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Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance |  | Author: Barack Obama
Brand: Audio Books
Category: Book
List Price: £18.99
Buy New: £4.89
as of 12/3/2010 15:06 MST details
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New (30) Used (4) from £4.89
Seller: tonysdiscs
Rating:  157 reviews
Sales Rank: 27478
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Items: 6
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.9
MPN: 9781847673282
ISBN: 1847673287
EAN: 9781847673282
ASIN: 1847673287
Publication Date: August 21, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Written & Narrated by Barack Obama
Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the many refreshing things about Barack Obama is his self-deprecating sense of humour. Responding to the unrealistic expectations for his presidency, Obama said 'I've been sent by my father from the planet Krypton to save the Earth.' Unfortunately, the irony of this self-comparison to Superman was probably lost on many of his dedicated followers, who clearly believe that – once in office – he can exercise a few super powers and rid the world of all its thronging ills, economic and otherwise. But as Dreams from My Father proves, Obama is no fool, and knows the cold realities that face him, even though this intelligently written book is filled with optimism and hope. Which is understandable enough; after all, what else could Obama offer?The politicians who can actually write may be counted on one hand, but on the evidence here, Barack is among their number (he reminds us that William Faulkner said the past is never dead and buried – it isn’t even past; can you imagine Barack's predecessor in the Oval Office quoting Faulkner – unless the allusion was written for him by one of his speechwriters?). In fact the book -- Obama’s remarkable life story – was, of course, written before his destiny was irrevocably changed by his success in the US presidential election, and it is a striking account of a young man coming to terms with the problem of his identity and issues of belonging in a racially divided country (a racial division that Obama – by the very example of his success – may do a considerable amount towards healing). The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama details the dramatic journey that constituted his parents’ life before his own trip to Kenya to confront the sobering realties of his father’s life. It is a book about coming to terms with the past – and comparisons with writers such as Proust in such areas are not as ridiculous as they would be if almost any other politician were involved. Dreams from My Father gives real hope that âdumbing down’ – in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator – will not be the hallmark of the Obama presidency. --Barry Forshaw
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 157
 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance March 4, 2010
Mr. Marlon A. Bromfield (Dudley, England)
Superb presentation, read by him too, wow! it's amazing and very personal as the President of the United States of America gives a frank warts and all coverage of his youth to man hood history. In one section of this book Lolo, Barracks step father offers to get Barrack some tiger meat, in Indonesian culture some believe the eating of particular animals gives strength direction and power! These ideas set a young boys imagination in motion.... this young boy grew to become an audacious man of principal... Simply brilliant, loved every minute.
Sincere coming-of-age story January 28, 2010
Mr Ulster (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Difficult to add any enlightened review of a book read by so many. I enjoyed reading this pre-candidate autobiography, perhaps because of my personal hobby of genealogy. Obama provides insights to his personality, through the story of his own family history, which spans several continents and cultures.
To pick just one episode, as a school-age boy, he met his father for the first time (after some years of separation). Obama was embarrassed by bravado of the Old Man, and just wanted to get along, not stand out, among his childhood peers. Only later did his father's demeanour and behaviour intrigue him to discover more.
Brought forward, Obama recalls a trip that he and his sister Auma made, while in Kenya, to visit their father's youngest child, George:
"From the car, we watched George return to his friends, quickly indistinguishable from the others with round heads and knobby knees who were chasing a scuffed football through the grass. I found myself suddenly remembering then my first meeting with the Old Man, the fear and discomfort that his presence had caused me, forcing me for the first time to consider the mystery of my own life. And I took comfort in the fact that perhaps one day, when he was older, George, too, might want to know who his father had been, and who his brothers and sisters were, and that if he ever came to me I would be there for him, to tell him the story I knew."
Obama could have as easily been talking about his own children. Thus, he comes full circle with his father-son relationship, and is ready for the next generation. Otherwise known as signs of adulthood and maturity.
And that is why I enjoyed Dreams from my Father. Coming-of-age books are good reads, all the better when written with such sincerity. Let us see more of them.
 Dreary waffle January 20, 2010
Mr. J. J. Percival (Hungerford(ish), UK)
A rather dreary account of what purports to be the defining events and memories of a man standing on the brink of entering politics that just happened to do quite well at the whole American dream thing. To my mind it reads rather like the opening manifesto for a presidential nominee (and not a bad one acually), full of anecdotes that seem to have no other purpose than to seek to differentiate him from the next candidate. I was expecting more, he is after all an interesting character, but the events read as contrived and I can't help but think a great deal of embellishment has been allowed to creap in. Dissapointing, I'd wait a few years till he publishes his memoirs - now that should be an interesting read and a half.
Mr. McPresident, Where Are Your Ideas? January 4, 2010
ianrmillard
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"When a dauntless man's spirit is black and white mixed, like the magpie's plumage, blame and praise alike will unfailingly befall him" (Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival).
This book is described on the blurb as a "No. 1 Bestseller" but that is true only because, in 2004, when Obama, a man with an African father and white American mother, first looked like possibly becoming President of the USA, a lot of Americans went out and bought it. When it was first published in 1995, it fell like a stone.
The problem (one problem) with the USA is that its presidential people are marketed like soapflakes. When I lived in the USA in the early 1990's, Clinton was always shown on his campaign plane, reading a big book, a large hardback invariably. That showed he was Clever and Educated...he was, but the point is that it had to be shown.
In this book, Obama spins a few not very interesting thoughts around his background, what it was like to visit Kenya (his views on British colonialism in Kenya are nothing but superficial unthinking rubbish, by the way) and a few other ideas around whether the blacks in America should integrate or separate off as advocated at the time by the Nation of Islam, an anti-Jewish group which had many converts around 1990. At least they are not in the pocket of the bankers and financiers, as is Obama (they were his main backers, not the publicized millions of internet-ing local people etc. That was at least largely propaganda.
Obama says that his Kenyan aunts were still tribal thinkers. His own tribe (via the father) the Luo, are apparently thought of in Kenya as "intelligent but lazy". Maybe there is something in that, looking at Obama, with his education, eloquence (especially now that he has stopped using the world "extraordinary" in every sentence...well, at least it is not sit-u-a-shun!...). His policies are the same as those of George W. Bush (as I predicted) and he has not really accomplished anything unless you count his attempt to reform American healthcare.
Not very inspiring. Depressingly as expected.
Brilliant Mr President January 1, 2010
Sir Digby Essex (Essex)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
A fantastic read and a brilliant story. How lucky America is is to have a great guy like this as their leader.
We in the UK have had Blair and worse now got Brown who are both completely useless.
Obama`s rise from the slums to the White House is the stuff of fairy tales.
He is without doubt apart from Bob Marley, Nelson Mandela and Mike Tyson the greatest black man in the history of the world.
God Bless America for voting for him.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 157
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