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laila4343's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written, insightful, enjoyable, a page-turner, especially the section with Obama's extended family in Kenya. Fascinating exploration of race, culture, identity, and the father he never really got to know.
alfred_paradox's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
jgintrovertedreader's review
4.0
This is about Barack Obama's struggle to find his own identity, sort of through learning more about the father he never got the chance to really know.
Non-fiction is not my thing. I usually find it very boring and dry. But this was well-written, and, while it didn't rivet my attention, I didn't really have to slog my way through it either.
As a white woman, I obviously can't relate to a black man's struggle to find his place in a world that is too often unwilling to give him a fair chance. But we've all had some sort of encounter like that. Maybe not on a daily basis, but we've all been unfairly judged. So there is something in that aspect for everyone to relate to.
I mostly picked this book up because I wanted to see what Obama was about (not that it matters; my state's primary isn't until May). I did feel like his book gave me some into who he is. It was interesting to watch him go from being a young man unwilling to do much more than "rage against the machine" to an organizer who tries to fix what is broken.
I would recommend this to people who are going through the same kind of struggle for identity that he went through, and also to people, like me, who just want to see what's behind the 30-second segments in the debates and commercials.
Non-fiction is not my thing. I usually find it very boring and dry. But this was well-written, and, while it didn't rivet my attention, I didn't really have to slog my way through it either.
As a white woman, I obviously can't relate to a black man's struggle to find his place in a world that is too often unwilling to give him a fair chance. But we've all had some sort of encounter like that. Maybe not on a daily basis, but we've all been unfairly judged. So there is something in that aspect for everyone to relate to.
I mostly picked this book up because I wanted to see what Obama was about (not that it matters; my state's primary isn't until May). I did feel like his book gave me some into who he is. It was interesting to watch him go from being a young man unwilling to do much more than "rage against the machine" to an organizer who tries to fix what is broken.
I would recommend this to people who are going through the same kind of struggle for identity that he went through, and also to people, like me, who just want to see what's behind the 30-second segments in the debates and commercials.
catymart83's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful book that describes the life of Barack Obama up to his marriage to wife Michelle Obama. It explains the plight of black Americans with verve and vigor and though the memoir does not really describe Obama's political career, it does give an overview of his community organizing. It's also wonderful as an explanation as to why so many political movements (especially with regard to the black community) fall short of their goals.
inesmartinsantos's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Hey, this guy is really smart. He should, uh, run for president.
Seriously though, in a few words, here's a very honest account about the discovery of self and coming to terms with it. Bit slow sometimes, but overall a good book to read during the cold weather.
Seriously though, in a few words, here's a very honest account about the discovery of self and coming to terms with it. Bit slow sometimes, but overall a good book to read during the cold weather.
rampaginglibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Barack Obama grew up hearing stories about his father from his mother and his maternal grandparents. Raised in a white household Barack doesn't know what it is to be an African-American and so feels out of place among both his white and his (very few) black classmates. When he is six his mother marries an Indonesian and he then moves with the two of them to Djakarta, Indonesia. His mother taught English to Indonesian businessmen at the American embassy and young Barack attended the local Indonesian school reinforced by three hours every morning of his mother's teaching of American correspondence courses. Indonesia also brought his baby sister, Maya. Once the correspondence courses were exhausted Barack was sent, at ten, back to Hawaii to live again with his maternal grandparents, his mother promising that she and his sister would be joining him soon.
That Christmas his mother did come, as did his father. It was to be the only time he would meet him. A few months after his twenty-first birthday he received a call from an aunt in Africa informing him of his father's death. Dreams from My Father is the tale of a search for identity; a search for family; the search for a connection in the world; of what it means to part of one family; and of the family of man; and of what the influence of both the known and unknown can have on who you are.
Obama eventually travels to Kenya to meet the family of his father and his many siblings and is welcomed as a long lost son. In many ways he feels like he has found something he has lost as well as many more questions left unanswered. If Audacity of Hope read like some kind of campaign propaganda (which it did in some ways) Dreams from My Father reads more like a beautiful novel written truly from the heart. I found it very moving (maybe all the more so because my own father is such an absence in my life, and my identity a little up in the air for reasons of my own). The writing is quite unpoliticianlike (and i mean that only in the nicest way!)
That Christmas his mother did come, as did his father. It was to be the only time he would meet him. A few months after his twenty-first birthday he received a call from an aunt in Africa informing him of his father's death. Dreams from My Father is the tale of a search for identity; a search for family; the search for a connection in the world; of what it means to part of one family; and of the family of man; and of what the influence of both the known and unknown can have on who you are.
Obama eventually travels to Kenya to meet the family of his father and his many siblings and is welcomed as a long lost son. In many ways he feels like he has found something he has lost as well as many more questions left unanswered. If Audacity of Hope read like some kind of campaign propaganda (which it did in some ways) Dreams from My Father reads more like a beautiful novel written truly from the heart. I found it very moving (maybe all the more so because my own father is such an absence in my life, and my identity a little up in the air for reasons of my own). The writing is quite unpoliticianlike (and i mean that only in the nicest way!)
merkatt's review against another edition
4.0
You should certainly listen to the audiobook, which is narrated by Obama. A beautiful, fascinating, and open hearted experience.
imaant's review against another edition
4.0
It reminds me of the stories and dreams that are passed down through generations; I can't help but to reflect on my life and the string that attaches me to previous generations. It is sad that it lacks the role of women in this generational flow.
(NB: He did say at the beginning that he wished to have written more about his mother)
(NB: He did say at the beginning that he wished to have written more about his mother)
jamesglisblind's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0