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mikkelmiguelon's review against another edition
4.0
Poignant memoir on the exploration of racial divide. Pleasantly amusing to listen to Obama impersonating his Kenyan relatives. Reads like a fiction.
kski83's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
4.25
This book provides insight into Obama’s formative years. I very much enjoyed the audio book since it is narrated by the author.
ojsingh's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars.
I, like a lot of others who grew to be disillusioned, always wished that Obama followed through on his promised progressivism. This book strengthened my frustration with him. He brilliance is apparent at a young age. He elucidates the longterm effects of imperialism and colonialism and philosophises about injustice and unjust institutions. Yet, his legacy is drone striking his way into coining the term “collateral damage.”
That being said, I have respect for him and his accomplishments. This is an interesting insight into his formative years and how they shaped him.
I, like a lot of others who grew to be disillusioned, always wished that Obama followed through on his promised progressivism. This book strengthened my frustration with him. He brilliance is apparent at a young age. He elucidates the longterm effects of imperialism and colonialism and philosophises about injustice and unjust institutions. Yet, his legacy is drone striking his way into coining the term “collateral damage.”
That being said, I have respect for him and his accomplishments. This is an interesting insight into his formative years and how they shaped him.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
Very interesting background for our 2nd term president. He is in an amazingly strong position to be aware and more understanding of different walks of life. I'm keen on reading his next book.
timna_wyckoff's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to as a family on a long road trip (the way home). Our president has a fascinating and surprising early life story. And, he's a thoughtful and talented writer. I appreciated the preface, written 10 years after the book originally came out (but still about 10 years ago), in which he briefly reflects on this story from some distance of time.
shareen17's review against another edition
3.0
He's a good writer, very smart and has had a very interesting life. He discusses his experience of being biracial, but I still don't think I really understand what that's like, even after reading this.
alidottie's review against another edition
5.0
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. Usually memoirs are not as well written as this book. It reads a lot like a novel even though it is nonfiction. I had just read Christy by Catherine Marshall about her mother's experiences as a school teacher in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee in the early 20th century. I could not help but see similarities in Obama's experiences as a communtiy organizer in Chicago in the 1980's.