In the first volume of his exciting and highly anticipated presidential memoir, Barack Obama recounts the almost surreal journey of a young man’s search for his identity and his rise to become the leader of the free world. He describes, in striking personal detail, how he learned about politics and the key moments of his historic first term in office, a time of great change and turmoil.
Obama takes the reader on a captivating journey, from his early political aspirations to the Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism. On the watershed night of November 4, 2008, Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.
In reflecting on the essence of the presidency, Obama offers a unique and profound exploration of the vast scope of presidential power and, at the same time, its limits.
He invites us to take a fresh look at the dynamics of American partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama takes the reader into the Oval Office, the White House Situation Room, Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and beyond. He shares his thoughts on forming a government and grappling with the global financial crisis, his assessment of Vladimir Putin’s cunning, and his overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to pass the Affordable Care Act. He shares the times he clashed with generals over US military strategy in Afghanistan or his reforms on Wall Street. He recounts his confrontation with the devastating explosion at the Deepwater Horizon and his authorization of Operation Neptune Spear, which killed Osama bin Laden.
The Promised Land is a deeply intimate and introspective book, telling the story of one man’s bet on history and the faith of a social entrepreneur tested on the world stage. Obama is frank about the balancing act of an African American man running for president: embodying the expectations of a generation driven by hope and change, while also confronting the moral challenges that might arise from momentous decisions. He speaks candidly about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, and the impact of living in the White House on his wife and two daughters.
Be the first to review “The Promised Land”