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ninevehthecat's review against another edition
3.0
This was more of a 3.5 for me but I had to round it down because I didn’t find it all that interesting until about halfway in. There is some great commentary on race and by the end I did find its message to be quite insightful. However, reading this post-presidency, you have certain expectations from an accomplished speaker such as Obama, but it’s evident he was not as seasoned in his ways with words at the time of writing this. And after reading Michelle’s book—which I thought was phenomenal—it just felt a bit lackluster.
michelleloretta's review against another edition
3.0
The first third of this book is fantastic! Obama’s youth is fascinating... his upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia was such a unique experience. But after that it got repetitive and wordy. I love Obama’s diatribes but his effort to make everything poetic felt too forced. (By the way, I listened to this... his voices impersonating his relatives and friends are so good! Loved listening to his flair on everything.)
heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
3.0
I NEVER read political autobiographies. But I read a glowing review of this one - which was actually written before Obama won any elections - so I picked it up. He really did lead a strange and fascinating life - in Hawaii and Indonesia, Chicago and New York City. He's a good writer. But the ending gets cloudy and a bit lost in the trip he makes to meet his extended family in Kenya. Neat stuff, but it was a bit too long and detailed.
cardun's review against another edition
4.0
Really well written. A totally new perspective on his upbringing now.
ilanka's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting life story. Part of community activity, was too detailed in my opinion.
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.