Customer Reviews

Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book seemed so promising. It was supposed to be a more intimate look at the Obamas' marriage. However, it is basically a rehash of what was already reported in newspapers, magazines, or culled from interviews and other public comments. It doesn't seem to really focus on the marriage so much as it retells Barack's journey to the White House. I didn't get the behind-the-scenes details the book promised. Several of the Michelle/Barack quotes inserted in the text as if the author interviewed them himself are actually quotes from network evening news interviews that I even remember watching. I think the author also rehashed bits from Barack's Dreams from My Father. There are a few tiny details that I didn't know about - his roommate in NYC and his impressions. That's about it. Everything else is pretty old news. Overall, this books offers very little insight into the Obama marriage and partnership.

The book's quotations are almost all from articles written about the Obamas during the campaign, from Obama's own book, or from David Mendell's bio of Obama. Christopher Andersen's "research" consisted of pulling together work that others did to make a quick buck off of the public's interest in the Obamas. In addition, there are numerous errors throughout the book including getting addresses, dates, etc. You'll get a better sense of the Obama marriage by reading David Mendell's book (see, there's an author who actually conducted his own interviews), or any of the freely available profiles written about the Obamas.

I was looking forward to reading this, thinking the author might come up with some unique insight into the Obama marriage. I was aware that the Obamas and their close friends would probably not cooperate with such a book, and I was also aware that Christopher Andersen is a bit of a hackish celebrity biographer, but I still had hopes that he might do some actual investigative work and come up with some new interviews and sources of information.

I was wrong. If you've read magazine articles about the Obamas (or Obama's own 2 books), you've already read all the information about their marriage contained in this book. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is that Andersen makes blanket assertions that are not attributed to any named source or backed up by any discernible proof. (There are also no end-notes in the book that would indicate who was interviewed and what the sources for particular assertions are. Such end-notes are customary for any biography that wants to be taken seriously).

For instance, he makes the blanket assertion that Obama was in church the day the Rev. Wright made his "God D*** America" sermon. If you followed the 2008 campaign at all, you know that this was actually a very big topic of discussion. Obama says he was not in attendance during that controversial sermon. Hundreds of reporters could not find ANY proof that he was. Neither the Clinton or McCain campaigns, who would have dearly loved to find such proof, could find ANY indication that he was. In fact, the Obama campaign released proof of his official schedule for that day that showed he was actually in Florida on the day in question. Yet here comes Christopher Andersen in his book saying definitively that Obama attended that sermon. That's a pretty bold assertion. He's saying Obama lied. He's saying he found something no other reporter could find in a year of investigation. He should be proud of his "scoop" and tell us how he got this information. Who's his source?... Answer: there is no source. Andersen just makes the assertion, with NO named source or proof for it.

This brazen act of making stunning assertions with NO named sources is repeated throughout the book. He makes the stunning claim that former Weatherman Bill Ayers helped Obama write his first book. What? Who's the source for this? Again, there is none. Repeat, there is NO NAMED SOURCE for this or any other of these assertions. (I remember this bizarre allegation making the rounds of the right-wing blogosphere last year, again without any proof. Andersen simply repeats the fevered imaginings of certain websites here as if they are established fact. He adds no sources or proof of his own. He seems to have just collected any rumors or slanders that bounced around the internet last year and put them in his book as both filler and as a way to attract readers from both sides of the political aisle).

It inspires no confidence in any careful reader that the rest of the book is remotely truthful. It also doesn't help that there are numerous silly errors throughout the book, such as random misspellings of Barack's name as "Barrack" and CBS 60 Minutes reporter Steve Kroft is referred to repeatedly as "Steve Croft".

Pure and simple, this book is a cut-and-paste job combined with unsourced mudslinging. Avoid this travesty and wait for a real reporter to write a book about the Obamas.

This book takes a look at what events and people have shaped both Barack and Michelle in who they are. They are portraid as real people who, in all reality, have a very ordinary marriage, yet an extraordinary focus as a couple. It helped me understand who they are and some of the choices they have made.

I did find out new information about the Obama's in this book. I feel it gives the readers insight on their lives before marriage, during the early years and through the campaign. It doesn't sugar coat their personalities, which I like. If you like politics and history, you will like this book!

I'm not a Fan of Barack but this book was a good read and seemed to be one of the more HONEST things about him.

This book really humanized Barack, and portrays him as a very likable, smart and capable guy.

Not just a handsome guy meets smart woman lawyer story you've heard a thousand times before, this is a true insider account of the Obama's mostly harmonious marriage, with a moment or two of disharmony between Barack and Michelle's mother. ;-)

A tender, heartwarming tale of a true all American president, with some very shocking documents detailing Obama's collaboration with cop killer William Ayers on his first book "Dreams of My Father".

I've just finished immersing myself in Christopher Andersen's terrific new book "Barack and Michelle Portrait of an American Marriage. Before I started reading, I thought I knew an awful lot about the Obamas. Obviously not. We all know the broad outlines of the their story -- his exotic parentage and upbringing and her more familiar story of growing up bright and black in Chicago and facing bigotry at this country's most elite universities. I was especially interested in and impressed by the story of their early days. What has always impressed me about the Obamas is their elegant ease -- the way they connect with people seems genuine and a welcome departure from the usual stilted, artificial interaction we so often see between politicians, their spouses and voters. Andersen's book gives you insight into what molded the President and the First Lady as the author presents, piece by piece, the experiences, people and places that played a role in who they have become. This book should be required reading for everyone who wants to better understand the Obamas. I loved every page of it.

Christopher Andersen's book is nothing but a bunch of sloppily pasted together clips from previous books and articles, supplemented by internet rumors and dubious National Enquirer "stories". There is no original reporting here, no actual new interviews I can see, no sources named, no attributions or endnotes, frequent misspellings of names, frequent mistakes regarding dates, names, places...

Save your money. If you're looking to learn more about the Obamas, this book will only frustrate and disappoint you.

What were Michelle Robinson's first words regarding Barack Obama? "'Barack Obama?' Michelle asked, one hand planted firmly on her hip. `What the hell kind of name is Barack Obama, anyway? Who names their kid Barack Obama?' It wasn't the first time she had listened to a colleague at Sidley & Austin rave about the gifted, handsome, suavely urbane Harvard first -year law student who was coming to work there as a summer associate.'" Michelle who had graduated from Harvard Law a few months before Barack arrived there didn't like the fact she was purposely assigned to mentor the new associate-summer intern. She felt that she was much too busy "to baby sit some guy." She felt she was deliberately being assigned to help another black employee mostly because she too was black.
Well, obviously being instructed to help the new part-time employee Michelle eventually was charmed by the guy with the funny name as he was with her. Thus began the romance of the first Black President and First Lady in United States history. They overcame incredible odds to win the Office of President of the USA. Their victory was also a victory for all Americans. It demonstrated to the entire world that it was possible for a black person to rise to the highest and most powerful elective office in the world. No matter what happened later, Obama would be proof that Americans had come to believe that a person's skin color doesn't bar them from rising to the top of the world in the most freedom-loving nation on the planet.
Having an Afro-American family occupy the White House would change America and the world's perception of America forever. It was time for another revival of Camelot. The magic had returned and this is the story of the modern day King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table--and this time as with John, Jackie, Caroline and John Jr. the White House would be filled with the laughter of children playing in the home of the American Presidents. This book gives the readers a glimpse of how this came about and what it is like for the new First Couple. There is a lot of new information that differs from past media reports but not all of it is bad and most of it is good. This reviewer will leave discovering this material to the readers. This is certainly a very readable biography of a family. Even Obama's critics will find this book enlightening because of information that is brought out like Jeremiah Wright "was instrumental in helping him understand the black experience in America."
"Although years later Barack would claim not to have been aware of Wright's more incendiary comments, the reverend used this sermon--Barack's favorite--to denounce the bombing of Hiroshima as genocide, attack the callousness of U.S. Government leaders, and proclaim that `white folks' greed runs a world in need.' Still, the overriding message of the sermon was one of hope--or, to be precise, the `audacity' of hope." With these comments about Rev. Wright's "Hope Sermon" there is plenty of material to interest any American in this fascinating book.
That said, it's still a basically positive story of the flexibility of the American system that makes it possible for each and every person to reach his potential. This book is definitely worth spending the time to read. It fills in some of the gaps that the public doesn't know about the President and First Lady. It also includes a nice selection of family photos. Some of them will be new to most viewers.