Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by sassypants859
Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama by David J. Garrow
4.0
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.