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: Poorly Researched, Weakly Considered, but Thought-Provoking
Summary: 2 Stars
The first and most important point to make about Shelby Steele's book is that he constructs his analysis of Senator Obama around a close reading of a book Obama wrote 13 years ago when he was 33-34, and brings in very little consideration of anything Obama has done or written since then. Steele seems to believe a thoughtful analysis of Obama's early memoirs and some observations from what he's seen of Obama on television (Steele mentions a 60 Minutes television interview) gives him the empirical base he needs to draw conclusions about who Obama is and how the American pubic will react to him. There are no interviews with people who know Obama. There is no discussion of his growth as a State Senator in Springfield, Illinois. There is no reflection of how Obama has matured through middle adulthood.
And, as this is a book about American race relations and the way American public opinion reacts to African-Americans, I expected some references to recent research on racial attitudes, race relations, or identity formation in persons of mixed ethnic heritage. No, Shelby Steele just draws on his own experiences and his own insights (Steele is, after all, extremely intelligent, and he does offer some interesting interpretations of the American psyche).
And so, what does Shelby Steele have to work with? Mainly he draws on his debatable understanding of how Obama was presenting himself in his memoirs written when he was in his mid-30s. This is unsatisfying and disappointing.
For people who know Obama, or have carefully studied his life or his career, the book is interesting, and it's so short (it took me about two hours to read its 134 short pages) that it doesn't really feel like one is wasting one's time. It might be good for a book club to read "Dreams from My Father" by Obama and then this attack by Steele against Obama, which is largely based on that book. The resulting discussion could be fun, and it might provoke some good soul-searching or critical analysis among thoughtful readers.
It seems to me that Steele is confused by Obama's ability to use empathy, his political tact, and his post-modern ironic self-disclosure. As Steele did in his much better book, "White Guilt," Obama was sharing his experiences as a youth and young adult. Yet, Obama was formed in a society that was radically different from the one that shaped Steele. I think the 15-year gap in age between Steele and Obama spans the most significant revolution in American race relations, and probably Steele would agree with that. The cultural situation during the years that formed Steele's filters and understanding (the early 1960s through the mid-1970s, especially in the Midwest and Utah) was already transformed by the time that Obama was formed as an intellectual and political leader (the late 1970s through the early-1990s). Yet Steele thinks what he knows about his life and the culture of his time fits well with what he sees in Obama and Obama's time. Steele seems to miss Obama's healthy detachment and distance from mainstream American culture. It is this detachment that allowed Obama to write a book, even in the mid-1990s, in which he would disclose so many deeply personal experiences and reveal his progress through various approaches to his identity and his world. Steele seems to miss this detachment and self-critical disclosure that Obama was using in his memoir-writing, and thus Steele "misses the point" and blames Obama as if Obama continues to earnestly hold to certain approaches to his life and identity that were clearly just influential but temporary phases in Obama's psychological and intellectual growth.
Steele should have returned to Illinois (he studied sociology here) and talked to some people who know Obama, or who have known Obama for years, to check his facts. He should also consult with some pollsters or social scientists to check on the sort of attitudes Americans actually hold toward "iconic Africa-Americans" who dare to criticize problems in African-American culture. Have the American public really lost respect for Oprah since her comments defending her funding of a school for poor students in South Africa rather than more schools in poor American neighborhoods? Is Crosby less active now because he's less popular, or because he's rather old and enjoys working fewer hours?
The Republicans will attack Obama the way they attacked Carter in the 1976 campaign. They will try to raise doubts about "who is this guy, really?" and "What do we really know about this guy?" Steele's book seems to be one of the opening shots of this sort of attack on Obama. It's an attack that will fail among thoughtful readers because it lacks good evidence or substance to support Steele's interesting interpretations and opinions.
Book Review: Concise primer on race relations in US politics
Summary: 4 Stars
Shelby Steele begins his short, well-written analysis of the Obama phenomenon by stating his key qualification for the project -- like Obama, he is the son of a black father and a white mother. His politics, however, unlike Obama's, are conservative, and that adds to the interest of his razor-sharp analysis of Obama's appeal in the context of US racial relations. White readers, such as this reviewer, may be delighted by Steele's straight talk and his clear outline of the terrain on the other side of the racial divide. Americans of any racial background trying to imagine a future in which racism is truly dead and buried, not merely painted over with wishful thinking, may get some food for thought from Steele. Perhaps the arguments are a bit too pat, perhaps the "Why He Can't Win" subtitle will prove to be the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline of 2008, but you will be stimulated by this little book. If you want proof of this, just take a look at the other reviews.Book Review: A Victorious Man
Summary: 5 Stars
I've written a full-length review of A Bound Man which will be appearing online fairly soon so I obviously cannot reproduce any of it here; however, I wanted to recommend this book to amazon readers because it aptly describes the perspective many biracial Americans have towards themselves and their country. Shelby Steele is the perfect man to write such a book as he knows race and he also knows Barack Obama.
Yes, his central thesis--that Barack cannot win because he is forever bound by the need to appeal to blacks and whites simultaneously which thereby necessitates his not taking any real substantive positions--appears to be false. Even if my senator loses the nomination he has already proven his viability with the American electorate. Should Hillary pull off a miraculous comeback he'd be a winner anyway. He has demonstrated that there is a place in society for a prominent black leader as many Americans crave such a figure.
What is readily apparent, however, is that this man stands in complete opposition to the change he champions. An Obama presidency promises more statism, more taxation, more regulations, and no end to affirmative action--a foul practice which clearly is in violation of 1964 Civil Rights Act. It'll be more of the same...but worse. Like the views of Nancy Pelosi? Then you'll love Barack Obama.
Steele's discussion of Obama the man is incredibly interesting. He illustrates the way in which black Americans always wear a mask in society; a mask which takes one of two forms. First is the disguise of a "challenger" while the second is the beard of a "bargainer." Miles Davis wore the former while Obama wore the latter (as did Louie Armstrong). Bargainers trade their moral authority for success in society. They assure whites that they are not racist while whites in turn favor them with their patronage. Blacks sell off some of their moral authority in exchange for white largesse. They give whites the benefit of the doubt and do not accuse them of being racist. In turn, white guiltists are flattered and pleased to associate with them. Bill Cosby was a perfect example of such a bargainer. He treated his audience as his equals. He did not put America's racial history in their face and in exchange they became his fans. Later, when he made comments critical about urban blacks and the choices they make he lost his popularity. Whites were afraid to stand by him as they might be called racist as a result. Really, A Bound Man is a magnificent--but all too short--book. With the exception of his flattering depiction of Oprah, I can't say a bad thing about it.
Book Review: Nonsense. Nothing to do with Obama
Summary: 1 Stars
Perhaps Steele is projecting his own issues onto Obama, but the central premise of this book is completely misguided. Obama has come to terms with his parentage, he is not trying to play up to the black electorate. Don't waste your time with this silly attempted hatchet job.Book Review: Dewey Defeats Truman! LOL
Summary: 2 Stars
how dumb does Steele feel right now.
i guess he thought it was safe to write this book when HRC was up 20pts in the polls.
great timing, Shelby!