|
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream: Library Edition | 
 enlarge | Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Playaway
Category: Book
List Price: $44.99
Buy New: $40.28
You Save: $4.71 (10%)
New (8) Used (1) from $40.28
Avg. Customer Rating:  627 reviews
Format: Abridged
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 4.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 1605148520
Dewey Decimal Number: 320
EAN: 9781605148526
ASIN: 1605148520
Publication Date: August 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama
 Q: How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?
A: In many ways, Dreams from My Father was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing The Audacity of Hope paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.
Q: What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?
A: I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.
Q: If readers are to come away from The Audacity of Hope with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?
A: Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesnt matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.
Q: You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington?
A: It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes.
Q: How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?
A: I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.
Q: What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?
A: How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.
Q: You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?
A: Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Q: Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now?
A: Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinsons Gilead, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.
Q: What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?
A: I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.
Product Description
“A government that truly represents these Americans–that truly serves these Americans–will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won’t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we’ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.”
–from The Audacity of Hope
In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.”
Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.
At the heart of this book is Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats–from terrorism to pandemic–that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy–where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.
A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes–“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 622 more reviews...
 Presidential November 23, 2008
An Enlightening insight into our new president. Agree or disagree, the throngs who claimed during his campaign that he offed no specifics simply needed to crack a book.
Showcasing his unusual ability to fairly and accurately include other opinions in defining his own, Obama's comprehention of contrary philosophies shines forth in a distinguished and diplomatic prose.
Well grounded in common sense, candor and hard work, Mr. Obama brings us into his world and his thought processes. One comes away with the distict feeling that even if you don't agree with the author's conclusion, you can trust his reasonable and measured approach to problem solving to rule the day.
I find it a rare privilege to have such a window to a newly elected president. No other sitting president duing my adult life had ever authored a book. Obama not only wrote this alone, he gave us his very policies, in advance. The availability of such a text should not be taken lightly.
The real Barack Obama? November 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For anyone out there wondering who the real Barack Obama is, "The Audacity of Hope" will give you one clear idea. It is part memoir, part political manifesto, encompassing his comprehensive vision for America. The book reveals him to be very smart, well read, compassionate, and sometimes quite funny. I think few people reading the book will agree with him on every policy issue, and no one is really prepared to take on the problems facing our country. But, reading this book gave me faith that the American people have elected a very capable public servant.
Chapters are essays arranged around a single theme (eg "Faith" "Family") and some are better than others. I particularly liked what he had to say about his conversion to Christianity and some of the values he learned being raised in a multi-ethnic family. Obama can be quite funny at times, such as when he describes the disdain he felt for his 2004 Senate competitor, Alan Keyes: "Mr. Keyes made no effort to conceal what he clearly considered to be his moral and intellectual superiority. With his erect bearing, almost theatrically formal manner, and a hooded gaze that made him appear perpetually bored, he came off as a cross between a Pentacostal preacher and William F. Buckley." He goes on to say, "That self-assuredness disabled in him the instincts for self-censorship that allow most people to navigate the world without getting into constant fistfights." I was not expecting to laugh out loud when I read this book. Those lines had me slapping my knees.
Other parts of the book are non-apologetically wonky. He goes on a little too long in some chapters (do we need to hear every idea he has?) and others strain to make symmetry out of unalike things. Overall though, this is a really engaging and well written book. I enjoyed it very much.
As I close, I'm left with the constant problem with memoirs, can you trust the author to know himself? What good are all these ideals if the president is hypocritical, insincere, or lacking in self-awareness? The ability to inspire people can only go so far. So we'll see. In the meantime, we've just elected a youthful president with new ideas, a comprehensive understanding of US political history, experience with all types of Americans, and a multi-faceted approach to leading the country. Count me among the impressed.
Good Read November 18, 2008
Though not as good as "Dreams from my Father", a well written book. The book talks deeply about Barack's ideals and issues with the current state of politics. Though you may not agree with his political views, Barack is an undeniably intellegent person who is not afraid to express his political views. The message was powerful; it is now just a matter of executing.
Great Book! November 17, 2008
After reading this book, all I can say is, "I'm so glad I voted for him. "This book is inspiring, thoughtful and hopeful." Read it. I would also recommend highly his other book: Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
President Barack Obama November 17, 2008
It was after reading this book that I realized that I had to do everything within my power to ensure that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who know how to dream, and those who donot. For those of us who do, this book was a set of important guidelines on what this country could be. It took dreamers to create this great society, and it will take a dreamer and a man of action to get us out of the quagmire we're in today.
It was a long shot, but just like millions of other Americans, I knew that if the rest of the country got to know Barack Obama the way I'd taken the time to do, they would elect him president, and they did. If you don't support your newly elected president, that's okay. This country is great because we have the freedom to disagree, even with our most important leaders. But if you love this country at all, then you have to know that there's a movement afoot, one that will take us into a shining new future, one that involves all Americans taking control of their own civic lives, and working together across racial and political lines to do what's best for the country.
Anyone that doesn't want to be a part of that? Pretty sad.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
