| |  | Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Times Books
Category: Book
Buy New: $49.95
New (4) Collectible (4) from $49.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  321 reviews
Sales Rank: 58996
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 403
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.8 x 1.8
ISBN: 081292343X
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.8960730092
EAN: 9780812923438
ASIN: 081292343X
Publication Date: July 18, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New 1st edition Hardcover with dust jacket, 2007 edition copyright 1995, 2004 later printing
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| Customer Reviews:
 Coming of Age, Coming to Terms, Coming to Grips October 18, 2008
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
This is NOT the usual self-serving "autobiography" of a politician that was ghost-written by his speechwriter and rushed into print just before the primaries. In this lyrical, beautifully written memoir, a young man struggles to come to terms with his heritage as a child of biracial parents. It is unusually honest, even noting in an afterword where his memory clashes with that of his sister: did he meet her in an airport or a bus station? There is a painful rawness as he speaks of Kansas, which shaped his grandparents, of Hawaii, where his parents met and parted, of Indonesia where his mother remarried, of returning to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and go to school. He touches upon the wounds of youthful rebellion, of pulling back from the brink.
He says little of his mother but one can get a sense of the strength and compassion of her character by the fact that she raised her son to admire and see greatness in the character of the man who had abandoned her--who had in fact other wives. He visited only once, when the author was ten. Later, as an adult, the author travels to Kenya, his father's country and meets his sister and his African relatives. He learns that his father was not the man he thought and that although his father had potential, it was never realized.
The author returns to America to wrestle with the issue of his brown skin and how some people in America react to that. There is self-discovery on all levels of this reflective book. To write like this a man must grapple with the demons of his own soul and emerge victorious. It's the kind of journey and coming of age that equips a hero to slay monsters, I think.
This book is not about politics. If you are interested in Obama's political philosophy, turn to The Audacity of Hope.
A Good Insight into the Man October 18, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a great book, for those people who want to learn more about Barack Obama the man this is a must read. I think it is especially important because it was written before the man had any political asperations. He is an intelligent, hard working family man, who truly cares about all people and his country.
 A huge disappointment October 17, 2008
22 out of 50 found this review helpful
I am an undecided voter and decided to read this book hoping to gain some valuable insight on the presidential nominee. I did gain some insight, that for all his education, he hasn't learned to look beyond skin color. Want change? Read this book, it will change the way you look at Obama. I am biracial and I do not struggle with it, I am proud to be ALL that I am. The color of my skin is not who I am. I do not want a President who only sees the world in black & white.
 Dreams from My Father October 14, 2008
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
Book was okay. Decent reading. However, I wanted to get more insight into Obama before election. Learned nothing. I expected clarification of his ideas/ideals.
 Poetic Introspection October 11, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This amazingly frank memoir bares the soul of a confused and deprived, then ambitious and determined, man of his times. The multi-racial, multi-cultural, migratory experience of Barack Obama both reflects and defines the post-modern secular society that the United States has become in the 21st century. This masterfully told tale transcends the senator's own life to illustrate the trials and pain of the racial divide that persist both here and abroad. It portrays the chronically sad consequences of tribal and colonial history for Africans, Europeans and Americans.
By turns troubling yet hopeful, morose yet humourous, depressing yet inspiring, this book probes your emotions and challenges your worldview. Obama weaves an incredible tapestry of characters, places and moods with language more befitting a poet than a politician. His look inside himself is as deep and penetrating as his thoughts about the human condition. Although not everyone will agree with his conclusions, no one can deny his convictions.
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