I was more captivated by his intellectual formation. Stories of his self-imposed academic rigor starting in the middle of college, his interactions with peers and teachers at Harvard, and formation of his political sensibility as a community organizer all have delectable detail for any politics nerd. When it actually came to his political ascent, the story made a turn for the unreal. Looking back it's still hard to believe he rose so fast so quickly in politics, perhaps even more surprising that (at least IMHO) he did so well in his presidency given his such quick rise and relative greenness at national politics when elected.
If you don't mind length and details, and wish to understand Obama the person better, especially aspects of his racial identity, it's a good read.
socraticgadfly's review
5.0
Still very much worth a read
Remnick does an excellent job of showing that Obama has always been a pragmatist, a conciliator and a neoliberal. (Oh, and in light of BP and Deepwater Horizon and Interior Secretary Kenny Boy Salazar, it's "interesting" that Remnick has nothing to write about an Obama environmental record.) That was all the case in Iowa, January 2008. But, many voters either didn't look deep enough, didn't know to look deep enough, or just made unwarranted assumptions.
That said, there is one missing thing in this book.
Remnick never (and this is a book about Obama's "rise," not just a narrow biography) looks at the issues of "white liberal guilt" or white assumptions about black Democratic politicians being liberal not neoliberal.
I think an addition 15-20 pages, within the last 100 or so, would have been plenty to cover that. That said, I think white liberal guilt and white unjustified assumptions were a factor. Obama might have gotten the nomination anyway, but it would have been even tougher. (Either he or Hillary Clinton still would have beaten McCain.)
Beyond that one thing, though, this book is very good. One suggestion: Also read Mendell's bio on Obama. It came out earlier and fresher, and from a Chicago perspective.
This is a great book overall, and, having referenced it above, you'll understand just why Obama is reacting to BP the way he does, why he had a cautious stimulus bill, why he believes so much in bipartisanship and more.
That last one is a biggie. Explicitly and implicitly, Remnick makes clear that Obama thought he as president could charm Congressional Republicans out of the trees. Well, he got his head handed to him on a platter more than once, but I still am not sure he has fully accepted that. (And he had four [theoretical] years in the Senate to have disabused him of that idea.)
Remnick does an excellent job of showing that Obama has always been a pragmatist, a conciliator and a neoliberal. (Oh, and in light of BP and Deepwater Horizon and Interior Secretary Kenny Boy Salazar, it's "interesting" that Remnick has nothing to write about an Obama environmental record.) That was all the case in Iowa, January 2008. But, many voters either didn't look deep enough, didn't know to look deep enough, or just made unwarranted assumptions.
That said, there is one missing thing in this book.
Remnick never (and this is a book about Obama's "rise," not just a narrow biography) looks at the issues of "white liberal guilt" or white assumptions about black Democratic politicians being liberal not neoliberal.
I think an addition 15-20 pages, within the last 100 or so, would have been plenty to cover that. That said, I think white liberal guilt and white unjustified assumptions were a factor. Obama might have gotten the nomination anyway, but it would have been even tougher. (Either he or Hillary Clinton still would have beaten McCain.)
Beyond that one thing, though, this book is very good. One suggestion: Also read Mendell's bio on Obama. It came out earlier and fresher, and from a Chicago perspective.
This is a great book overall, and, having referenced it above, you'll understand just why Obama is reacting to BP the way he does, why he had a cautious stimulus bill, why he believes so much in bipartisanship and more.
That last one is a biggie. Explicitly and implicitly, Remnick makes clear that Obama thought he as president could charm Congressional Republicans out of the trees. Well, he got his head handed to him on a platter more than once, but I still am not sure he has fully accepted that. (And he had four [theoretical] years in the Senate to have disabused him of that idea.)
librarianonparade's review against another edition
5.0
I very much doubt there'll be a better biography of Barack Obama, at least not within the next decade or so, because this book is truly excellent. I came away from it not just with a better understanding of Obama, but the civil rights movement and race relations in America in general.
It really clarified my image of Obama as an extraordinary man - not necessarily an extraordinary President, because history will tell on that one, and simply being the first African-American President in no way guarantees that his presidency will prove a success. But no-one less than extraordinary could have the rise Obama had, to go from an Illinois state senator to President of the United States in four years.
'The bridge' in the title refers not just to the attack on peaceful civil rights demonstrators by armed officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, but also the way Obama perceives himself and his role in politics.
With a white mother and African father, Obama deliberately carved out a role for himself as an African-American - he wasn't born with that perception of himself and he grew up largely removed from the race context in America. And it's interesting how many people who knew Obama as a child and teenager said the same variation of 'I never thought of Barack as black'. Obama chose to position himself as an African-America, but one with a unique insight and understanding of whites as well. He saw himself as a man of two cultures, a man capable of living in and understanding both, a man who could act as a living bridge. And that perception influenced his entire political career - he consistently strove to act as a mediator between parties, a conciliator, someone who could reconcile opposing viewpoints. How successful he proves at doing that in the vicious partisan world of Washington politics is something for another book.
It really clarified my image of Obama as an extraordinary man - not necessarily an extraordinary President, because history will tell on that one, and simply being the first African-American President in no way guarantees that his presidency will prove a success. But no-one less than extraordinary could have the rise Obama had, to go from an Illinois state senator to President of the United States in four years.
'The bridge' in the title refers not just to the attack on peaceful civil rights demonstrators by armed officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, but also the way Obama perceives himself and his role in politics.
With a white mother and African father, Obama deliberately carved out a role for himself as an African-American - he wasn't born with that perception of himself and he grew up largely removed from the race context in America. And it's interesting how many people who knew Obama as a child and teenager said the same variation of 'I never thought of Barack as black'. Obama chose to position himself as an African-America, but one with a unique insight and understanding of whites as well. He saw himself as a man of two cultures, a man capable of living in and understanding both, a man who could act as a living bridge. And that perception influenced his entire political career - he consistently strove to act as a mediator between parties, a conciliator, someone who could reconcile opposing viewpoints. How successful he proves at doing that in the vicious partisan world of Washington politics is something for another book.
windingdot's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty thorough account of Barack Obama's life from his family's history up through his election as President. I knew the basic contours of his life story, but this filled in many more details. I found myself losing steam as I got more into the contemporary parts about his political career, probably because I was more familiar with that to start with. Still, worth reading. Fairly quick read for a 600 page book.
jonjeffryes's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to the audiobook. The beginning seemed to go into too much detail, the end seemed to glancing. The middle portion was captivating and well-paced.
ckporier's review against another edition
3.0
Provided some interesting perspective about Obama's life and views, but some of it was a bit of a slog.
markk's review
4.0
Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election represented not just a milestone in terms of American history, but a new stage in the nation’s enduring struggle over race. It was an issue that Obama had to deal with throughout the campaign, not just from whites but from blacks as well, as he faced charges that he was not “black” enough. In this book David Remnick, the editor of New Yorker magazine, offers us a study of Obama’s life within the context of the issue of race. In it, he addresses not just the issues that he faced over the course of his life, but how in many respects they reflect the broader challenges that African Americans and whites faced in an era of dramatic change in the notions of race and equality within the nation as a whole.
The issue of race emerged early on for Obama. Growing up in Hawai’i, he experienced a very different type of racial environment, one with far greater racial diversity and far less overt animosity, than was the case on the mainland at the time. It was in that unique environment that he first wrestled with the issues of his self-definition, a struggle that continued throughout his college career, first in Los Angeles, then in New York City. By the time he graduated, he was a man comfortable with his own identity and the role he wanted to play within the larger community. Remnick’s account here is traditionally biographical in its scope, drawing considerably upon Obama’s own memoir, [b:Dreams from My Father|88061|Dreams from My Father A Story of Race and Inheritance|Barack Obama|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352340675s/88061.jpg|86032], but adding to it with the subsequent reporting. He maintains this approach through much of his post-collegiate career, through his time as a community organizer, law school student, and attorney and budding politician. It is with his election to the United States Senate that the focus narrows to the twin issues of Obama’s presidential run and the intertwining of his political aspirations with race.
By the time Remnick reaches the end of his book – with the election of Obama to the White House, he has given readers a well-researched and perceptive look at both Barack Obama’s life and the role of race within it. While not comprehensive, it is one of the best biographies of the 44th president that we are likely to have for some time, and one that subsequent studies will rely upon for the wealth of information it provides. Anyone wishing to learn about Barack Obama would do well to start with this clearly written and dispassionate look at Obama, both for the insights it offers into him and for its analysis of a critical dimension of his life and career.
The issue of race emerged early on for Obama. Growing up in Hawai’i, he experienced a very different type of racial environment, one with far greater racial diversity and far less overt animosity, than was the case on the mainland at the time. It was in that unique environment that he first wrestled with the issues of his self-definition, a struggle that continued throughout his college career, first in Los Angeles, then in New York City. By the time he graduated, he was a man comfortable with his own identity and the role he wanted to play within the larger community. Remnick’s account here is traditionally biographical in its scope, drawing considerably upon Obama’s own memoir, [b:Dreams from My Father|88061|Dreams from My Father A Story of Race and Inheritance|Barack Obama|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352340675s/88061.jpg|86032], but adding to it with the subsequent reporting. He maintains this approach through much of his post-collegiate career, through his time as a community organizer, law school student, and attorney and budding politician. It is with his election to the United States Senate that the focus narrows to the twin issues of Obama’s presidential run and the intertwining of his political aspirations with race.
By the time Remnick reaches the end of his book – with the election of Obama to the White House, he has given readers a well-researched and perceptive look at both Barack Obama’s life and the role of race within it. While not comprehensive, it is one of the best biographies of the 44th president that we are likely to have for some time, and one that subsequent studies will rely upon for the wealth of information it provides. Anyone wishing to learn about Barack Obama would do well to start with this clearly written and dispassionate look at Obama, both for the insights it offers into him and for its analysis of a critical dimension of his life and career.