paperback, 1176 pages
Published Dec. 8, 2020 by Random House Large Print Publishing, Random House Large Print.
A Promised Land is a memoir by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The book is 768 pages long and available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into two dozen languages. There is also a 28-hour audiobook edition that is read by Obama himself. The book has received many reviews and was put on end-of-year best of lists by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. Commercially, it has been extremely successful and, as of the February 7, 2021 issue, the book has been the New York Times best-seller in non-fiction for …
A Promised Land is a memoir by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The book is 768 pages long and available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into two dozen languages. There is also a 28-hour audiobook edition that is read by Obama himself. The book has received many reviews and was put on end-of-year best of lists by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. Commercially, it has been extremely successful and, as of the February 7, 2021 issue, the book has been the New York Times best-seller in non-fiction for ten consecutive weeks. The book was highly anticipated and, two months before its release, The New York Times remarked that it was "virtually guaranteed" to be the year's top seller, despite its mid-November release date.
History from the front-row perspective.
Entertaining with honest accounts, you seldomly feel Obama is overselling his presidency. He does a very fine job of reading this book aloud aswell.
For me the dynamics of power were insightful - the personal anecdotes quite funny. And I'm definitely going to listen to the 2nd part.
The book was quite interesting especially from a Non-American perspective. I also was still a teenager during Obama's first term so I learnt a lot.
The structure of the book felt quite random to me. It wasn't in a chronological order which confused me at times. I also didn't understand the arrangement of some chapters as far as subject is concerned. This lead to a few unnecessary repetitions in my opinion.
I also would've liked some more insight into Obama's personal life. I expected more of a counterpart to "Becoming" by Michelle Obama in a way. Whereas "A Promised Land" focuses primarily on politics with little nods into his private life here and there.
Nevertheless, there were some emotional moments which brought tears to my eyes. Like the letter of the girl whose father was killed on 9/11 that Obama received after Operation Neptune Spear.
Reading this book is like getting professional narration over the significant events in USA politics from 2008-2012. Everything is framed from a rah-rah-america point of view, practically a necessity in his position, but there is still some genuine insight into what it was like inside the halls of the White House during that time. The financial crisis, the hunt for BinLaden, and republican obstruction are large themes.
This a great book, extremely well written and entertaining.
The pre-presidential part could really make one want to go into politics.
The rest is all about how everything is only compromise, and the limits of democracy.
The only negative thing it shows is how even someone like Obama sees America as conducting the entire world, which shows quite a lack of humility.
Not sure if I believed him.
Five hundred or so pages in, I realized that Barack Obama's memoir had only just reached the midterm elections of 2010. Granted, he had a lot of ground to cover, from his childhood through his early efforts at community organizing, explosive ascendency to the national stage, to making history in the presidential election in 2008 and the frenetic pace of his first two years. But also, far from being a slog, the book is persistently interesting, a page-turning review of recent events from a perspective about as singular as it gets, and with lots of detail. As he admits early on, his narrative resists a strict chronology, as events connect with others in various ways. My only complaint is that he's a little too cool, only really letting us in on the depth of his frustration in a couple places. One memorable passage relates his frustration in the aftermath of …
Five hundred or so pages in, I realized that Barack Obama's memoir had only just reached the midterm elections of 2010. Granted, he had a lot of ground to cover, from his childhood through his early efforts at community organizing, explosive ascendency to the national stage, to making history in the presidential election in 2008 and the frenetic pace of his first two years. But also, far from being a slog, the book is persistently interesting, a page-turning review of recent events from a perspective about as singular as it gets, and with lots of detail. As he admits early on, his narrative resists a strict chronology, as events connect with others in various ways. My only complaint is that he's a little too cool, only really letting us in on the depth of his frustration in a couple places. One memorable passage relates his frustration in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon accident, when the long-undermined role of the federal government was most clearly needed. Still, balanced by describing the sincere emotions he felt while doing his job, fondly recalling special moments he had with his family in the White House or around the world, and retelling stories of camaraderie with his staff, the fact-laden narrative doesn't come off as too serious or formal. I understand this part one of two. Can we read more? Yes we can.
I really enjoyed this glimpse behind the scenes of a presidency. I'm sure he framed it in a way to make it sympathetic to his position, but he writes with such an authentic voice that I felt like I had a real sense of what it might have felt like (good, bad and ugly) to hold that office. I look forward to reading Volume 2, whenever it comes out.
I like Obama, and I enjoyed hearing him narrate this book. But with a few exceptions, this book didn’t reveal much about the person behind the decisions he made. It was basically a recounting of the events of his presidency, but I already read that in the NY Times.
Candid account of a political career
I really enjoyed President Obama's candid, and thoughtful account of his political career from his early steps, towards the end of his first term as President. I especially enjoyed the insights into his experiences being the President.
Excellent.
