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akswhy's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
Incredibly detailed and important, but just as incredibly slow. I am glad such a detailed account of a world-altering administration exists (and will exist when part 2 arrives on shelves), but it’s clear that it is very difficult to edit a former president. Had to switch from print to audiobook to finish it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Medical content
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
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
alylentz's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
More readable and engrossing than I expected from a political memoir that's so hefty. Started to feel a little formulaic after a while, but I definitely learned a lot and feel like I got a lot out of reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Grief
Minor: Death, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, and Religious bigotry