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.