Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Book Review: Reviewing the Story
Summary: 5 Stars
In Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father" I discovered a fascinating brain and an accepting mind that came to terms with his dual inheritance.
He provided us with an insight of the African-American experience, of the hopes and dreams of the people, of the realities they confronted and of their failures. In his inspiring appearance at the Democratic convention, Obama emerged as a rising star in the American political scene, a relatable figure with a strong personality. His speech was very moving. The fact that this book was written before Obama gained so much political popularity, seems to be the reason it is so authentic, unlike many of the autobiographies we read.
This book, is the lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, of the son of a black African father and a white American mother. Obama 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. The sudden death of his father 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, and confronts the bitter truth of his father's life. There he reconciles his divided racial inheritance.
This is one of the most well written memoirs I have ever read. At some points it reads so much like a novel that I stopped to check the cover and make sure there was no "as told to" or other writing credit. The prose is lean and lyrical - while occasionally the
themes are repetitive, overall I loved the circular nature of his exploration of life, race and class. I appreciated the honesty and integrity of his thoughts on black culture and the struggle to define blackness and appreciate life in the US. I think he exposes a lot of the most painful truths about race in this country, while offering hope and reason - rather than condemnation - to both black and white.
I agree with other reviewers who have indicated that the book does feel unfinished. He did not spend much time discussing the people in his life that are and were very supportive (mother and grandparents) but I saw two reasons for this: First, the book is
unfinished in the sense that he is also "unfinished" and what it does cover is a sense of opening, discovery and closure around a complicated relationship with a parent that existed primarily in his own impressions.
Which brings me to reason #2: the unresolved relationship with his father fueled much of his early life choices. It feels only natural that these two stories be told in tandem. Now that he is a senator and much older through experience I would be curious to know how the telling of his life might change. As he indicates in the forward of the new edition - with so much distance between that experience and the life he's lived between Kenya and "now" there is much in his life that has to do with the impressions others like his mother and grandparents made. I suspect that it was rewritten to encompass more of his life, those other areas might balance the struggle to "find" his father and himself in those early years.
All that is to say: don't let his "preoccupation" with an absent father steer you away from this book. It in no way feels self indulgent or as an "open wound." Instead, I found an inspirational journey and a thoughtful exploration that made for a quick read!
Barack Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, where he served as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. He has worked as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and law professor. Since 1997, he has represented parts of Chicago's South Side in the Illinois General Assembly, and he is currently the Democratic nominee to become the junior U.S. senator from Illinois. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha.
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Review by Stephen Rivers
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Book Review: This should be required reading for high school/college students
Summary: 5 Stars
Readers, particularly younger ones,will be able to relate to this wonderful book on many levels. As one of a handful of black kids at the schools he attended in Hawaii, Obama often felt like the odd-man-out. He also has dealt with growing up without his father, and there was a period in his life when he didn't resists the temptation to use drugs.
Obama has led a fascinating life, growing up in Hawaii and living for awhile in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather. A third of the book deals with that part of his life. Obama is the product of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father. I disagree with reviewers who wrote that Obama did not devote enough time writing about the maternal side of his family. He wrote of his mother and grandparents with great fondness. It was his mother who helped shape his racial identity as a black man and instill his pride in being black. Because of his mother's and grandparents' love he was able to deal with the indignaties that he and other blacks face in society without becoming angry at all white people. To their credit, Obama's mother and grandparents never put his absent father down in front of him.
The second third of his book is about his life as a community organizer in Chicago. That part runs a little long, but it's definately worth reading. He lived in Chicago during an exciting time in that city's history, when Harold Washington was mayor.
The last third is about his discovering his father's past and connecting with his Kenyan siblings. I learned a lot about Africa that went beyond safaris and famine. He wrote about people living normal lives and having family drama that is no different than what we experience here in the States.
If he hadn't entered politics, Obama would have a great future as a writer.
Book Review: surprisingly well written
Summary: 4 Stars
Fascinating account, and considering it was written well before his national prominence (with no ghost writer), well worth reading.Book Review: A "Dream" Read
Summary: 5 Stars
A well written, thought provoking self reflection of one of the most brilliant (and still evolving) men of our time. Without knowing much about Obama save for his electrifying speech at the DNC I picked up and put down "Dreams From My Father" several times before actually committing to reading it. I'm not much of a fan of biographies, or memoirs - especially ones of people who are still in the middle of their lives - but I have to say that Obama's writing style and honest approach make this book well worth the read.
This is one of the most well written memoirs I have ever read. At some points it reads so much like a novel that I stopped to check the cover and make sure there was no "as told to" or other writing credit. The prose is lean and lyrical - while occasionally the themes are repetitive, I overall loved the circular nature of his exploration of life, race and class. I appreciated the honesty and integrity of his thoughts on black culture and the struggle to define blackness and appreciate life in the US. I think he exposes a lot of the most painful truths about race in this country that remain today, while offering hope and reason - rather than condemnation - to black and white alike.
I agree with other reviewers who have indicated that the book does feel unfinished, also that he did not spend much time with talking about those in his life who were very supportive (mother and grandparents) but I saw two reasons for this. First, the book is unfinished in the sense that he is also "unfinished" and what it does cover is a sense of opening, discovery and closure around a complicated relationship with a parent that existed primarily in his own impressions.
Which brings me to reason #2: the unresolved relationship with his father fueled much of his early life choices. It feels only natural that these two stories be told in tandem. Now that he is a senator and much older through experience I would be curious to know how the telling of his life might change. As he indicates in the forward of the new edition - with so much distance between that experience and the life he's lived between Kenya and "now" there is much in his life that has to do with the impressions others like his mother and grandparents made. I suspect that rewritten to encompass more of his life, those other areas might balance the struggle to "find" his father and himself in those early years.
All that is to say: don't let his "preoccupation" with an absent father steer you away from this book. It in no way feels self indulgent or as an "open wound." Instead, I found an inspirational journey and a thoughtful exploration that made for a quick read!
Book Review: Not what I expected...
Summary: 2 Stars
I was hoping for something more along the lines of a struggle of balance for people of mixed cultures, which is what the book is marketed to be. I was dissapointed in the how misleading the books advertising was after reading the content.
However, like many reveiwers before me have said, Barack Obama is an amazing man, and senator. This is still a 'good' book nonetheless.