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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
The most common word I saw used for the book was "long." Well, yes. That should be apparent as soon as one picks it up or checks the page count on their Kindle/Nook. More on that to come.
Having said that, I can excuse much of the detail because of the continuing mythos of Obama. There still are those today who insist he's a Kenyan and not American - hard to make that argument after reading this book as there's no doubt Garrow would have uncovered it. The same goes for the notion of Obama as a closet Muslim, which in itself is disproven by his membership at Trinity Church. If there were any hint of that possibility, there's virtually no doubt it would be in this book as well because, at least until his presidency, everything seems to be.
The Obama that is described here is balanced overall. He unquestionably is extremely intelligent and appears to have an idea of what he wants to accomplish. At the same time, he also is arrogant, aloof, obsessed with his own destiny while disclaiming ambition. He has an ability to memorize a crowd through the delivery of his speech while not necessarily saying a great deal.
It has been said that Garrow handled Obama's presidency brutally in the final chapter, actually the epilogue. This chapter is the one where there seems to be no sense of balance, though his overall conclusions of Obama's failure to live up to his own promise of rising above partisan politics are not inaccurate. But the balance and detail fades here as well. For instance, Garrow mentions the polls that show the number of people who wrongly believe Obama wasn't an American citizen but does not comment or add any perspective as to why this line of thought existed. The poll is cited without context and apropos of nothing. And in general, a mere 60 electronic pages (and fewer on paper) are dedicated to these eight years when far more is devoted to Obama's high school days playing basketball and smoking weed. It's a curious editorial choice.
I don't disagree that in some areas, the book is far too detailed. Particularly in the early chapters, it feels the text would have benefited from the firm hand of an editor; later, it would have been helpful to not have a dozen cited quotes all saying virtually the same thing. There's little question the book would have been different in the hands of a Chernow or Brands.
Does Garrow actually like Obama? Does it really matter? The book punctures a good deal of the mythology that existed before and is growing now in light of what now occupies the White House. But to say his presidency was an unqualified success is a stretch of the highest order. If only Garrow had spent more time delving into this rather than nights eating Chinese food at Columbia.
Having said that, I can excuse much of the detail because of the continuing mythos of Obama. There still are those today who insist he's a Kenyan and not American - hard to make that argument after reading this book as there's no doubt Garrow would have uncovered it. The same goes for the notion of Obama as a closet Muslim, which in itself is disproven by his membership at Trinity Church. If there were any hint of that possibility, there's virtually no doubt it would be in this book as well because, at least until his presidency, everything seems to be.
The Obama that is described here is balanced overall. He unquestionably is extremely intelligent and appears to have an idea of what he wants to accomplish. At the same time, he also is arrogant, aloof, obsessed with his own destiny while disclaiming ambition. He has an ability to memorize a crowd through the delivery of his speech while not necessarily saying a great deal.
It has been said that Garrow handled Obama's presidency brutally in the final chapter, actually the epilogue. This chapter is the one where there seems to be no sense of balance, though his overall conclusions of Obama's failure to live up to his own promise of rising above partisan politics are not inaccurate. But the balance and detail fades here as well. For instance, Garrow mentions the polls that show the number of people who wrongly believe Obama wasn't an American citizen but does not comment or add any perspective as to why this line of thought existed. The poll is cited without context and apropos of nothing. And in general, a mere 60 electronic pages (and fewer on paper) are dedicated to these eight years when far more is devoted to Obama's high school days playing basketball and smoking weed. It's a curious editorial choice.
I don't disagree that in some areas, the book is far too detailed. Particularly in the early chapters, it feels the text would have benefited from the firm hand of an editor; later, it would have been helpful to not have a dozen cited quotes all saying virtually the same thing. There's little question the book would have been different in the hands of a Chernow or Brands.
Does Garrow actually like Obama? Does it really matter? The book punctures a good deal of the mythology that existed before and is growing now in light of what now occupies the White House. But to say his presidency was an unqualified success is a stretch of the highest order. If only Garrow had spent more time delving into this rather than nights eating Chinese food at Columbia.
An exhaustive and often fascinating look at Obama before he was president from the same historian who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the character flaws of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Could've done without the first and last chapters, but otherwise the author does a great job at cutting through all the myths about Barack Obama.
The myth of his name. He actually grew up Barry, a spoiled kid raised by upper middle-class white grandparents in Hawaii. He didn't call himself Barack until college when he realized that affirmative action could open doors for him.
The myth of him being studious. He was actually a stoner in college. A lot of folks don't realize that he spent two years at a party school in Los Angeles. So much attention is placed on him doing coke but I was amazed that he sheepishly admitted to getting high and letting his dealer blow him.
The myth of him being a constitutional law scholar. Two other folks actually beat him out to lead the Harvard Law Review. He only got the job because of affirmative action and ended up doing a crap job with it. He was never an academic. There's still a lot of bad blood at the University of Chicago because he used connections to get a really high salary while only teaching a handful of low-level classes. Nobody else got that sweetheart deal.
The myth of him being a community organizer. He spent six months in the ghetto and ran away screaming from it. Notice that he rarely ever goes back to Chicago? The folks in his old neighborhood despise him.
The myth of him being a black nationalist. Jesse Jackson and Jeremiah Wright may have been his mentors but he threw them under the bus the moment they became political liabilities. Starting out, his worst enemies were Black Panthers like Bobby Rush who called him a fraud.
The myth of his memoir. His book "Dreams from my Father" was heavily fictionalized. His mother, sister, grandmother and childhood friends were really hurt that he pretended that they weren't important to his life and were baffled by just how much stuff he made up.
The myth of his romance with Michelle. He promotes this fairy tale image that Michelle was the first woman he ever loved. In reality, he had two girlfriends that he lived with for YEARS. He just doesn't like to talk about them because they're white.
The myth of him being honest. He was in bed with the shadiest Chicago politicians and mobsters. His biggest donor, disgraced businessman Tony Rezko, basically bought Obama a million-dollar mansion and bankrolled Obama's income for a number of years using kickbacks from government contracts and land deals.
The myth of him being an effective legislator. He only got his state senate seat by conning an old woman into giving it to him then stabbing her in the back when she realized he lied to her. He did zilch in the state senate and even less in the US Senate.
The myth of him being progressive. He ran as an anti-war, anti-Wall Street candidate....just to end up embracing the Iraq War, torture, the Patriot Act, Big Banks and Big Business.
The myth of hope and change. It was all a lie. Just something he said to get elected.
I know all of this sounds super harsh. I actually DO like Barack Obama as a person. I think he's a nice guy. Cares about his family. A million times better than Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. But I really do think history will judge him as an empty suit who didn't live up to the hype.
The myth of his name. He actually grew up Barry, a spoiled kid raised by upper middle-class white grandparents in Hawaii. He didn't call himself Barack until college when he realized that affirmative action could open doors for him.
The myth of him being studious. He was actually a stoner in college. A lot of folks don't realize that he spent two years at a party school in Los Angeles. So much attention is placed on him doing coke but I was amazed that he sheepishly admitted to getting high and letting his dealer blow him.
The myth of him being a constitutional law scholar. Two other folks actually beat him out to lead the Harvard Law Review. He only got the job because of affirmative action and ended up doing a crap job with it. He was never an academic. There's still a lot of bad blood at the University of Chicago because he used connections to get a really high salary while only teaching a handful of low-level classes. Nobody else got that sweetheart deal.
The myth of him being a community organizer. He spent six months in the ghetto and ran away screaming from it. Notice that he rarely ever goes back to Chicago? The folks in his old neighborhood despise him.
The myth of him being a black nationalist. Jesse Jackson and Jeremiah Wright may have been his mentors but he threw them under the bus the moment they became political liabilities. Starting out, his worst enemies were Black Panthers like Bobby Rush who called him a fraud.
The myth of his memoir. His book "Dreams from my Father" was heavily fictionalized. His mother, sister, grandmother and childhood friends were really hurt that he pretended that they weren't important to his life and were baffled by just how much stuff he made up.
The myth of his romance with Michelle. He promotes this fairy tale image that Michelle was the first woman he ever loved. In reality, he had two girlfriends that he lived with for YEARS. He just doesn't like to talk about them because they're white.
The myth of him being honest. He was in bed with the shadiest Chicago politicians and mobsters. His biggest donor, disgraced businessman Tony Rezko, basically bought Obama a million-dollar mansion and bankrolled Obama's income for a number of years using kickbacks from government contracts and land deals.
The myth of him being an effective legislator. He only got his state senate seat by conning an old woman into giving it to him then stabbing her in the back when she realized he lied to her. He did zilch in the state senate and even less in the US Senate.
The myth of him being progressive. He ran as an anti-war, anti-Wall Street candidate....just to end up embracing the Iraq War, torture, the Patriot Act, Big Banks and Big Business.
The myth of hope and change. It was all a lie. Just something he said to get elected.
I know all of this sounds super harsh. I actually DO like Barack Obama as a person. I think he's a nice guy. Cares about his family. A million times better than Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. But I really do think history will judge him as an empty suit who didn't live up to the hype.
At 1,078 pages of text before the acknowledgements and footnotes, the book is not lacking in detail. But a bit too much detail, which really could have been whittled down and synthesized better. Garrow also could have dropped out the epilogue, which cursorily runs through the 2008 campaign through his Presidency in about 50 pages in a chapter entitled, “The President Did Not Attend, As He Was Golfing” — if that’s your key takeaway about the Obama Presidency, I have some news from the future for you.
Pretty, but not very, good overall ... and yet.
That "and yet" is primarily a compositional issue.
Given that this book was doorstop-sized BUT Garrow had only devoted 100 or so of the pages to Obama's presidency AND an almost literal nothingburger of half a dozen pages to his second term, the solution is obvious, especially if Garrow and even more, his publisher, wanted something in print for 2017 when Obama was leaving the White House.
Take a page from Robert Caro and split this volume into two. Or even three.
If it's two volumes, the presidency is the second. If you're going three, the Senate is No. 2 and presidency the third. Or, if you truly ARE Bob Caro, a volume for each term.
Seriously, that's needed. The book is fantastic up to Obama's Senate election. It's pretty to very good on his Senate years. But sorry, David, it's run of the mill on his presidency.
Let's say you do three volumes. That's 650 for volume 1, if you break it at the moment Obama announces his candidacy. His campaign, plus his actual Senate time fleshed out 50 or more pages than in the actual book gives you 400 for volume 2. Do an actual 200 pages on each term and that's 400 for volume 3. Publication sked is easy: 2017 still for volume 1, 2019 volume 2 and 2021 volume 3. This also lets you get, oh, 50-75 pages of post presidential life in volume 3 if you want, for 475.
Or, two volumes. That gives you your 800-850 in volume 1. You still puff out everything else like above, only maybe less on post presidential life. And you have around 800-850 in volume 2. Pub date still 2017 on 1 and 2019 or 2020, maybe better, on 2.
And, by breaking your first volume at least before Obama's presidency, if not before his Senate time, you avoid burning sources who primarily knew him from his Washington years.
Unless Garrow was totally not wedded to the idea, his publisher surely would have been.
And, the Christian Science Monitor review shows what Garrow missed by not going post-presidential, at least in brief, in a second or third volume. https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2017/0525/Rising-Star-offers-a-severe-but-insightful-assessment-of-Barack-Obama
==
That said, the actual book at hand, with its lost one star.
The Sheila Jager issue was important not for sex itself, contra blow-up reviews that focused on that, but the larger relationship issues and Obama’s already engaging in calculated decision making on them. As he later did with comments about grandparents.
He evolved or devolved on legislative stances. Take your pick, but Garrow documents it well. Early on in the Illinois Senate, he favored gay marriage, not just civil unions. Also supported a constitutional amendment for the state to guarantee insurance coverage, as in a state-level single payer or in that direction, and NOT an Obamacare. Said this as late as 2002.
Only an occasional visitor to Wright’s church by 2002.
Lots of money worries. Yes. He and Michelle both had student loans still to pay, and child care costs. But, before his Senate run, between state senate and law prof alone he’s raking $100K a year. She? $60K. Then he gets consulting. She gets a new job. By his Senate run, they're raking $240K a year together. Chicago ain't cheap, but it ain't either coast, either. But Michelle wanted more money.
Bruce Dixon and Adolph Reed are both among early black callouts against Obama over not stepping aside to let Alice Palmer run for state senate unopposed. But Reed, Garrow notes, was part of the problem, giving her no help with her sloppy petition drive. I find that interesting, but not surprising, given my own indirect tangles with Reed.
Obama was a flipper on criticizing then embracing Brazil’s just elected Lula in 2003.
Garrow doesn't fully pick up class issues, though he does hint at them. Remember, Punahou is a non-cheap private day school Current tuition for a year of high school is $12K. Yes, Obama had need based help, but you still have to be accepted first. Oxy ain't cheap at $55K a year right now. Nor is Columbia.
And Obama passed up full ride to Northwestern to do Harvard Law instead.
Garrow could have delved into some of this even more.
Garrow indirectly answers whether Obama is consciously aware of, and consciously adapting, compartmentalization. That answer is yes.
Notes that Chicago friends said Michelle had gone more Hollywood in DC than him.
Claims that Maraniss work was seen as lightweight at release. Seems half true, but tawdry to say so.
===
But other things drop this another star.
First, in all of his thoroughness, or alleged thoroughness, Garrow misses some things.
A biggie would be Vernon Jordan taking Obama before a dog and pony show of banksters in 2003, before he was even elected to the Senate, and getting their thumbs up. In short, Obama was even more of a political player, even earlier in national political life, than Garrow portrays.
And, as for his rush job on Obama's presidential years?
If, per some Amazon reviewers (I just grokked the center sections of the book, having read Mendell and Remnick) some of the presidential decisions for which Garrow attacks Obama include his NOT bombing Syria, well, Garrow and his editorializing can go fück themselves. At that point, his version of liberalism is warmongering. Also, re the book itself, at that point, we've left biography and officially jumped into public policy, and I understand now why he didn't take a page out of Caro: That wasn't his goal.
I must also question his judgment otherwise. Rather than Obama not being bipartisan enough, as Garrow claims in the epilogue, the problem is entirely opposite: President Kumbaya compromised away the compromise in advance on many issues in search of compromise, and when he didn't do it himself, Biden did it as his emissary.
That said, if it was his goal to see the "Rising Star" get to the presidential starting line? Fine. End the book with Obama's first visit to Iowa in 2006 and don't add the editorializing epilogue.
This interview with Garrow: https://longreads.com/2017/05/09/the-real-obama-an-interview-with-pulitzer-prize-winning-biographer-david-j-garrow/
Only deepens the mystery of his take on Obama's presidential years. If Obama really was that calculating in reinventing himself (and I certainly believe he was) why would he, with that calculation and his cocky confidence, be disappointed in any way?
The more likely answer is that Garrow is engaging in psychological projection.
And, the same bad attitude toward other biographers that's in the end of the book shows up in the interview.
Garrow's recent story for an alt-right British magazine about some new findings about Martin Luther King's FBI files don't help his gloryhound reputation, either. On that, he could have dropped a "marker" on social media accounts, or with a reporter from a major newspaper or newsmag, to give himself "priority" in case a wingnut spin job came out, and only then, do an actual story.
Also, as a newspaper editor (and from the way Garrow speaks, I know the general pattern is the same in biography writing) I find it unconscionable that the author of anything other than an "authorized" biography would let its subject read the entire manuscript.
That "and yet" is primarily a compositional issue.
Given that this book was doorstop-sized BUT Garrow had only devoted 100 or so of the pages to Obama's presidency AND an almost literal nothingburger of half a dozen pages to his second term, the solution is obvious, especially if Garrow and even more, his publisher, wanted something in print for 2017 when Obama was leaving the White House.
Take a page from Robert Caro and split this volume into two. Or even three.
If it's two volumes, the presidency is the second. If you're going three, the Senate is No. 2 and presidency the third. Or, if you truly ARE Bob Caro, a volume for each term.
Seriously, that's needed. The book is fantastic up to Obama's Senate election. It's pretty to very good on his Senate years. But sorry, David, it's run of the mill on his presidency.
Let's say you do three volumes. That's 650 for volume 1, if you break it at the moment Obama announces his candidacy. His campaign, plus his actual Senate time fleshed out 50 or more pages than in the actual book gives you 400 for volume 2. Do an actual 200 pages on each term and that's 400 for volume 3. Publication sked is easy: 2017 still for volume 1, 2019 volume 2 and 2021 volume 3. This also lets you get, oh, 50-75 pages of post presidential life in volume 3 if you want, for 475.
Or, two volumes. That gives you your 800-850 in volume 1. You still puff out everything else like above, only maybe less on post presidential life. And you have around 800-850 in volume 2. Pub date still 2017 on 1 and 2019 or 2020, maybe better, on 2.
And, by breaking your first volume at least before Obama's presidency, if not before his Senate time, you avoid burning sources who primarily knew him from his Washington years.
Unless Garrow was totally not wedded to the idea, his publisher surely would have been.
And, the Christian Science Monitor review shows what Garrow missed by not going post-presidential, at least in brief, in a second or third volume. https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2017/0525/Rising-Star-offers-a-severe-but-insightful-assessment-of-Barack-Obama
==
That said, the actual book at hand, with its lost one star.
The Sheila Jager issue was important not for sex itself, contra blow-up reviews that focused on that, but the larger relationship issues and Obama’s already engaging in calculated decision making on them. As he later did with comments about grandparents.
He evolved or devolved on legislative stances. Take your pick, but Garrow documents it well. Early on in the Illinois Senate, he favored gay marriage, not just civil unions. Also supported a constitutional amendment for the state to guarantee insurance coverage, as in a state-level single payer or in that direction, and NOT an Obamacare. Said this as late as 2002.
Only an occasional visitor to Wright’s church by 2002.
Lots of money worries. Yes. He and Michelle both had student loans still to pay, and child care costs. But, before his Senate run, between state senate and law prof alone he’s raking $100K a year. She? $60K. Then he gets consulting. She gets a new job. By his Senate run, they're raking $240K a year together. Chicago ain't cheap, but it ain't either coast, either. But Michelle wanted more money.
Bruce Dixon and Adolph Reed are both among early black callouts against Obama over not stepping aside to let Alice Palmer run for state senate unopposed. But Reed, Garrow notes, was part of the problem, giving her no help with her sloppy petition drive. I find that interesting, but not surprising, given my own indirect tangles with Reed.
Obama was a flipper on criticizing then embracing Brazil’s just elected Lula in 2003.
Garrow doesn't fully pick up class issues, though he does hint at them. Remember, Punahou is a non-cheap private day school Current tuition for a year of high school is $12K. Yes, Obama had need based help, but you still have to be accepted first. Oxy ain't cheap at $55K a year right now. Nor is Columbia.
And Obama passed up full ride to Northwestern to do Harvard Law instead.
Garrow could have delved into some of this even more.
Garrow indirectly answers whether Obama is consciously aware of, and consciously adapting, compartmentalization. That answer is yes.
Notes that Chicago friends said Michelle had gone more Hollywood in DC than him.
Claims that Maraniss work was seen as lightweight at release. Seems half true, but tawdry to say so.
===
But other things drop this another star.
First, in all of his thoroughness, or alleged thoroughness, Garrow misses some things.
A biggie would be Vernon Jordan taking Obama before a dog and pony show of banksters in 2003, before he was even elected to the Senate, and getting their thumbs up. In short, Obama was even more of a political player, even earlier in national political life, than Garrow portrays.
And, as for his rush job on Obama's presidential years?
If, per some Amazon reviewers (I just grokked the center sections of the book, having read Mendell and Remnick) some of the presidential decisions for which Garrow attacks Obama include his NOT bombing Syria, well, Garrow and his editorializing can go fück themselves. At that point, his version of liberalism is warmongering. Also, re the book itself, at that point, we've left biography and officially jumped into public policy, and I understand now why he didn't take a page out of Caro: That wasn't his goal.
I must also question his judgment otherwise. Rather than Obama not being bipartisan enough, as Garrow claims in the epilogue, the problem is entirely opposite: President Kumbaya compromised away the compromise in advance on many issues in search of compromise, and when he didn't do it himself, Biden did it as his emissary.
That said, if it was his goal to see the "Rising Star" get to the presidential starting line? Fine. End the book with Obama's first visit to Iowa in 2006 and don't add the editorializing epilogue.
This interview with Garrow: https://longreads.com/2017/05/09/the-real-obama-an-interview-with-pulitzer-prize-winning-biographer-david-j-garrow/
Only deepens the mystery of his take on Obama's presidential years. If Obama really was that calculating in reinventing himself (and I certainly believe he was) why would he, with that calculation and his cocky confidence, be disappointed in any way?
The more likely answer is that Garrow is engaging in psychological projection.
And, the same bad attitude toward other biographers that's in the end of the book shows up in the interview.
Garrow's recent story for an alt-right British magazine about some new findings about Martin Luther King's FBI files don't help his gloryhound reputation, either. On that, he could have dropped a "marker" on social media accounts, or with a reporter from a major newspaper or newsmag, to give himself "priority" in case a wingnut spin job came out, and only then, do an actual story.
Also, as a newspaper editor (and from the way Garrow speaks, I know the general pattern is the same in biography writing) I find it unconscionable that the author of anything other than an "authorized" biography would let its subject read the entire manuscript.
I honestly quit this book @ about 75% through - which is not a thing I ususally ever let myself do - but the author was insufferable. When I was a couple hundred pages in, and not really feeling it, I let myself browse through some reviews and I noticed multiple statements that they weren't walking away from this book with any knowledge they didn't have to begin with, and now that I am so far in, I understand where they were coming from.