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rachblank's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Enlightening to read about his decision making process and rationale when faced with a serious dilemma and choice to make in the White House.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Cancer, Death, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
mlphipps1991's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abortion
housedesignerking's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This is a book that I never pictured myself reading. In 2008, I honestly pictured myself reading a John McCain presidential memoir sometime after his 4 or 8 years in office, eventually reading Sarah Palin's vice-presidential memoir. Obviously, that's not what happened. Senator Obama and Senator Biden went on to become President and Vice-President, respectively. This historic moment in history did not happen with a vote from me. I don't miss that time period when it comes to the political and social atmospheres. If you didn't vote for Obama, you were somehow a racist; if you didn't vote for McCain, you were somehow unamerican; if you liked Biden, you were somehow a supporter of reckless decisions made in anger; and if you liked Palin, you were as dumb as people claimed she was. I also don't miss the political and social atmospheres that followed that election till roughly 2015. People were either fueled by the Tea Party (which was basically a red herring) or unintelligibly stuck in the idea that if you weren't with the dems, you were a racist, and nothing you said would ever matter. I have lived to regret my decision to support McCain and Palin after I saw his very public meltdown about 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and after seeing her role in the Tea Party and eventually her flouting of Fauci's pandemic recommendations (not to mention, her refusal to support same gender marriage). So, when my fiancé suggested we buy this book and read it, I readily agreed.
Let no one say that Barack Obama is unintelligent. This book was clearly written by a well-educated man, and my love affair with his way with words was obvious to my fiancé as we read this together. This president's way with words is not only engaging but also riveting and funny at times. To the dismay of my younger self, I really didn't find many disagreements between this president and myself. The first thing I could really say that I disagreed with him on (as far as the time covered in this book) was on pg 234: one of the first things he did as president was lift President W. Bush's moratorium on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. His words on growing up black were educational and eye-opening. I don't personally agree with some of his viewpoints regarding what is and isn't racially motivated, but being of two 'minorities' myself, I can definitely see how those perceptions can come to be. Aside from those, I could see why he made certain decisions, or my objection was about something so small that it isn't even worth mentioning. With this book, he went from his childhood to political life to his 2008 campaign and election and comes to a close on the death of Osama bin Laden. That final chapter was both harrowing and surreal and probably is for anyone who is old enough to remember September 11th, 2001.
It's 2022 as I type this, and though my younger self would probably be shocked and would protest, I will say that he was a good president. I still maintain that my lack of support for his candidacy had nothing to do with race: it was simply about who I thought was the lesser of two evils, but I will say that today, I somewhat wish I had supported him... At least the first time. I still maintain that Romney would be a great president, and I'm still a moderate republican. I'm not sure how much more praise a formerly unsupportive voter could give after what I've written, so I will end by saying that I give this book 4 stars. It's one heck of a book!
Let no one say that Barack Obama is unintelligent. This book was clearly written by a well-educated man, and my love affair with his way with words was obvious to my fiancé as we read this together. This president's way with words is not only engaging but also riveting and funny at times. To the dismay of my younger self, I really didn't find many disagreements between this president and myself. The first thing I could really say that I disagreed with him on (as far as the time covered in this book) was on pg 234: one of the first things he did as president was lift President W. Bush's moratorium on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. His words on growing up black were educational and eye-opening. I don't personally agree with some of his viewpoints regarding what is and isn't racially motivated, but being of two 'minorities' myself, I can definitely see how those perceptions can come to be. Aside from those, I could see why he made certain decisions, or my objection was about something so small that it isn't even worth mentioning. With this book, he went from his childhood to political life to his 2008 campaign and election and comes to a close on the death of Osama bin Laden. That final chapter was both harrowing and surreal and probably is for anyone who is old enough to remember September 11th, 2001.
It's 2022 as I type this, and though my younger self would probably be shocked and would protest, I will say that he was a good president. I still maintain that my lack of support for his candidacy had nothing to do with race: it was simply about who I thought was the lesser of two evils, but I will say that today, I somewhat wish I had supported him... At least the first time. I still maintain that Romney would be a great president, and I'm still a moderate republican. I'm not sure how much more praise a formerly unsupportive voter could give after what I've written, so I will end by saying that I give this book 4 stars. It's one heck of a book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Deportation
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death and War
whatjasread's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
• I’m not saying it’s bad, but this man talks so much dear lord
• literal king of waffle
• the parts leading up to his presidency were more interesting than his actual presidency
• so much name dropping I don’t remember a single person except Michelle and our lass Lizzie R
TWs: war, death, racism, islamophobia, gun violence, cancer, terrorism, homophobia, torture, mentions of 9/11
• literal king of waffle
• the parts leading up to his presidency were more interesting than his actual presidency
• so much name dropping I don’t remember a single person except Michelle and our lass Lizzie R
TWs: war, death, racism, islamophobia, gun violence, cancer, terrorism, homophobia, torture, mentions of 9/11
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Gun violence, Racism, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Homophobia and Torture
drraytay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
nick13's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I'm not one who says they hate politics in fiction and/or in real life, as I liked Game of Thrones (when it was good) and love Hamilton but I also don't love them, like politics rn. With that said, I loved this book.
In parts the paragraphs are blind, telling exactly how things happened, with other times being written beautifully when it's about something inside, philosophical, or spiritual. The way it informed the reader with the events of his term were put simply enough so that j could understand them even though during his term I was too young to understand any of what was happening.
Along with this, this novel also shows a light into Baracks personal life (not as much as Michelle's but still some) that shows the humanity of him that isn't shown through the press when a president is in office.
All of this combines to a very long novel packed full of information with some parts even having a bit of humor or introspection writing that really adds to the level of reading this novel.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a little bit of politics and want to understand exactly what was happening during this time period and/or what Barack was personally thinking at the time.
In parts the paragraphs are blind, telling exactly how things happened, with other times being written beautifully when it's about something inside, philosophical, or spiritual. The way it informed the reader with the events of his term were put simply enough so that j could understand them even though during his term I was too young to understand any of what was happening.
Along with this, this novel also shows a light into Baracks personal life (not as much as Michelle's but still some) that shows the humanity of him that isn't shown through the press when a president is in office.
All of this combines to a very long novel packed full of information with some parts even having a bit of humor or introspection writing that really adds to the level of reading this novel.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a little bit of politics and want to understand exactly what was happening during this time period and/or what Barack was personally thinking at the time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Racism, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, and Islamophobia
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
While I really enjoyed A Promised Land as a whole, I have to admit it’s best enjoyed one bite at a time. The audiobook is nearly 30 hours – a fairly long read! Because this is a presidential memoir, it’s also filled with political churnings. Regardless of your personal perspective, politics get exhausting after 30 hours. But all that said, I found the behind-the-scenes look fascinating.
There is so much packed into this book. The pacing starts off pretty steadily, with Obama speaking about his early campaigns and setting Michelle. As the book goes on and we get into his presidency, the pace picks up and so does the amount of information. By the end of A Promised Land, one significant event was packed in after another without time to breathe. It was a little anxiety-inducing for me, so I can’t imagine how stressful it was to actually be in charge of or on the receiving end of so many of the things discussed during the second half of the book.
There is a balanced voice to many of the things discussed here, but the further into the presidency we get, the clearer his own personal frustrations are. Since this is a memoir and not purely a piece of historical non-fiction, this is both fine and accepted. However, I do want to mention that the exasperation with Mitch McConnell and Republican senators is clear, and his commentary on Donald Trump is more harsh. This book will not sit well with stalwart Republicans and Trump fans, though for those who are interested in a rounded view of politics, it is still an important read.
Please don’t take this to mean Obama spends the book in bi-partisan bashing. In fact, there is a clear frustration with bi-partisanism and there are several instances where he praises Republican senators or representatives. In fact, it’s an interesting perspective on the shift of priorities in the Republican party during his presidency, which ultimately lead to the party as it is today.
It’s challenging to talk about a political memoir like this without showing my biases. I will be honest and say that I’ve always liked Obama and my reading of the book is a bit biased – I find it easy to sympathize with the frustrations his voices because they are many of the same things I feel myself. While objectively this book is extremely well-written and accessible, enjoyment of it will certainly fall to individual political views. I’m not sure there’s any way around that in a presidential memoir.
A Promised Land is an excellent read if you are interested in the Obama family or administration. It’s also good insight for a well-rounded political view. However, it’s important to be aware of the inherent biases coming from a memoir… and also know it’s a bit thick so take it slow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture and Violence
readandfindout's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Knowledge/perspective: 4.5 stars
This is actually really hard to rate! Because I thought everything was well done, and I really enjoyed Obama's perspective, but I struggled with the pacing and level of detail.
Themes: 4 stars
Knowledge/perspective: 4.5 stars
This is actually really hard to rate! Because I thought everything was well done, and I really enjoyed Obama's perspective, but I struggled with the pacing and level of detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Genocide, Violence, and Islamophobia
Minor: Death, Homophobia, and Torture
pagesfromhome's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Barack Obama was the first president I volunteered for as well as the first one I voted for. So naturally, I'm a little biased to liking him and it would come as no surprise that I loved the first part of his memoirs.
Obama is known for being a little long-winded and that is certainly the case here. He often dives into the political process in ways that can feel a little too heavy in juxtaposition to the moments where he waxes poetic about the love he holds for his family. I'll admit that by far my favorite parts of the book were those moments where he was either speaking about his wife and daughters or the moments where he let his honesty really shine. At multiple points of the book, Obama is clearly saying things that he didn't feel appropriate sharing as President so I really enjoyed that blunt honesty. Unfortunately, having those moments of complete honesty then made those moments of not-so-honest stores felt more cagey.
Ultimately, this book was a 4.25 star for me. Obama is an incredible writer and I am very much looking forward to the next part of this series. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in hearing about the goings-on of the modern political process, but as always, be aware that every political memoir is a piece of propaganda even though Obama is exceptionally self-aware of his own flaws throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia