This is What Barack Stands For! | The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

Well-written and thought-provoking (But b etter as a text than as an audiobook) | The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream | Barack Obama

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	• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream Barack Obama Three Rivers Press, 2007 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 617 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Obama's observations on the state of the country

Great series of essays on relevant topics to the American public. Obama's command of history, law, logic, philosophy and English shine through clearly as he points out cultural and historical patterns that have led the country to the point where it is today. The author emphasizes a centrist approach of open dialogue and compromise as a path to correcting many problems that have stimied American politics for years. A good and accessible read.

This is What Barack Stands For!

In essence this is a summary of his vision of what ails America and what will fix it. It's almost in his own words a draft of his presidential campaign that just ended...about his hope of restoring this country to greatness by fixing a very broken government. It's about bringing health care to all, responsibly leaving Iraq and turning us back into a respected global power.Throughout the book he writes about his goal to end the divisiveness and bring unity to America as he so beautifully articulated in his 2004 speech at the Democratic convention.

Hope is the major theme. You do believe his desire to reclaim the American Dream is authentic and in fact that he will. His writing style is as warm and embracing as his persona when he speaks. Every American needs to read this book.

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Well-written and thought-provoking (But b etter as a text than as an audiobook)

I began reading this book at a friend's house and found it so interesting that I immediately purchased it as an audiobook. However, I quickly realized that I preferred the text version. Though much has been made of Mr. Obama's incredible speaking skills (I think he even won a Grammy for the audiobook), in my opinion, his words and writing style are much better on the page. (Which is, perhaps, saying a lot?)

Other reviewers have covered the content of the book, so I won't repeat their efforts here, except to say that Mr. Obama shows a clear talent for (and refreshing respect for) thoughtful problem-assessment. Though he offers few concrete solutions to the problems he discusses, I do not think that's a negative, as it is clearly not his intention to solve. After all, the book is not subtitled "How to Reclaim the American Dream." Instead, his essays are presented as substantial food-for-thought (and hopefully fuel for action).

The fact that so many reviewers have complained of the lack of solutions just goes to show how desperately we want them, and how important we think real solutions are. And yet every day, we perpetuate a style of politics and political discourse that doesn't seem able to produce those solutions. Mr. Obama's book reminds us that the solutions we hope for are not going to magically come about unless we find a new (or perhaps old?) way to talk about, and achieve, what we want.

The thesis of the book is not so much "we need to do this, this and this!!" as it is "our problems are real but solvable-- if we can manage to think clearly."

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?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.?

From the Hardcover edition.

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