Obama: From Promise to Power

Obama: From Promise to Power
by David Mendell

Obama: From Promise to Power
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Book Summary Information

Author: David Mendell
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-08-01
ISBN: 0060858206
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Amistad

Book Reviews of Obama: From Promise to Power

Book Review: For an Unfinished Story, Pretty Good
Summary: 4 Stars

It is always difficult to write a biography when the subject is 46 years old. It is exponentially more so when two autobiographical works have already been published beforehand.

In Obama: From Promise to Power, David Mendell gives us his vantage point of the presidential candidate and the book derives its strength from Mendell's journalistic coverage since the beginning of Obama's run. Mendell book reads like an extended newspaper profile, covering the major bases without injecting much opinion or going into excessive detail. It is also driven by interviews and quotes of what other people think of Obama, and relatively little from what Obama thought of himself. Through interviews with Obama's sister and grandmother, we learn about his upbringing and the time he spent in Hawaii, from their point of view. Similarly, Obama's time as a community organizer in Chicago is described by Jeremy Kellman, an organizer Obama worked closely with and helped shape some of his ideas. Mendell describes a couple encounters with Obama when he was still an unknown and, one could say, unguarded. These one-on-one conversations between journalist and yet-to-be politician is one thing that gives this book a refreshing perspective. Mendell was one of the first reporters to follow Obama in Chicago, and thus lends the book a revealing perspective on this complex man.

The book has its shortfalls. It may go unsaid, but the book almost begs the reader to read Obama's two autobiographies, Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope. In the first half of the book many quotes from Obama about his early life are directly lifted from Dreams. Also, From Promise to Power is skimpy on Obama's life changing time he spent at Columbia reading and developing his mind. One would like to hear more about it. Also, Obama's time at Harvard Law School is condensed into a short chapter. One would think these formative years helped solidify Obama's thinking about the world. Yet, there are few quotes from Obama himself about them. One must turn to Dreams to learn more. Mendell's book falls somewhat flat in the final third, when Obama rises to national fame. Mendell strains to give his experience following Obama around, while describing the significance of major events such as the 2004 speech at the national convention and Obama's return to Kenya. Much of this is simple narration of events, his experience following Obama with the scores of other reporters and, I think, rings hollow in terms of content compared to earlier chapters. Of course, much of this can be excused since those events are recent and this biography is purposefully unfinished.

Summary of Obama: From Promise to Power

The biography of America's hottest political superstar—Barack Obama—from a journalist who has been covering Obama and his career since his successful run for U.S. Senate

Barack Obama's meteoric rise from Hawaii high schooler to exemplary Harvard Law School student to well-groomed politico is the stuff of legend, a political story that has captured the attention of virtually every American. Since his headline-grabbing speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama has come to represent the promise of unity among groups of all types—blacks and whites; Democrats, Republicans, and moderates; the young and the old; the upper, middle, and lower classes. In this first-of-a-kind, groundbreaking biography, veteran journalist and Obama chronicler David Mendell gives an in-depth, comprehensive portrait of the boy named Barry who took inspiration from his hardworking parents and became the eloquent, suave Obama—a man whose last name has become a catchphrase for hope in a politically jaded society desperate for a new star.

Mendell has covered Obama since the beginning of Obama's campaign for the Senate and as a result enjoys far-reaching access to the new senator. His research includes exclusive interviews with Obama's closest aides, mentors, political adversaries, and family—most notably his extremely charismatic wife, Michelle. Mendell reveals the surprising, cutthroat campaign tactics sanctioned by Obama—who has steeped his image and reputation with the ideals of clean politics and good government—to win his Senate seat by employing some of the most ruthless operatives in the business.

Eye-opening, well researched, and compulsively readable, Obama: From Promise to Power is a necessary look at the evolution of a politician from public servant to candidate-savior—a politician who has experienced fame, adulation, and criticism in equal parts and on a greater scale than the public eye has seen in quite some time.

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