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mknobloch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
rballenger's review against another edition
3.0
Type of Read: Commuter (listened to on the way to and from work)
What made me pick it up: After having read, Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ at the end of 2020, I was excited to add ‘A Promised Land’ to my reading list for 2021. It seemed all the more fitting to be reading it throughout the month of January.
Overall rating: While it is not the book for everyone, I’m happy that I can cross ‘A Promised Land’ off my TBR list. There were definitely some parts that were a little more boring and over my head than others but I think that’s to be expected with a book of this nature. It was interesting to hear some of the same stories/timelines told from a different perspective to what I had previously read in ‘Becoming.’ I also enjoyed hearing from and seeing President Obama in a different setting than that of acting Commander-In-Chief. Overall, there were some laughs, some unexpected content, and all-in-all a good read.
What made me pick it up: After having read, Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ at the end of 2020, I was excited to add ‘A Promised Land’ to my reading list for 2021. It seemed all the more fitting to be reading it throughout the month of January.
Overall rating: While it is not the book for everyone, I’m happy that I can cross ‘A Promised Land’ off my TBR list. There were definitely some parts that were a little more boring and over my head than others but I think that’s to be expected with a book of this nature. It was interesting to hear some of the same stories/timelines told from a different perspective to what I had previously read in ‘Becoming.’ I also enjoyed hearing from and seeing President Obama in a different setting than that of acting Commander-In-Chief. Overall, there were some laughs, some unexpected content, and all-in-all a good read.
dewey_scrapper's review against another edition
5.0
I started reading this in print and finished it on audio. Barack Obama reads it, which in my opinion, made it even better. His feeling comes across loud and clear, and now you know which situations pissed him off. Of course, he’s dignified enough to not let people know it at the time, but now in his book, he can share more than he could as president. It was long, but worth all the time it took.
kaelaceleste's review against another edition
5.0
My 50th book of the year!
I'm finding it hard to review this book because I'm obviously super biased. And it's clear that some parts of it were written in a certain way for the purposes of storytelling or having a more positive view of his own presidency. And I KNOW it's not good practice to think of politicians as all good or bad or to look up to them too much like I know, I know. But it's hard to read this and not think about how much I miss the Obamas.
I don't know what I was expecting out of this book, but it was basically a full and extremely detailed account of the time leading up to his presidency through the end of his first term. It was a marathon of a read and I definitely learned a lot more than I ever thought I would know about some of the most important political happenings from 2008-2011. Probably more than I ever wanted to know tbh. It was really pleasant to listen to Barack's voice for 29 (!) hours though. Hearing things from his perspective was a really interesting experience and the parts I loved the most were those that humanized him - talking about his family, his upbringing, his dog!! He's just literally so cool and I admire him so much, and the book made me miss him and his family so much.
The best part of all was when he said Mitch McConnell was ugly and has no friends ♥
I'm finding it hard to review this book because I'm obviously super biased. And it's clear that some parts of it were written in a certain way for the purposes of storytelling or having a more positive view of his own presidency. And I KNOW it's not good practice to think of politicians as all good or bad or to look up to them too much like I know, I know. But it's hard to read this and not think about how much I miss the Obamas.
I don't know what I was expecting out of this book, but it was basically a full and extremely detailed account of the time leading up to his presidency through the end of his first term. It was a marathon of a read and I definitely learned a lot more than I ever thought I would know about some of the most important political happenings from 2008-2011. Probably more than I ever wanted to know tbh. It was really pleasant to listen to Barack's voice for 29 (!) hours though. Hearing things from his perspective was a really interesting experience and the parts I loved the most were those that humanized him - talking about his family, his upbringing, his dog!! He's just literally so cool and I admire him so much, and the book made me miss him and his family so much.
The best part of all was when he said Mitch McConnell was ugly and has no friends ♥
esjackson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
malinuknow's review against another edition
3.0
Ganska långdragen bok med otroligt mycket detaljer. Kanske lite väl mycket som han faktiskt själv beskriver. Jag läste nog 3/4 av boken, resten skummade jag igenom då det inte alltid var intressant att läsa om ekonomin eller hans besök till olika länder. Tycker främst att första halvan och de sista kapitlen var intressanta att läsa!
Om det kommer en fortsättning - som det nog gör - lär jag köpa den också och läsa. Gillar verkligen hur Obama tänker och resonerar, han känns otroligt ärlig och genuin. En bra människa, helt enkelt.
Om det kommer en fortsättning - som det nog gör - lär jag köpa den också och läsa. Gillar verkligen hur Obama tänker och resonerar, han känns otroligt ärlig och genuin. En bra människa, helt enkelt.
imogenreads's review against another edition
3.5
Near the beginning (by which I mean within the first 200 pages) Obama talks about a campaign flaw of his being that he could not succinctly answer a question; he would have to discuss every single aspect of what lead to the problem and the multi-pronged response required to deal with it. He did improve on speaking in sound-bites, and so saved up all his lengthy explanations for this book 😝 But, that's his prerogative, and yea, political shit does normally have many complex causes you can't ignore. The economic stuff was a struggle to get through but the foreign affairs stuff was quite interesting. I feel I understand more now why and how the US puts its fingers in sooo many pies. But still, American exceptionalism truly is quite the drug. It will be interesting to read some reviews on what he didn't include.
Michelle Obama's book (like many, I loved it) talked a bit about the difficulties in their marriage. However, hers had me feeling a lot more sympathy for Barack than his own did! Honestly I was like girl, Divorce. Unlike hers there never really felt like there had been a reconciliation between the two? And I was like brah, I know you're the busy president of the US but maybe go to bed at the same time as your wife once in a blue moon.
I look forward to the next 1000 page behemoth.
Michelle Obama's book (like many, I loved it) talked a bit about the difficulties in their marriage. However, hers had me feeling a lot more sympathy for Barack than his own did! Honestly I was like girl, Divorce. Unlike hers there never really felt like there had been a reconciliation between the two? And I was like brah, I know you're the busy president of the US but maybe go to bed at the same time as your wife once in a blue moon.
I look forward to the next 1000 page behemoth.
keichler's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad I read it, but what a slog. It took me months, and eventually I had to pick up the audio book and go back and forth. I would recommend the audio book over the written copy on this one.