A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win by Shelby Steele Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win
Book Review: Good, But Not Accurate
Summary: 3 Stars
I had a Marketing Professor that once made the following statement about the work our class had turned in on a particular subject. He said: "What was accurate was not good, and what was good was not accurate." Mr. Steele's work is a "good read." But, in his attempt to explain the African American experience in all its complexities; he has overly simplified and compartmentalized it to the point it is quite misleading. And in so doing, he masterfully explains the world from his own view and from his own experiences. While, he certainly has every right to do so, and has done it extremely well; the reader must be aware that his thinking may or may not represent how all African Americans think, behave, or respond to their experiences no matter how much in common or uncommon they are with his own. But, rather, he has prepared a deeply thoughtful dissection of Barack Obama that brilliantly has an obvious agenda that somewhat reminds me of the old "crabs in a barrel" analogy. What unfolds in his writing is the purpose of the writing itself. It is when black people make the attempt to "bargain"(to use Mr. Steele's term)away our own race to make Whites feel better about the sins of past racism. It is a past and a history that people like Mr. Steele (whether they are bargainers or challengers) find themselves unable to escape. Again, the work is extremely good, I recommend it. But...it can't be taken seriously as completely accurate. What it will provide is a thought provoking challenge and opportunity for everyone to evaluate what we do individually think about race, politics, and other social matters.Book Review: Check it out from the library; don't buy!
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this at the library and was intrigued. I like to be informed when I vote so I was curious as to what the author would consider made Obama a "bound" man. From reading the 1st 50 or 60 pages or so the only thing I could find "binding" Obama was the fact that he is interracial. In actuality, being interracial is what is helping Obama along in the race to the presidency.
This binding that the author alludes to applies to all black professionals, not just interracial individuals. Basically, if we placate black people we are "too black," if we placate to white people we are "sell outs." It is a no win situation for a successful black in America.
This book, however, offers little insight on Obama; this book is more about the author's views on being interracial in America. He has transferred these feelings and views onto Obama and somehow has him bound by them.
You should skip this book.
Book Review: A Distorted Picture
Summary: 3 Stars
I admit that when I first saw this book at a bookstore, I was hooked by the title. Being an Obama supporter, I was curious to know why the author thought Obama "can't win" the presidency. I didn't buy the book, but I found it at a library and checked it out. It is interesting, well-written, and only takes a few hours to read. But I'm glad I didn't buy it.
The problem with this book is that the author never judges Obama on any grounds other than how he plays the racial game--unless you count a few offhand references to Obama being intelligent, talented, etc. So ironically, the "bound man" of the title turns out to be--as one reviewer here has already asserted--the author himself.
Steele does make a strong case for why Obama is walking such a fine line politically, as a black man who is trying to win over both blacks and whites in large enough numbers to win the presidency. He also provides some insight into why Obama chose Reverend Wright as his pastor, which is impressive considering that this book was written months before Reverend Wright was front page news. Steele's categorization of prominent black Americans as either "bargainers" or "challengers" also makes sense, and he is credible in spelling out the advantages and potential pitfalls of each of these approaches.
But unfortunately, the book is so limited in scope that it distorts Obama as well as those who support him. Has Steele even considered that some people may support Obama because he appears to be the most intelligent and the most level-headed of all the candidates? Some may even support him because his political views most closely match their own, which should not be so hard to believe considering that in the past few years the general public has turned against the Iraq War and has generally moved to the left. Like so many of Obama's detractors, Steele simultaneously accuses Obama of having a harmful political agenda and having no political agenda at all. These people would be more credible if they at least picked one or the other and stuck with it.
Meanwhile, Obama marches on, which makes me wonder if maybe he has figured something out that people like Steele have not. Or maybe Obama just happens to be a good enough candidate to win the election and to be an effective leader, regardless of the color of his skin. What a concept!
Book Review: Right On!
Summary: 5 Stars
When Barack Obama first showed up on the scene I couldn't figure out why, for such a young guy, his speeches always sound like nineteen sixties civil rights reflections. Like he's leading some imaginary group of people out of the 'Jim Crow' era. That question was answered when Jeremiah Wright hit the scene with his, 'Black Liberation Theology', nonsense. People like Jeremiah Wright can't let go of something as juicy as the 'Crow' era.
'A Bound Man', presents an explaination for the development of Obama's mindset involving racism in America and his rise in popularity among blacks as well as whites. The book also presents the evolution in race relations that has taken place in America. I think Shelby Steele might be on to something.
I read this book in one sitting. Highly recommend.
Book Review: Good models; wrong political year...
Summary: 4 Stars
Reading "A Bound Man" this week, I was struck by the fact that it already seems of book outdated by inaccurate predictions. On page 122 Steele writes, "As a Democrat, (Obama) must have both the white and black vote to do well in the primaries as well as in the general election, assuming he gets that far." Clearly, Obama has already exceeded the limitations this book places on him.
The problem with Steele's thesis is that it focuses too exclusively on race as a deciding factor in this most contentious of election years. I am not in any way minimizing racism in America, nor am I minimizing the considerable talent, energy, and vision of Barack Obama. I am, however, minimizing race as the single factor on voters' minds in a year that features a tanking economy, an unpopular war, and a public wariness towards Washington insiders. Voters are, if nothing else, motivated by self-interest. The candidate who is going to help them out is the one who will get the vote. If Obama were running against a popular incumbant, race might be a central issue. As it is, he's running against an unpopular choice (the anti-Hillary voters are legion) and an unpopular war (which may give him the edge over McCain).
There is nothing wrong with Steele theories, they just don't apply to Obama. They also veer towards reductionism. I think there is some truth to Steele's idea that iconic blacks like Oprah and Bill Cosby are "bargainers" -- extending the benefit of the doubt to whites and in turn receiving their gratitude. However, this theory is also oversimplified. For many white people of my generation (born in the '70s) segregation and overt racism are things we were taught about in history class. The type of racism that exists post-Jim Crow (and I do realize it's endemic and often instutitional) is more difficult to discern if you aren't on the receiving end of it. This is the root of the type of blissful ignorance in white America that makes blacks like Bill Cosby and Oprah more relatable. It's not the ease of their racial message; it's the fact that race appears incidental to them, much as it is to white people. Hence the relatability.
I also disagree with Steele's idea that "bargainers" like Oprah Winfrey lack an authentic self. Anyone who watches Oprah regularly (I haven't for years myself) knows she's all about authentic selfhood. She has formed a strong identity based on sisterhood, charity, intellectualism, materialism, Christian values, and New Age philosophies. Those are all things that, at least for her, seem to transcend living in a racist society.
Steele uses Bill Cobsy as an example of the dangers "bargainers" face by detailing his dwindling popularity due to his pleas for black responsibility. White Americans will turn on bargainers for not keeping up their end of the bargain. Maybe this is true for some people. My own perception is that Bill Cobsy's dwindling popularity is due to sexual misconduct charges, not to his attitude towards poor urban blacks.
So, why do I give this book four stars? Because it is based on some very interesting, post-modern theories about how power works as a synergy among people (and groups of people.) There is certainly some truth to Shelby Steele's models. However, a lot of what he says might be more accurately applied in a more benign political year.