A Promised Land by Barack Obama - 2020

Viking. Good. 160 x 241 x 50mm. Hardback. 2020. 751 pages. Shelf wear.<br>A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making-from the president who inspired us to belie ve in the power of democracy In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly pe rsonal detail both his political education and the landmark momen ts of the first term of his historic presidency-a time of dramati c transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal I owa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots acti vism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elec ted 44th president of the United States, becoming the first Afric an American to hold the nation's highest office. Reflecting on th e presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of bo th the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as wel l as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politic s and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Ov al Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cair o, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmou ntable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall S treet reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowo ut, and authorizes Operation Neptune's Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily inti mate and introspective-the story of one man's bet with history, t he faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obam a is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Bl ack American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of hope and change, and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that op posed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal sel f-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief t hat inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is al ways possible. This beautifully written and powerful book capture s Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding an d built together, day by day. .