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kaitlinewest 's review for:
The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House
by Ben Rhodes
This is the first real political memoir I've read and I don't think it'll be the last. Rhodes is a great writer with the (in my opinion) rare ability to be straightforward but still engaging. I was in high school, college, and the beginning of my adult life during the Obama administration and I didn't always pay attention to politics and especially not foreign policy. But Rhodes' explanation of events and actions made foreign policy accessible even for a novice like myself. I found it really interesting to hear from an insider and learn about the actions and opinions that shaped some of the biggest policies and events of the last ten years. What we see is so little of the entire picture that it really made me think about how much goes on behind the scenes before policy is made (his involvement in Cuba highlights this especially well). He also connected a lot of the dots for me on how intertwined the Middle East is; things that America did decades ago helped lead to the rise of ISIS, how the death of Muammar Gaddafi contributed to the ongoing struggle in Syria.
Beyond his involvement in foreign policy, he was a close advisor and speechwriter for Obama. I loved reading about his interactions with Obama; it made me respect the president even more than I already did. As many others have said in their reviews, Rhodes doesn't have rose-colored glasses on about his time in the White House or the toll it took on his personal life and health. He's pretty real about things and I think his memoir is about as balanced as you could expect from someone so heavily involved in the administration. I recommend this to anyone interested in foreign policy, the Obama administration, or in learning about recent events in our history.
Beyond his involvement in foreign policy, he was a close advisor and speechwriter for Obama. I loved reading about his interactions with Obama; it made me respect the president even more than I already did. As many others have said in their reviews, Rhodes doesn't have rose-colored glasses on about his time in the White House or the toll it took on his personal life and health. He's pretty real about things and I think his memoir is about as balanced as you could expect from someone so heavily involved in the administration. I recommend this to anyone interested in foreign policy, the Obama administration, or in learning about recent events in our history.