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Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance | 
| Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.20
You Save: $10.75 (41%)
New (36) Used (13) Collectible (14) from $15.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  259 reviews
Sales Rank: 697
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0307383415
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.04960730092
EAN: 9780307383419
ASIN: 0307383415
Publication Date: January 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Nine years before the Senate campaign that made him one of the most influential and compelling voices in American politics, Barack Obama published this lyrical, unsentimental, and powerfully affecting memoir, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller when it was reissued in 2004. Dreams from My Father tells the story of Obama’s struggle to understand the forces that shaped him as the son of a black African father and white American mother—a struggle that takes him from the American heartland to the ancestral home of his great-aunt in the tiny African village of Alego.
Obama opens his story in New York, where he hears that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has died in a car accident. The news triggers a chain of memories as Barack retraces his family’s unusual history: the migration of his mother’s family from small-town Kansas to the Hawaiian islands; the love that develops between his mother and a promising young Kenyan student, a love nurtured by youthful innocence and the integrationist spirit of the early sixties; his father’s departure from Hawaii when Barack was two, as the realities of race and power reassert themselves; and Barack’s own awakening to the fears and doubts that exist not just between the larger black and white worlds but within himself.
Propelled by a desire to understand both the forces that shaped him and his father’s legacy, Barack moves to Chicago to work as a community organizer. There, against the backdrop of tumultuous political and racial conflict, he works to turn back the mounting despair of the inner city. His story becomes one with those of the people he works with as he learns about the value of community, the necessity of healing old wounds, and the possibility of faith in the midst of adversity.
Barack’s journey comes full circle in Kenya, where he finally meets the African side of his family and confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life. Traveling through a country racked by brutal poverty and tribal conflict, but whose people are sustained by a spirit of endurance and hope, Barack discovers that he is inescapably bound to brothers and sisters living an ocean away—and that by embracing their common struggles he can finally reconcile his divided inheritance.
A searching meditation on the meaning of identity in America, Dreams from My Father might be the most revealing portrait we have of a major American leader—a man who is playing, and will play, an increasingly prominent role in healing a fractious and fragmented nation.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 254 more reviews...
 "Where's the Beef?" July 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I will admit that I was among those Republicans early on who were intrigued, almost swept away, by Obama-mania. His oratory skills, his charisma, his down to earth style had me almost believing that he could join our two warring parties and make everything all right again. Knowing this, my husband nestled Barack's autobiography in with my valentines gifts last February. With great eagerness I began to read and at first I was totally absorbed. I loved Obama's writing style and his honest reflections. But as I turned the pages I began to find myself asking that old commercial question "Where's the beef?". It was an interesting story but, after I got well past the middle of the book I found that he was, in fact, just like thousands of successful social activists, idealistic, self-reflective and magnetic. But what else set him apart? The fact that he is bi-racial? Or that he did not know his father? That he was raised by his grandparents? No, these are common experiences for many Americans. Instead of revealing what kind of leader Obama would be, the book seemed a very long and winding story that never really found its point. I was let down, not by the style of the book (Obama does all his own writing and it is very good), but rather that, in the end, I knew so little of his political views on any subject of importance. On one level I can recommend this book as a well written, easy to read story of a young man finding his way. But if you are looking for guidance as to how to cast your vote, I suggest you skip this book and go on your knees.
 utterly amazing book July 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is truly an amzing story that provides much insight into the life of Barack Obama. It was hard to put down for even a moment. His life has been one incredible journey that has led him to where he is today. The details of his life and the impact on him help you better understand what drives him and has given him the strength to pursue his goals. Great read and a must for everyone.
Who is Barack Obama! July 13, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
So, who is this Barack Obama who is likely to become the next President of the United States? Dreams from My Father answers those questions in the words of Mr. Obama himself. By now, most people know that Barack Obama is a gifted speaker; but I doubt that many know his talent as writer and story teller. This book introduces us to the difficulties involved in growing up in a multiracial and multicultural environment and trying to fit in. Raised by his Caucasian mother and grandparents, his absentee father was a black African and his step father was Asian. Mr. Obama grew up in Hawaii and Kansas and Asia and traveled to Africa where he met his brothers and other relatives who stemmed from his interesting Grandfather and father. Like his father, he was academically gifted and graduated from Harvard.
I recommend this book to those who are interested in learning who Barack Obama is and where his thoughts and belief's originated from. Through this book I feel like I know Barack much better than I did before. He is a special and intelligent human being whose experiences are varied, unusual and interesting. I can hardly wait to read his other book the Audacity of Hope.
Read this book and you will learn much more about Barack Obama than what is reported in the news. It may change your vote.
 Insightful look at an intriguing man's search for self July 11, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am torn about who to vote for in the upcoming election, so I wanted to educate myself as best as I can about the nominees. I've been impressed with Barack Obama's message, but I thought that reading his autobiography (especially one written before he went into office) would help me understand him better. Obama is the son of a Kenyan man who married an 18-year-old girl named Stanley in Hawaii. There have been many misconceptions about Obama and his family in the media and online, but reading this book dispelled them. He describes his life and upbringing with remarkable honesty, even about his foibles and mistakes. He has a knack for description and capturing a moment with almost Kodakesque clarity. While much has been made in the news about the influence on him of his father and mother (TIME Magazine devoted an entire cover story to her), I can't help but think that his white grandfather may have had a larger impact than acknowledged. Obama describes his grandfather's life as: single mother, hint of scandal, raised by grandparents, realizes he's not the fair-haired boy, that he appears more like a "wop". Substitute "wop" for any racial term for African-American, and you could be describing Obama. The book is compelling, not only to learn about the man who may become the first black President of the United States, but also as a story of self-discovery and the quest for purpose.
A Must Read July 7, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a wonderfully written description of Barack Obama's life in his own words. It offers insight into the man who is now the democratic candidate for the president of the United States. It provides the chance to know Barack before he entered politics, as he was just returning to Chicago after finishing Harvard Law School, in a way that generally only old friends or family do. It is a must read for anyone who will be voting in this presidential election or is just looking for a great summer book to read.
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