The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama was only two years old when his father walked out on the family. Many years later, Obama receives a phone call from Nairobi: his father is dead. This sudden news inspires an emotional odyssey for Obama, determined to learn the truth of his father's life and reconcile his divided inheritance. Written at the age of thirty-three, Dreams from my Father is an unforgettable read. it illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history, and what makes us the people we are.
Dreams From My Father
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One of the many refreshing things about Barack Obama is his self-deprecating sense of humour. Responding to the unrealistic expectations for his presidency, Obama said 'I've been sent by my father from the planet Krypton to save the Earth.' Unfortunately, the irony of this self-comparison to Superman was probably lost on many of his dedicated followers, who clearly believe that – once in office – he can exercise a few super powers and rid the world of all its thronging ills, economic and otherwise. But as Dreams from My Father proves, Obama is no fool, and knows the cold realities that face him, even though this intelligently written book is filled with optimism and hope. Which is understandable enough; after all, what else could Obama offer?
The politicians who can actually write may be counted on one hand, but on the evidence here, Barack is among their number (he reminds us that William Faulkner said the past is never dead and buried – it isn’t even past; can you imagine Barack's predecessor in the Oval Office quoting Faulkner – unless the allusion was written for him by one of his speechwriters?). In fact the book -- Obama’s remarkable life story – was, of course, written before his destiny was irrevocably changed by his success in the US presidential election, and it is a striking account of a young man coming to terms with the problem of his identity and issues of belonging in a racially divided country (a racial division that Obama – by the very example of his success – may do a considerable amount towards healing). The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama details the dramatic journey that constituted his parents’ life before his own trip to Kenya to confront the sobering realties of his father’s life. It is a book about coming to terms with the past – and comparisons with writers such as Proust in such areas are not as ridiculous as they would be if almost any other politician were involved.
Dreams from My Father gives real hope that ‘dumbing down’ – in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator – will not be the hallmark of the Obama presidency. --Barry Forshaw
Review
'Because he held to the good and transcended the bad, in Obama's genesis millions of us will find hope.'
-- The Times
'Elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement.' -- The Times
'It's touching, revealing, brave and generous...unprecedentedly well-written for any politician.' -- Evening Standard
'Obama has written a memoir...that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community.' -- Sunday Times
A remarkable story, beautifully told. -- Robert McCrum, Observer
Elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement. -- Ian Kelly, The Times
Obama's writing is characterised throughout by a graceful eloquence...here is a testimony for the ages. -- Candace Allen, Independent
Whatever else people expect from a politician, it’s not usually a beautifully written personal memoir steeped in honesty. -- Oona King, The Times
You will not fail to be moved by Obama's warmth and humility. -- Good Book Guide
the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir. -- Sunday Herald
-- The Times
'Elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement.' -- The Times
'It's touching, revealing, brave and generous...unprecedentedly well-written for any politician.' -- Evening Standard
'Obama has written a memoir...that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community.' -- Sunday Times
A remarkable story, beautifully told. -- Robert McCrum, Observer
Elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement. -- Ian Kelly, The Times
Obama's writing is characterised throughout by a graceful eloquence...here is a testimony for the ages. -- Candace Allen, Independent
Whatever else people expect from a politician, it’s not usually a beautifully written personal memoir steeped in honesty. -- Oona King, The Times
You will not fail to be moved by Obama's warmth and humility. -- Good Book Guide
the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir. -- Sunday Herald
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
211 of 226 people found the following review helpful
By Sofia
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Forgetting for a moment who wrote this book; this is an engaging, thoughtful, intelligent, perceptive read. This is a real meditation on race and specifically, on what it means to grow up and search for one's racial identity in modern America. And yet, it is beautifully written. Rich in descriptive detail and almost novelistic vignettes, it is also pacey and hard to put down.
Returning to the author, it is truly hard to believe that this was written by a politician (although he wasn't at the time of writing). It is such a good read and provides such a thoughtful and open account of Obama's views and experiences, that it is truly breathtaking in this age of political posturing.
Read this to learn more about Obama. Read this to learn more about the divisions of America. Read this to learn about the black experience both in the US and in Kenya. Read this for the beauty of its writing, but above all, read it, you won't be disappointed.
Returning to the author, it is truly hard to believe that this was written by a politician (although he wasn't at the time of writing). It is such a good read and provides such a thoughtful and open account of Obama's views and experiences, that it is truly breathtaking in this age of political posturing.
Read this to learn more about Obama. Read this to learn more about the divisions of America. Read this to learn about the black experience both in the US and in Kenya. Read this for the beauty of its writing, but above all, read it, you won't be disappointed.
73 of 80 people found the following review helpful
By NYC Mummy
Format:Paperback
I have never before read a politician's memoirs - but then, Barack Obama is no ordinary politician. This is a searingly honest account of the growing up pains of a mixed race, highly intelligent young man, searching for identity and meaning. I thoroughly recommend it - both to people who want to know more about this very inspiring man, and to those who simply want an absorbing read.
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Ralph Blumenau
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has been written with great literary flair. Every place in which Barack Obama has lived or which he has visited is described with the skill of a great travel-writer; every person, every social setting is graphically and memorably brought to life. His independently-minded maternal grandparents, white folk who had themselves eloped against the wishes of the grandmother's father, had no theory about racial equality but simply assumed it and were shocked when their surroundings did not. Apart from the fact that the grandfather had itchy feet, that may have been one of the reasons why they left Texas and moved to Hawaii, which was more racially tolerant than mainland America. When their daughter married Barack senior, a black Kenyan whom she had met at the University of Hawaii, they accepted him. It was a brief marriage: he left his wife and his brown-skinned two-year-old son, Barack junior, to study in America, and never returned to live with them. Two years later she married an Indonesian (another superb pen-portrait), and when Barack was six years old, they all went off to live in a village on the edge of Djakarta. Barack learnt a lot from his step-father and from life in Indonesia under a savage right-wing dictatorship. He also learnt much from his mother, who counteracted the step-father's fatalistic acceptance of the situation in Indonesia by constantly setting before her son the struggles of the American liberals in the 1960s and 1970s. Her second marriage, too, would end in divorce. She sent Barack back to Hawaii when he was ten, to be educated at a good American school there. Read more ›
167 of 185 people found the following review helpful
By Dave_42
Format:Paperback
Long before he was a candidate to be President of the United States, or even a candidate for the state legislature, Barack Obama wrote "Dreams from My Father". He had been elected as the first African-American president of the "Harvard Law Review", and if that had been the end of his public career, this book would have long been out of print. But, with Obama running for the U.S. Senate, it was reprinted, and now his Presidential run has undoubtedly increased the interest in this work.
This is an interesting book, though certainly Obama's skill as a writer does not match that of his skill as an orator. The book is divided into three sections: "Origins", a look at his younger days; "Chicago", his decision to move to Chicago and work as a community organizer; and "Kenya", about his visit to see his extended family in the country where his father was born. The edition which I read also includes two introductions: one written for the original release of the book; and a second introduction written for the 2004 edition during his run for U.S. Senate. The book closes with a brief epilogue, and an excerpt from his second book "The Audacity of Hope".
"Origins" is an interesting look at some of the aspects of his growing up. This section is focused primarily on race, which is not surprising considering the reason he was asked to write the book. This section also contains key stories about his family, and most importantly his father, but I wish he had spent more time on that part of his life in this book. The section starts with the period prior to his realizing that race was important, and moves through a brief example of his being embarrassed by it, to a longer period of his taking on what is often considered the typical lifestyle of young black men. Read more ›
This is an interesting book, though certainly Obama's skill as a writer does not match that of his skill as an orator. The book is divided into three sections: "Origins", a look at his younger days; "Chicago", his decision to move to Chicago and work as a community organizer; and "Kenya", about his visit to see his extended family in the country where his father was born. The edition which I read also includes two introductions: one written for the original release of the book; and a second introduction written for the 2004 edition during his run for U.S. Senate. The book closes with a brief epilogue, and an excerpt from his second book "The Audacity of Hope".
"Origins" is an interesting look at some of the aspects of his growing up. This section is focused primarily on race, which is not surprising considering the reason he was asked to write the book. This section also contains key stories about his family, and most importantly his father, but I wish he had spent more time on that part of his life in this book. The section starts with the period prior to his realizing that race was important, and moves through a brief example of his being embarrassed by it, to a longer period of his taking on what is often considered the typical lifestyle of young black men. Read more ›
128 of 142 people found the following review helpful
By Sparks
Format:Paperback
It is a rare privilege to have such a personal insight into the life and background of a prominent politician. Often it is written about leaders that nobody knows what they are really like as people. But in Barack Obama's case, it is laid out in quite frank detail in this book.
Like most people outside Illinois, I had not heard of Barack Obama until he gave his speech at the Democratic Convention on 27 July (it can be read on his website: [...] and I was fortunate to find the last copy of his book in a Chicago bookshop in August. The opening of the convention speech is a brief outline of the background that formed the book. His father was a Kenyan who went to study in Hawaii, and his mother was living in Hawaii having grown up in Kansas. They parted company soon after Barack was born.
The book is about his childhood and how he adapted to life after his father left his mother. She remarried an Indonesian man, and they went with him to live in Indonesia for some years. Barack returned to the US to finish high school. After graduating, he went to work in Chicago among underprivileged black communities there before deciding to go to law school in Harvard.
Obama's style of writing is extremely personal and analytical of how he dealt with certain issues in his life - his absent father, the colour of his skin, the remarriage of his mother, how he learnt of his father's death, his work in Chicago, his decision to become a lawyer and his rediscovery of his roots in Kenya (including his grandmother, uncles and aunts, and various half-brothers and sisters). Despite having led a very different life in a different part of the world, I was regularly struck by similarities between his life and mine - and can only assume that every reader would have the same reaction. Read more ›
Like most people outside Illinois, I had not heard of Barack Obama until he gave his speech at the Democratic Convention on 27 July (it can be read on his website: [...] and I was fortunate to find the last copy of his book in a Chicago bookshop in August. The opening of the convention speech is a brief outline of the background that formed the book. His father was a Kenyan who went to study in Hawaii, and his mother was living in Hawaii having grown up in Kansas. They parted company soon after Barack was born.
The book is about his childhood and how he adapted to life after his father left his mother. She remarried an Indonesian man, and they went with him to live in Indonesia for some years. Barack returned to the US to finish high school. After graduating, he went to work in Chicago among underprivileged black communities there before deciding to go to law school in Harvard.
Obama's style of writing is extremely personal and analytical of how he dealt with certain issues in his life - his absent father, the colour of his skin, the remarriage of his mother, how he learnt of his father's death, his work in Chicago, his decision to become a lawyer and his rediscovery of his roots in Kenya (including his grandmother, uncles and aunts, and various half-brothers and sisters). Despite having led a very different life in a different part of the world, I was regularly struck by similarities between his life and mine - and can only assume that every reader would have the same reaction. Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Insight
Dreams From My Father is the autobiographical account of Barack Obama’s early years from his childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii through to his time as a community organiser in... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Calypso
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
It is one of the best autobiography book I have ever read.
It gives a true picture of a Blackman knowing who he is and not inferior because of his colour. Read more
It gives a true picture of a Blackman knowing who he is and not inferior because of his colour. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Emmanuel Owusu
1.0 out of 5 stars
disaster
the book is anti-Western ideology that is supposed to mispresent and demonize the West as an evil empire and idealize all aspects of non-Westerners at the same time. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
I really enjoyed reading this book. Barack writes beautifully. Easy read. I would recommend it. Great buy. Excellent and Excellent.
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Magdalene M. Ifill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Obama's own words!
I never thought he could write a book like this himself.
Do not be afraid, it is not all about politics! Read more
Do not be afraid, it is not all about politics! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Goethe <3
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Inspiring
I'm not a huge fan of inspirational books but this one spoke to me. Brilliantly written, brutally honest, the best book I read in 2013.
Published 2 months ago by uby_1
4.0 out of 5 stars
Continuing story
I did not finish this book as I found it did not hold my interest the way the first book had. A good read for anyone with a bit of time on their hands.
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. J. Goldfinch
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book
Well written readable honest good read well worth the money would recommend it to anyone well worth buying and reading
Published 4 months ago by wilson goko
5.0 out of 5 stars
All what I expected
Really enjoyed this - understanding his view on what has made the man, and leader, he is today. Yes it's his "spin" but equally insightful.
Published 4 months ago by VK
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great man
Inspirational and well put together.He has the common touch which I can identify with ,his analysis is almost sacred and clearly means a lot to him
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