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blankpagealex's review against another edition
5.0
Barack Obama was elected president the year I graduated from college and just about every significant event in my life occurred during his presidency, so revisiting those eight years from his perspective is a double dose of history lesson and nostalgia trip. Do you remember where you were when the healthcare bill passed? When Osama Bin Laden was killed? When Joe Wilson shouted "You Lie?"
While I don't agree with everything that our 45th president said or did during his time in office, it was fascinating to see important events from his perspective. The biggest takeaway from this book is that politics is complicated and every decision could potentially have ripple effects that could impact international relations, the economy, state and local governments, and much more. Obama was clearly a thoughtful leader and it is inspiring to see him lay out the process of decision making. He's occasionally a bit too eager to pat himself on the back when he made the right call, but he also constantly gives credit to the various people who made is administration work.
You don't have to agree with everything Obama said or did to take something away from this book. I found it frustrating when he describes his reaction to the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster and outlines a several paragraph rant that he *wanted* to say wherein he correctly rails against decades of pro-fossil fuel and anti-environment policy that has led to the degradation of our natural resources. Instead he composes himself and delivers an impotent message that criticizes BP without alienating the oil states. How much better would our world be if he'd said the quiet part out loud?
There are many books about the Obama administration, but why not take the time to hear from the perspective of the person at the helm? I am very much looking forward to part 2...
While I don't agree with everything that our 45th president said or did during his time in office, it was fascinating to see important events from his perspective. The biggest takeaway from this book is that politics is complicated and every decision could potentially have ripple effects that could impact international relations, the economy, state and local governments, and much more. Obama was clearly a thoughtful leader and it is inspiring to see him lay out the process of decision making. He's occasionally a bit too eager to pat himself on the back when he made the right call, but he also constantly gives credit to the various people who made is administration work.
You don't have to agree with everything Obama said or did to take something away from this book. I found it frustrating when he describes his reaction to the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster and outlines a several paragraph rant that he *wanted* to say wherein he correctly rails against decades of pro-fossil fuel and anti-environment policy that has led to the degradation of our natural resources. Instead he composes himself and delivers an impotent message that criticizes BP without alienating the oil states. How much better would our world be if he'd said the quiet part out loud?
There are many books about the Obama administration, but why not take the time to hear from the perspective of the person at the helm? I am very much looking forward to part 2...
hannahvictoria_'s review against another edition
I would recommend listening to the audiobook version. 29 hours of Obama being entertaining and informative has been a welcome distraction to get me through the beginning of 2021!
gustavovalencia's review against another edition
4.0
If all chapters were short and concise as the Obama (towards the End) it would have had 5*. I liked it, the writing style is quite engaging, but we could have had the same book in half the size/word count...
bamamelereads's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I’m glad I was finally in the right headspace to read this. And I’m glad I chose the audiobook.
This was a thoughtful walk down memory lane. I’d forgotten so many things that happened! I teared up all over again as he narrated winning the election.
My favorite parts by far were when he actually let loose with the behind the scenes things he was thinking or wished he could have said. Damn I miss him as President.
These chapters are loooooooong. And at this rate I think he’ll need at least 1, maybe 2 more books to finish out his presidency since this ends in early 2011.
This was a thoughtful walk down memory lane. I’d forgotten so many things that happened! I teared up all over again as he narrated winning the election.
My favorite parts by far were when he actually let loose with the behind the scenes things he was thinking or wished he could have said. Damn I miss him as President.
These chapters are loooooooong. And at this rate I think he’ll need at least 1, maybe 2 more books to finish out his presidency since this ends in early 2011.
kaynan1314's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
meganmueller's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
joglasgow11's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0