Product Description In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.
"Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed Be Thy Name."November 22, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Published in 1995, long before Barack Obama could have even conceived of running for president, this coming-of-age memoir brilliantly reflects the confusion of having mixed race parents and of being a "black" man in today's America. It also finely tells the story of a boy and then a man and his elusive delusions about his missing father. Finally tracking down his heritage and the truth, through Kansas, then Hawaii, and then Kenya, Obama spins a truthful and authentic tale about losing and then finding himself through his father. This tale of the son seeking his father is an ancient one, and Barack does it justice here. He transcends race, and embraces his fragmented past in order to make himself as whole as he can be.
This is a literary work. Its metaphors and descriptions are well thought out and satisfying to read. It bears contrast with James Baldwin's "Go Tell It On the Mountain" and "The Color of Water." Read it, and be amazed that we have this thoughtful, brilliant, introspective, self-aware person as our president. What a miracle!
The Seinfeld candidateNovember 22, 2008 0 out of 9 found this review helpful
Bill Ayers sure can write a good book. Some great fiction mixed with some nice platitudes that everyone can project on to - like the candidate himself.
An Insightful and Powerful BookNovember 21, 2008 Barack Obama has written an insightful and powerful book of self-discovery that shaped him and his father's legacy. Obama's search for the truth about race and faith has revealed the powerful character of this great American leader. This book guides us to a further study of identity, class and race alongside Jeffery Leving's www.ourblackheritage.com.
Obama, a remarkable generalizerNovember 17, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have rarely been so privileged to read a book such as DREAMS OF MY FATHER. Obama reveals his thought processes as he struggled to find his place in the larger sicial fabric. Were that all, this would not be so great a book. But, he describes his maturation in thinking as he interacted and learned from others. And, while personally growng, he was able to empathize with others from virtually all walks of life, to relate to them and to abstract the essence of their needs and being. Finally, he was able to integrate those observations into a larger vision of society and how to effect it in a positive way. All of this is written in the most compelling language. He is a great and poetic writer.
Get to know ObamaNovember 17, 2008 This man has a truly inspirational and amazing life and history. I devoured the book and came back for more. I've since recommended it to friends and family who have felt that they "don't really know the man".
Now that he's been elected, I hope everyone will seek out his books and get to know him a little better and let him touch your life as he's definitely touched mine.
