Is the American electorate wise enough to elect a candidate who gives intelligent but nuanced answers to complex problems? In this book Obama writes insightfully about politics, religion and social problems. He offers his ideas on how he believes American can best live up to it’s potential. At the time of this writing the results of the presidential elections are not known. If Barack doesn’t win it may indicate a lack of popular appreciation for intelligent nuanced views of the world.

Obama’s discussion of his values and faith are presented in a clear and heart felt manner. He is one of very few politicians who articulates views of religion with which I can feel comfortable.

This book is Obama’s autobiography with occasional forays into discussions of various political and social issues. His skill at writing is equal to his ability to inspire the public with his speeches. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to gain insight into one the of brightest lights on the American political stage today. The audio version of the book is particularly interesting because it is narrated by the author. His description of his meeting with George Bush is fascinating because he does a good job of impersonating the President’s manner of speaking.

I could not help but think to myself, “Get a room,” as I finished the section titled “Our Constitution” in Senator Barack Obama’s most recently published book, The Audacity of Hope. I’ll admit that by the time I finished the first chapter, “Republicans and Democrats” I had a little crush on Senator Obama (sorry Michelle), so his love letter to the American Constitution felt a little like I had gone through his desk looking for a pen and come upon something I was never meant to see. I got the feeling that maybe he thinks the Constitution is more interesting than me, and that’s not good for my self-esteem, so it can’t be very good for health care now can it? Also, while I’m a person that carries around my own pocket Constitution because sometime it might come in handy, I still think Senator Obama’s passion for it is pretty nerdy. But I guess it’s something I should expect if I’m going to have a crush on a Constitutional Law professor.

Personal feelings aside, I found reading The Audacity of Hope one of the many good ways to answer the question asked by the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, “Just who is this Barack Obama?” - a question that has been inciting mobs and striking fear into the heart of the American countryside of late. I now feel confident in saying that this Barack Obama character is not Arab or Muslim; he does not want to kill our babies; and he does not have a terrorist plot against the United States government. He is, in fact, a member of the Senate and candidate for President in that very government. I was pretty sure of all these facts before I started the book, but when someone says something like, “Who is Barack Obama?” You have to think “I don’t know anything about that man. He’s probably a terrorist” (or you could think, “He’s that Senator guy nominated as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.” It’s your choice).

While I started The Audacity of Hope with the admittedly biased view that Senator Obama was not a super-villain, my ultimate journey through the book was one of trying to figure out who he likes best. At first I thought, “Pick me!” But I started to get the feeling that there are a lot of other people giving me stiff competition. In discussing partisan politics, he says that one blogger called him an “idiot” for suggesting a strategy of working with the Republican majority. He says, “maybe the critics are right . . . We paint our faces red or blue and cheer our side and boo their side . . . For winning is all that matters.

“But I don’t think so. They are out there, I think to myself, those ordinary citizens who have grown up in the midst of all the political and cultural battles, but who have found a way – in their own lives, at least – to make peace with their neighbors, and themselves. I imagine the white southerner who growing up heard his dad talk about niggers this and niggers that but who has struck up a friendship with the black guys at the office and is trying to teach his own son different, who thinks discrimination is wrong but doesn’t see why the son of a black doctor should get admitted into law school ahead of his own son. Or the former Black Panther who decided to go into real estate, bought a few buildings in the neighborhood, and is just as tired of the drug dealers in front of those buildings as he is of the bankers who won’t give him a loan to expand his business. There’s the middle-aged feminist who still mourns her abortion, and the Christian woman who paid for her teenager’s abortion, and the millions of waitresses and temp secretaries and nurse’s assistants and Wal-Mart associates who hold their breath every single month in the hope that they’ll have enough money to support the children that they did bring into the world.

“I imagine they are waiting for a politics with the maturity to balance idealism and realism, to distinguish between what can and cannot be compromised, to admit the possibility that the other side might have a point” (p 41-42). These were the words that wooed me. I know these people that he is talking about because they are me, and my family and my friends – people whose reality does not always match their ideals; people who work for a better life and take responsibility for their actions but have the capacity for forgiveness when responsibility isn’t enough. You can see how I would think I had a chance.

Then the Constitution came along, and after the Constitution the innovators of Google, and families losing income and homes because of exported jobs and health care costs, and then his wife and kids and mom. I was beginning to think there were a lot of people he likes more than me. Maybe it will never be a love connection.

If you are still questioning whether you know enough about the 2008 Democratic candidate for President in the areas of partisan politics, values, the Constitution, campaign financing, taxes, health care, faith, international politics, race, women’s issues, or family and you don’t feel like visiting his website at www.BarackObama.com, The Audacity of Hope very thoroughly discusses all of these issues and is one good way to determine where you agree and where you disagree with the Senator from Illinois. I reserved my copy at the Eugene Public Library, where all copies are currently checked out, but there is no wait list.

In his epilogue, Mr. Obama gives his motive for participating in politics – a motive that makes me suspicious that his goodwill toward the American people extends beyond just the people I know and to the very foundations of our country and government. He describes going for a run along the Mall in Washington, D.C. At the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he stops. “And in that place,” he writes, “I think about America and those who built it. This nation’s founders, who somehow rose above petty ambitions and narrow calculations to imagine a nation unfurling across a continent. And those like Lincoln and King, who ultimately laid down their lives in the service of perfecting an imperfect union. And all the faceless, nameless men and women, slaves and soldiers and tailors and butchers, constructing lives for themselves and their children and grandchildren, brick by brick, rail by rail, calloused hand by calloused hand, to fill the landscape of our collective dreams.

“It is that process I wish to be part of.

“My heart is filled with love for this country” (p. 361-362).

I have decided not to act on my crush, because I think when Senator Obama says he loves us, he means like a friend. And despite my initial feelings of betrayal over his love affair with the Constitution, I’ve decided not to think of myself as the woman scorned, but to be the bigger person and agree to just be friends. Maybe I’ll even vote for him just to prove that he’s not the only one who can be gracious and forgiving in a difficult situation. Maybe I’ll vote for him because, like he reminded Senator McCain in the third presidential debate, a vote for President of the United States should be about confidence in a candidate’s plans and policies, not about hurt feelings. Call me audacious, but Senator Obama has my vote.

Brainwashing anyone?

This book follows Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Obama's recently republished autobiographical work of about 10 years ago. As in Dreams, he's at his best when describing personal experiences and observations. We learn how it feels to be in the Senate Chambers, fly in a private jet and juggle a public career and family life. I loved the vignettes of meeting Sen. Byrd and Pres. Bush, etc.

Unlike many in the limelight he acknowledges and sympathizes with the stress his career choices have visited upon his family.

With great optimism, Obama speaks to how far this country has come. He reminds us of the too often unspoken deal with the devil.... a Constitution designed to embed slavery... that defined the founding.

He compares the American system with the rest of the world where bribes, not talent, will get you a job. He visits Iraq and sees American ingenuity in the ability to build large scale projects. Obama travels with Republicans and Democrats. While disagreeing with many Republicans, he can state their arguments in a respectful way and refute them with reason.

He has a disarming honesty and old fashioned values. Through his mother's family he relates to midwestern values, and through both his mother and his father, the world.

The title of this book is taken from a sermon which he more fully describes in Dreams. It is a perfect summary of the points he is making. With so much cynicism in the world, it has become audacious to note progress and express hope for the future.

I rated this with 4 stars and not 5 because I liked Dreams better, but this is a matter of taste. Both are highly recommended.

This was a great read - I loved googling the many works of G. F. Watts, most specifically "Hope" to see how it tied in with the concept Obama picked up from his pastor and which shows up in the title of this book. I do enjoy those kind of adventures - why an author/illustrator does what they do.

Any review on a lightening-rod personality's book is either completely suspected-so-rejected or respected-so-accepted, to varying degrees, depending on where a person lands on the "do I like him/her/they/them/it or not" spectrum. I'm all in as it relates to #44, so I read this book with those glasses on. His ideas and proposals, goals and motivations as described in the book were all ones I could get on board with. It was interesting to read how he thinks/thought of his various roles, both public and private, as of the time he wrote this book. Especially interesting to compare with my read of his wife's book, post-presidency. I have yet to read his new one, published post-presidency.

5 star recommendation from me. Hope is something we can believe in, but we need to get that girl some new strings.

Две реалности се преплитат в тази книга.

След първата половина - вижданията на Обама за политиката и икономиката - мислех да я захвърля и да й сложа една звездичка. Знатете какво е булшит - как някой се опитва да ви забълбуква, с красиви думички и дълги, увъртяни и красиво звучащи, но нищо конкретно не значещи изречения да прикрие какво наистина мисли, да се хареса на всички, да извика емоциите ви, вместо разума.

Обама много, ама много внимава думите му да не противоречат кардинално на ничие мнение, което прави на места жалък и смешен опитът му да удовлетвори и да се хареса на радикално противоположни типове избиратели. Защото за икономика и политика той пише като истински, закоравял политик - точно като тия, като които декларира, че никога няма да стане - гладко, мазно, фалшиво.

Втората половина от книгата обаче, е тотално различна. Там той говори за неща, които очевидно са фокусът на вниманието и работата му като политик - социална политика, здравеопазване, образование, религия. Логично, по тия въпроси, той се аргументира доста добре (освен за училищните ваучери - защо ги мрази така и не обясни) и не се страхува да изкаже твърдо мнението си, да опише визията си за това какво трябва да бъде и какво конкретно трябва да се направи. Макар да не съм съгласен с доста от идеите му, хареса ми енергията, с която говори за тях и разбирането в дълбочина на проблемите, които се опитва да пребори.

Общо взето (това личи във всяко изречение в книгата) Обама е типичен представител на Прогресивните Демократи в САЩ - това са идейните наследници на Рузвелт и Кейнс, които смятат, че хората просто не знаят какво искат и какво е добро за тях - и затова правителството е призвано да се грижи за всички аспекти от живота на гражданите си, да регулира и да се намесва с твърда ръка икономиката, да създава заетост, да обгрижва хората със щедри социални програми, да прибира големи данъци и всичко това - с помощта на армия бюрократи.

Един вид, лозунгът, познат твърде добре от близкото минало на България: "Дайте да дадем!"

To preface, I know very little about Obama and his policies. I didn't follow politics whatsoever when he was in office. What I do remember though, is the dignified manner in which he conducted himself when he held the position. Maybe it's just the contrast from the most recent administration that highlights this feature. Either way I knew the guy had some serious gravitas.

This book tends to be more of an introduction of Obama, his past, his opinions and his (then) chaotic life as a Senator for Illinois. He starts with his early life and upbringing in a family that, while not necessarily religious, was principled and held education in high regard. He describes how his upbringing formed his beliefs and opinions about life. At some point he drifts into his current life and into some American history, discussing presidents throughout history who successfully used government intervention to solve social and economic plights. He later makes the case for universal healthcare, universal child care and increasing teacher salaries. None of his arguments are without merit. He illustrates, rather matter-of-factly the reasons he believes that government has a role to play in the wellbeing of its peoples; especially its children. He acknowledges the argument on both sides of every issue and firmly states his opinion, usually on the left side. He also repudiates certain far-left ideologies like identity politics or extreme victimization. He speculates about the divisions that keep America separated and focuses extra attention on the aspects of American life that everyone in the country shares.

I've seen people attack a strawman version of Obama calling him a socialist, a Marxist and a Muslim. If he truly holds the beliefs he portrays in this book, he's nothing of the sort. I may not agree with all of his opinions, but refuting his arguments definitely requires careful analysis of the topic, not inane retorts aimed to obviate thoughtful debate.

This book kept my attention but wasn't overwhelmingly interesting. I didn't learn much besides Obama's surprisingly moderate opinions with regard to government intervention. It was an odd, wandering combination of memoir, policy debate and personal introduction. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars. Overall, I give it a solid, "Pretty good".

The writing is smooth and articulate but it's all just wishful talk and one reaches a point in which you question what's the point of reading all this? Eh.

"Short-term opportunism knows no political boundaries"- Shashi Tharoor

Sounds familiar doesn't it? Well let me clear up the irony for you (that I gave 5 star to the book then why the hell am I starting on such a negative tone). Politics is indifferent to the place where it's practiced!! :p
On that lines, American politics is not very different from Indian one and where can I find a better story teller to elucidate on American Politics than our beloved author?:):)

I'm no one to comment on whether he was great or not, whether his policies worked or not, or was he too liberal to take the necessary actions that he should've had taken when he had the power. But i can surely vouch for the honesty that he has put into the tome. He has been critical of Americans than the immigrants, his colleagues than the foreign officials, himself than his competitors and in all this, he has once again highlighted that today, we as human beings, are in a dire need of spirit of inquiry rather than luxury of opinion which has permeated the very structure, institutions, the very psyche of human beings and has engendered hypocrisy and loose talk which is now norm of the day.

There was one surprising revelation in the book. With every turn of the page i was expecting that now a chapter will come about the grand election of the country which selected its first African-American President in its history but the chapter never came. This book was written before he ran for the presidency and during the time when he was the Senate of Illinois. A young law graduate with a will to fight for civil rights and heart to do the community work. He got his fame by the famous case in which he fought to ensure that "Bidis- A crude form of cigarettes" were banned from his state. He has been an American citizen alright but majority of his early years were spent in Indonesia as his stepdad was called for the conscription during the tough time of 1967.

This book is a memoir, no doubt about it, but it really helps us to take a very informed and objective peek inside the American ideology, culture and their way of living. Racism, the long lost curse of America, or so people believe, still looms over the states in various unspoken renditions and has not yet faded form the subconscious of people. They said that capitalism would cure the cultural fractures, and now, Globalization has attained the status of much touted panacea of all the gender, cast, creed, religious biases that is all pervasive in our society. It's debatable as to how much these winds have veered the direction of public biases but the mistrust, dissatisfaction is still palpable in the society.
Previously, America's problem was limited to racism. This vicious practice has resulted in various life threatening disadvantages to a particular race (blacks) which is not only limited to people of a particular era but the posterity as well. Even today employers have got no explanation when they are asked that if they had to select 1 candidate between 2 and the two were equally good in all fronts then on what grounds was the black candidate rejected. Mr Obama has quoted various anecdotes in which people have admitted to him that blacks are more likely to fall in bad company, less likely to live long, less likely to start an enterprise of their own and the reason the say is the age old problem which people like me and you are now fed up of listening- lack of basic amenities which includes competitive education, tax cuts, a social welfare scheme and an all-inclusive insurance coverage. I never thought that these things will even be an issue in a developed country such as America which reminds me of a famous quote someone said:

"Economics feeds insurgency"

America's foreign policy has been highlighted amply by the author and he has secured my utmost reverence in accepting the fact that it needs a major overhaul. Their Indonesian meddling has broadly encapsulated the policy of coercion and expectation of legitimacy from the global population in the name of democracy. Blunders that have not only blew a hole in their financial armor, but which also gave birth to the mistrust that their own people have developed for their own government. Anti-America sentiments around the world has been at an all time high and frankly speaking, the country is trapped between its natives and the foreign expectations because of the legacy it has lived.

At the end, it is in their own interest that self-governance around the world multiplies but they are confused as to how should they promote it? They tried it in Iraq, failed and I am pretty sure that whatever they did for Iraq must have been out of good intentions but i would love a survey that confirms as to how many Iraqis feel so. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Syria all these places have had an experience of the good intentions of the Americans but I suppose just the intentions aren't going to be enough isn't it?

"Path to hell is always laid on with good intentions"

And since we've got a new gentleman who may very well prove us that we have reached our destination with him speaking "I'll be your guide for the next 5 years. Shall we take a detour?" (if you know what I mean) :p:p:p

First things first, I’d recommend this book, especially to people who don’t like Obama. I grew up hearing a lot of negative things about him, but my opinion of him has changed after reading this book. Granted, I don’t know much about his presidency (this book was written in 2006) and I haven’t read much from his detractors, but I was really impressed by him here. Not even so much in what he said, but in the fair way in which he said it.

Overall, I was very impressed with this book. Maybe it’s because I just finished Newt Gingrich’s book “Understanding Trump” (which I felt like was the epitome of dirty, divided, other-side-bashing politics) but this book felt so balanced. I don’t agree with all of Obama’s views (for instance, some of ideas surrounding abortion and gay marriage), but I was impressed with the way he put forth his views. He always acknowledged the validity and strengths of the opinions of people who he disagreed with. This didn’t make him a flimsy politician though. He firmly and clearly expressed his perspectives - many of which I agreed with (the importance of enabling welfare recipients through work and training opportunities, the need to return to civil instead of decisive politics between politics, the foreign policy concept that we shouldn’t interfere with other nations unless their citizens ask for our help, or the belief that white and blacks have a lot they can do to fix America’s racial problems - to name a few). He even changed my mind on some things (notably, the idea that the richer you are the more you should pay in taxes. This is a concept Warren Buffett agrees with. Reading “Outliers” helped me with this. The idea is that none of us our truly self-made. Society is in part responsible for our success and so if we are more blessed by society, shouldn’t we also give back more to society? Obama wasn’t extreme or overly-radical about the amount of taxes the rich should pay. No, he was fair minded and reasonable).

REAL AMERICAN GUYS

(This review is based on the podcast everyone's been talking about – the one that features a rock and roll legend and a beloved American president.)

SPRUCE: Well, folks, here we are. Two real American guys! I'm Spruce Bingsteen, the kid from New Jersey who picked up a guitar and became a millionaire just by believing in the hopes and dreams of ordinary people like you. And this guy . . .

BOMAMA: Well, I'm not that cool. I'm just a kid from Hawaii who took a few law classes and won a few elections. I'm Bomama Yomama, the former President of the United States.

SPRUCE: So cool, so cool! You know, folks are asking, Bomama, when you were running for president in 2012 . . .

BOMAMA: Actually, I was already president. I was running for reelection in 2012. I wanted a second term.

SPRUCE: Right, right. The first black president was a two term president, very cool! Anyway, people are wondering, how come at all those campaign rallies, when the crowds were cheering, and the balloons were flying, and the music was really pumping, how come your people kept playing that lame U2 song? You know, the stupid one about Anne Hathaway going to Paris.

BOMAMA: I think you're referring to 'The City of Blinding Lights.'

SPRUCE: Right, right. It was on the Devil Wears Prada soundtrack. Now that's what I call a great rock and roll album! Only I kind of wondered, with you being, well, you know . . .

BOMAMA: Black.

SPRUCE: Yeah, that's it, black! So being black, you must have grown up listening to much better music than U2. I mean, why not kick off your campaign rallies with 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' by James Brown? Or 'Dancing in the Streets' by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas? Or 'Hold On, I'm Coming' by Sam and Dave?

BOMAMA: Those are classic songs, Spruce. But they come from when you were a teenager, more than half a century ago. For my 2012 campaign, we were looking for a song with mainstream appeal. We needed something suitable for a broader audience.

SPRUCE: So basically, you didn't want to scare away the white folks. Playing U2 at your rallies was like promising not to act too black if you won.

BOMAMA: Something like that. But the bottom line here is that I won the election. I got my second term. Any song that helped me to do that is a good song.

SPRUCE: So you're really not a U2 fan.

BOMAMA: Is anybody really a U2 fan?

SPRUCE: Well, if you look at their politics . . . and where they stand on the issues . . .

BOMAMA: Yeah, that's what I thought. Now let me ask you a question, Spruce. If I play white music at my campaign rallies, that makes me a sellout, right? I'm pretending to be white. But if you play black music at your concerts, what does that make you?

SPRUCE: Man, I love black music! For forty years, I've played 'Quarter to Three' by U.S. Bonds at every show I've ever done. And when I was campaigning for John Kerry in 2004, I played 'War' by Edwin Starr. It doesn't matter what color you are in rock and roll. Rock and roll has no color.

BOMAMA: Right on. That's why you're worth fifty million dollars and Florence Ballard of the Supremes died on welfare.

SPRUCE: Hey, that's not on me. That's on Berry Gordy!

BOMAMA: Berry Gordy founded Motown Records to make money. He never pretended to care about anything else.

SPRUCE: You think all this is just about money? Listen, I've made ten times more money, a hundred times more money, playing rock and roll than Chuck Berry or Little Richard ever did. Most of my fans have never heard of them. But they spend hours chanting my name while I play the old hits. That's not me profiting from racism. That's me fighting to keep their dreams alive!

BOMAMA: You sure are good to us, Boss. We sure are grateful!

SPRUCE: Hey, you know who's really grateful? Those troops you sent to Afghanistan. Remember them? Some of those guys did not come back. And the ones that did come back were never the same. To me, it really brought back memories of Vietnam. Your good buddy Dr. Martin Luther King opposed that war, by the way. Some fine black leaders told him to keep quiet. He said he'd rather take a bullet than sell out his people, the American people. But enough tired Sixties nostalgia. These are better days, right? You ran for president like MLK, but you ran the war like LBJ.

BOMAMA: Now wait a minute! Afghanistan was a holdover from the previous administration. I met with the top generals in the Pentagon, and they assured me that a surge was necessary. I was swayed by the expert advice of experienced commanders.

SPRUCE: Yassuh, General, I give you meat for the meat grinder. Ole Bomama, he wants a second term!

BOMAMA: You a mean, lying white-trash cracker!

SPRUCE: You a mean, murdering black baby-killer!

OMAMA AND SPRUCE: But we're both real American guys!

THE END

Loved the audio book version - read by Obama himself. Some parts of the book really stayed with me, I really liked how he structured some of his main points and how clearly he spoke about them. I really liked the final chapters when discussing how he and Michelle met, and how they started their family.