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A review by jessicaharleee
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I gave this 3 stars because of my enjoyment level, it’s not necessarily a reflection of the quality of the book.
Obama has an incredibly calming, grounding voice and I’m so glad I chose to listen to this instead of trying to read it digitally/physically. However, this was ENTIRELY too long and too detailed (for me) about things that I don’t have a particular interest in (the Iraq war for example).
It’s also worth noting that for how long this is (over 29 hours on audio), we don’t even make it to the end of his first term! It ends in 2011! 😩 Part two is still to come!
I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the book leading up to when he actually took office. Those chapters involved Michelle and the girls a lot more, how campaigning impacted his family, etc. Very shortly after he talks about taking office though, we get into the financial crisis, healthcare, and war through a very microscopic lense. I don’t think he left a single detail out about how decisions were made, conversations he had with very specific cabinet members, and public reaction.
Something I didn’t realize (or maybe blocked out) was that Trump started talking about running for president during Obama’s first term. Granted, I would’ve been in high school when this was happening but I was really surprised by that. And that Trump was one of the primary people who claimed he wasn’t born in the US???? Wild.
For someone who is fascinated by politics and/or American history, I’m sure this would be a 5 star read. It’s also worth noting that parts of the in-depth political stuff were fascinating, even for me, and I’m glad I took the time to listen to it.
Obama has an incredibly calming, grounding voice and I’m so glad I chose to listen to this instead of trying to read it digitally/physically. However, this was ENTIRELY too long and too detailed (for me) about things that I don’t have a particular interest in (the Iraq war for example).
It’s also worth noting that for how long this is (over 29 hours on audio), we don’t even make it to the end of his first term! It ends in 2011! 😩 Part two is still to come!
I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the book leading up to when he actually took office. Those chapters involved Michelle and the girls a lot more, how campaigning impacted his family, etc. Very shortly after he talks about taking office though, we get into the financial crisis, healthcare, and war through a very microscopic lense. I don’t think he left a single detail out about how decisions were made, conversations he had with very specific cabinet members, and public reaction.
Something I didn’t realize (or maybe blocked out) was that Trump started talking about running for president during Obama’s first term. Granted, I would’ve been in high school when this was happening but I was really surprised by that. And that Trump was one of the primary people who claimed he wasn’t born in the US???? Wild.
For someone who is fascinated by politics and/or American history, I’m sure this would be a 5 star read. It’s also worth noting that parts of the in-depth political stuff were fascinating, even for me, and I’m glad I took the time to listen to it.