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 enlarge | Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.15
You Save: $10.80 (42%)
New (35) Used (11) Collectible (13) from $15.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  271 reviews
Sales Rank: 779
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0307383415
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.04960730092
EAN: 9780307383419
ASIN: 0307383415
Publication Date: January 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Who is Barack Obama! July 13, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
So, who is this Barack Obama who is likely to become the next President of the United States? Dreams from My Father answers those questions in the words of Mr. Obama himself. By now, most people know that Barack Obama is a gifted speaker; but I doubt that many know his talent as writer and story teller. This book introduces us to the difficulties involved in growing up in a multiracial and multicultural environment and trying to fit in. Raised by his Caucasian mother and grandparents, his absentee father was a black African and his step father was Asian. Mr. Obama grew up in Hawaii and Kansas and Asia and traveled to Africa where he met his brothers and other relatives who stemmed from his interesting Grandfather and father. Like his father, he was academically gifted and graduated from Harvard.
I recommend this book to those who are interested in learning who Barack Obama is and where his thoughts and belief's originated from. Through this book I feel like I know Barack much better than I did before. He is a special and intelligent human being whose experiences are varied, unusual and interesting. I can hardly wait to read his other book the Audacity of Hope.
Read this book and you will learn much more about Barack Obama than what is reported in the news. It may change your vote.
 Insightful look at an intriguing man's search for self July 11, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am torn about who to vote for in the upcoming election, so I wanted to educate myself as best as I can about the nominees. I've been impressed with Barack Obama's message, but I thought that reading his autobiography (especially one written before he went into office) would help me understand him better. Obama is the son of a Kenyan man who married an 18-year-old girl named Stanley in Hawaii. There have been many misconceptions about Obama and his family in the media and online, but reading this book dispelled them. He describes his life and upbringing with remarkable honesty, even about his foibles and mistakes. He has a knack for description and capturing a moment with almost Kodakesque clarity. While much has been made in the news about the influence on him of his father and mother (TIME Magazine devoted an entire cover story to her), I can't help but think that his white grandfather may have had a larger impact than acknowledged. Obama describes his grandfather's life as: single mother, hint of scandal, raised by grandparents, realizes he's not the fair-haired boy, that he appears more like a "wop". Substitute "wop" for any racial term for African-American, and you could be describing Obama. The book is compelling, not only to learn about the man who may become the first black President of the United States, but also as a story of self-discovery and the quest for purpose.
A Must Read July 7, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a wonderfully written description of Barack Obama's life in his own words. It offers insight into the man who is now the democratic candidate for the president of the United States. It provides the chance to know Barack before he entered politics, as he was just returning to Chicago after finishing Harvard Law School, in a way that generally only old friends or family do. It is a must read for anyone who will be voting in this presidential election or is just looking for a great summer book to read.
 All About Him July 5, 2008
4 out of 15 found this review helpful
And, unfortunately, he's not that interesting. If he weren't running for president, I would have chucked the book after Indonesia. Black, white, black, white...whine, whine...yawn.
This man has no acomplishments to justify anyone voting for him.
Who Is He? This book Answered the Question! July 4, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
When I first heard the name Obama, I thought where did he come from, and I did not take him too seriously at first. I do not know if it is proper to mention politics here, but I am a staunch Democrat. Now, I have friends and relatives who are just as stauch Republicans, and that does not matter the least bit to me. I am just so thankful that we live in a country where we can vote according to the dictates of our own hearts and minds. Leaving that thought, I voted for Hillary in the primary and believed she would get the nomination. Well, the rest is history. After a few weeks, I soon realized with the coverage on the medica that Obama was not going away any time soon. Therefore, I went to Amazon to see what I could get to learn who he is. I bought this book and the Audacity of Hope from Amazon.
I was amazed at how well written and interesting this book is by such a young man. He is so diversified in various cultures, and has a deep understanding of human nature with regard to expressing themselves in these cultures.
He speaks of the difficulty of his youth with living in a white family while his grandfather taking him to the black bars for entertainment. He lives in Indonesia, and one gets an incite to the Asian customs which are quite different from us as Americans.
He later goes to Kenya and gives us detail into the people and customs of that land. The struggles that face his people whom he has not known. He only saw his father once when he was ten years old.
But the way he meets his siter Auma after they are both grown, and yet he connects with her is amazing.
It appears to me that he is trying to be truthful and candid about such important matters. He gives us an insight into the deep feelings of people who are affected by proverty and race. It would be unkind of me to say I understand those feelings because as a white American, I have not experienced them. However, I have great empathy for those who must endure this life. Yet, I am seeing that today we have many white people who are living in the area of poverty and uneducated. I am now old and see a trend that I do not like.
Obama chose willingly to serve in the Chicago area where he could see firsthand the poverty and see if he could make change. He did. He was persevering, tolerant, patient, a man on a mission to accomplish, and he did with much success.
Yes, this book answered my question as to who is he. I will be voting for him, and after reading this book, it is with great confidence I do so. I have not begun the Audacity of Hope yet but am looking forward to it if it is written with the same honesty and thought.
I highly recommend.
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