Scan barcode
A review by thefriendlyabyss
The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House by Ben Rhodes
5.0
I’ve read many stories on the Obama presidency, from staffers to rivals to accounts from the man himself. None of them have felt as personal or authentic as this one.
Rhodes somehow captures a whole generation’s feelings on the man himself and the verdict is that it’s complicated.
He feels frustration at Obama’s imperfections yet grapples with how much weight has been put on this mans shoulders, arguably more than any other president to date. He admires and is inspired by Obama but also wrestled with what it’s like to devote 8 years to an all consuming job that can often feel like your pushing a boulder uphill during an earthquake.
The book is raw, personal, and exotic due to Rhodes’ unique position as deputy speechwriter as it relates to foreign policy. Anecdotes of their adventures abroad pepper the book highlighting the universality of the human struggle, the need to speak truth to power, and the quiet grappling of our collective history.
I highly recommend this book.
Rhodes somehow captures a whole generation’s feelings on the man himself and the verdict is that it’s complicated.
He feels frustration at Obama’s imperfections yet grapples with how much weight has been put on this mans shoulders, arguably more than any other president to date. He admires and is inspired by Obama but also wrestled with what it’s like to devote 8 years to an all consuming job that can often feel like your pushing a boulder uphill during an earthquake.
The book is raw, personal, and exotic due to Rhodes’ unique position as deputy speechwriter as it relates to foreign policy. Anecdotes of their adventures abroad pepper the book highlighting the universality of the human struggle, the need to speak truth to power, and the quiet grappling of our collective history.
I highly recommend this book.