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: He scares me!
Summary: 1 Stars
HE IS NOT WHO YOU THINK HE IS - HE'S A MONSTER
From Dreams of My Father:'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.'
From Dreams of My Father : 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race.'
From Dreams of My Father:'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'
From Dreams of My Father: 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.'
From Dreams of My Father:'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself , the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela
Book Review: What dreams?
Summary: 2 Stars
This is a well written book by very articulate and insightful man. Growing up with his white mother and later with his white grandparents, the author appears to be absorbed by his "blackness" and by the continuous process of finding himself. He definitely does not dwell on his "whiteness".
It is quite apparent that the author is drawn to his African roots to "try to understand" his ancestry. With his father procreation habits, there is apparently plenty of opportunity. While reading about his "identification" with Malcolm X writings, one can clearly see the racism of the author's views.
After reading the book, I found myself wondering what exactly were the dreams of his father. Apparently he was generous and wanted to provide for everybory. This, however, is quite common attitude among alcoholics.
It is clear, that the author sees the world through Africa. It appears that in his view most problems of the world are caused by greedy white folks. Given the level of education he received, I am amazed at his total lack of understanding of what Western Culture accomplished and how it was done.
Book Review: Tackling Identity
Summary: 4 Stars
Tackling Identity
Barack Obama's memoir, Dreams from My Father, recalls his adventure into understanding his heritage and identity. He effectively presents his story of searching for his self-identity in various ways. His memoir, which is separated into three parts- his childhood, life in Chicago and his journey to Africa, includes details of his hardships with belonging to two worlds. Obama's talent to write adds to the overall, heart-warming story of a boy growing-up in a half-white, half-black world, realizing his unknown heritage and family history.
The scenes he includes in his memoir effectively draws a picture to the readers of how difficult it was to live in a mixed culture. Obama explains his journey with the selected scenes from his past- those that were perhaps the hardest, the most interesting and those that forced him to live in the middle of two, fighting worlds. While living in Indonesia, Obama learned, "The world was violent, I was learning, unpredictable and often cruel" (37-38). As a bi-racial child living in a segregated world, there was no safe ground for a young, confused boy. He adds this scene in to show readers that even as a child, he found conflict with his identity. Later, as a college student, Obama asks himself, "Where do I belong?" (115). This infers that the concept of identity hadn't been a one-time problem, but one that had been building up inside him over years. In addition, Obama added some scenes that created ethos with the readers. He mentioned that as a teenager "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it" (93). A senator and presidential candidate, or a national leader, admitted to doing illegal activities. Obama specifically chose this scene to create ethos. He decides upon his scenes wisely; scenes that draw a picture to readers about his difficulties he encountered with his race and those that made the readers trust his words and story.
Obama also made the choice to divide his memoir into three parts- Origins, Chicago and Kenya. This created good transitions from one point in his life to the next. It showed the reader that the author grew, matured and discovered more about himself, but most importantly, his identity. As a teenager, he "[was] always playing the white man's court...by the white man's rules" (85). At that age, Obama doubted his ability to succeed and only played by the rules, never taking a step outside the lines. Even as an adult living in Chicago, he recognized the boundaries with a white girl friend:
I realized that our two worlds, my friend's and mine, were as distant from each other as Kenya is from Germany. And I knew that if we stayed together I'd eventually live in hers. After all, I'd been doing it most of my life. Between the two of us, I was the one who knew how to live as an outsider (211).
With time and a trip to Africa, Obama, while still struggling with his identity, took a more mature approach to the situation. After a journey into his heritage he realized that "black and white, they make their claim on this community we call America" (439). Finally, after a life of living in two worlds, Obama accepted his mixed identity. His choice to divide the book into three allows the reader to transition successfully. Moreover, his choice to order Origins, Chicago and Kenya in that specific order adds to show the reader that the author matured through his life and found a solution to his inner conflict.
Furthermore, Obama used significant literary techniques to strengthen his overall writing and caught the attention of his readers. He used dialogue to successfully illustrate a scene. While in Kenya, Obama played basketball with his younger brother. Bernard says, "'Maybe I will come to America. I can help you with your business'
`I don't have a business right now. Maybe after I finish law school-'
`It must be easy to find work'
`Not for everybody. Actually, lots of people have a tough time in the States. Black people especially'" (326).
Obama's choice to use dialogue instead of a narrative to explain a scene, shortens the passage and also makes the scene more interesting to the reader.
Overall, Dreams from My Father was an impressive memoir for its content and its writing. The story validated that America has become more of a melting pot- because Obama is a product of it. No longer are we racially separated, but becoming a mix of races and cultures. His story is one of the mixed heritage stories of America- but merely every American has their own.
H.Surman
Book Review: " dreams from my father" a compeling story , a page turner.etc
Summary: 5 Stars
sen.obama demonstrates a gift for telling a compelling story and shareing
it with the reader in an intimate way i.e,living early on in both hawaii
and indonesia and later his mainland continuing search for identity &
meaning.after page one i was hooked and went along on the journey with
this emerging {at the time)fine writer.let the legend grow...peace.
oliver j moore sr
olmec1
Book Review: The Early Life Of Barack Obama
Summary: 3 Stars
Long before he was a candidate to be President of the United States, or even a candidate for the state legislature, Barack Obama wrote "Dreams from My Father". He had been elected as the first African-American president of the "Harvard Law Review", and if that had been the end of his public career, this book would have long been out of print. But, with Obama running for the U.S. Senate, it was reprinted, and now his Presidential run has undoubtedly increased the interest in this work.
This is an interesting book, though certainly Obama's skill as a writer does not match that of his skill as an orator. The book is divided into three sections: "Origins", a look at his younger days; "Chicago", his decision to move to Chicago and work as a community organizer; and "Kenya", about his visit to see his extended family in the country where his father was born. The edition which I read also includes two introductions: one written for the original release of the book; and a second introduction written for the 2004 edition during his run for U.S. Senate. The book closes with a brief epilogue, and an excerpt from his second book "The Audacity of Hope".
"Origins" is an interesting look at some of the aspects of his growing up. This section is focused primarily on race, which is not surprising considering the reason he was asked to write the book. This section also contains key stories about his family, and most importantly his father, but I wish he had spent more time on that part of his life in this book. The section starts with the period prior to his realizing that race was important, and moves through a brief example of his being embarrassed by it, to a longer period of his taking on what is often considered the typical lifestyle of young black men. Finally he seems to break out of the trap he was falling into and embraces who he really is. The stories are rather a sparse collection from his childhood, so this is by no means a full biography, but one does get a glimpse of the road he took to get to where he is, including a detour into drugs, and touches on the death of his father. It is a story which takes him from Hawaii to Indonesia; to California and on to New York.
"Chicago" covers the period when he decided to become a community organizer. At the time he was in New York City, and initially he seems to be pulled away from his decision by corporate America. He then rededicates himself to his decision, and after some initial difficulties he meets Marty Kaufman, who offers him a position in Chicago, which he decides to take once he realizes that he has not connected with New York. His stories of his initial attempts and initial failures are interesting and insightful. It is in the last chapter of this section where he meets Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., and is introduced to the workings of the Trinity United Church of Christ. This occurs after he has decided to attend Harvard, and it is clear that Reverend Wright had a huge impact on him. It is here that he talks about the "Audacity of Hope" sermon, after which he would title his second book. Reverend Wright has become a controversial figure, and there are some signs of his controversial views in Obama's description, but the real impact appears to be in helping Obama find a connection to his faith, and not a case of Wright's opinion's or views leading Obama away from who he is.
"Kenya" covers Obama's trip to Kenya to meet his relatives before he goes on to attend Harvard. For me this was the most interesting section of the book, as it gives the reader a look at Obama's extended family, and the interactions between the members. It is also a look inside life in Kenya, and Barack's search to get to know his father. It is also in this section where Barack Obama realizes exactly who he is. Barack forms a fairly strong relationship with his half sister Auma, in spite of the distance and the difficulties which it creates. Both of them seem to be searching to define themselves in the world in which they live.
Oddly enough, though it was his being the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review which caused this book to be written, there is very little mention of his time at Harvard included; just a couple paragraphs in the Epilogue cover that period. That is perhaps the weakness of this book, as there are many gaps in his story which are not covered or receive only passing mention. What are included, are undoubtedly the events which he considers the most significant in his search for who he is.
I would have liked to learn more about some other parts of his life as well. The strength of this book is that it was written before Barack had entered the political arena, so while it is certainly possible that he had already decided to pursue such a career, he could not possibly have known how successful he would be, or how far he would go. Thus I believe he was very honest in the telling of his story. Overall, this is not a literary masterpiece, but it is an interesting read and provides insight into a man who is very likely to become the first African-American U.S. President.