President Obama is without question one of the most influential American presidents in recent history, so when I found out he had written a book, I knew I needed to read it. Actually, I bought the audiobook since it was narrated by him and I'd recommend, if you can, listening to it.
Book premise
This book covers a lot of his early life, his time in the Senate, and eventually the race to the White House. It's an incredible journey and I won't go into details or spoilers here since I hate seeing those on other sites, but this is literally the first thing you read in the book (highlights are mine):
I BEGAN WRITING THIS BOOK shortly after the end of my presidency, after Michelle and I had boarded Air Force One for the last time and traveled west for a long-deferred break. The mood on the plane was bittersweet. Both of us were drained, physically and emotionally, not only by the labors of the previous eight years but by the unexpected results of an election in which someone diametrically opposed to everything we stood for had been chosen as my successor. Still, having run our leg of the race to completion, we took satisfaction in knowing that we'd done our very best.
I cannot imagine the shock, and the stomach it took for him to welcome a person to the White House, but he was gracious and probably relieved to have, as he put it, a "long-deferred break".
The book is quite large and it describes a lot of key events of his presidency, but it's not complete. He even mentions that it's the first volume, so I can't wait for a second one to come out.
The author
From the book again:
BARACK OBAMA was the 44th president of the United States, elected in November 2008 and holding office for two terms.
He is the author of two previous New York Times bestselling books, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope, and the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Michelle. They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
If you don't know who he is, then we found someone living under a rock :). Please say hi and reach out.
Why did I like it?
I'm not a fan of history or politics, especially other countries' politics, but this is a fascinating journey into a person that broke a lot of racial barriers both as a senator as well as a president. He was also given a huge task of recovering from an economy that wasn't too hot (let's put it this way), useless wars and banks that were spending money like they didn't know what money is.
I liked it especially to understand and see how it is possible to be a good person, with values, to rise not only to the challenge with hard work, but also ignore and deal with the most vicious attacks that were not only not deserved, but at times, completely false.
There are a lot of leadership books, most of them useless, but this is the one I'd recommend to see how people can be a true leader in hard times.
Where you can find it
Want more? Check my other book suggestions.
I have no affiliation with this brand or person (people), and the views here are my own. I didn't have any bad experiences, but if you do, please know that this is a recommendation, and you're always free to make decisions by yourself before buying something.
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