Customer Reviews

Barack Obama: An American Story

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Few people are ambivalent when it comes to Mr. Obama and this includes adolescents. For those who want to learn more about his background, this book does an excellent job of surveying those factors and forces that have helped form him. No matter what an adolescent or youth worker's political persuasion is, he or she will find the book helpful in creating rich discussions on numerous topics dealing with politics, family and faith.

While the publisher -- Zondervan -- is seen as a leading publisher of Christian literature and theology, I was pleased to note that the authors took a fair and even-handed young-adult approach to covering Obama's life and career. Tying Obama to the rhetoric of Martin Luther King's call to the "fierce urgency of now," and his electorial success to the "unprecedented level of involvement among young people," they contend that "Obama's story is one that is profoundly rooted in his faith in Jesus Christ" and his involvement in the African-American church.

The first half of the book serves as a recounting of Obama's humble childhood. The autthors write about his parents' divorce, how he learned "the Midwest virtues of hard work and service to one's country" from his grandparents in Hawaii, the confusion he probably felt from being treated as an African-American at school and as a white child at home, and having to grow up without a father (his real father died in an automobile accident in Kenya). In the second half ot the book, we follow his decision to go to Occidental College in California, his transfer to Columbia University and -- after graduation -- his career as a community organizer in New York City and (at 24) in Chicago's South Side. Then, on to the Illinois State Legislature, the U.S. Senate and then to running for President.

This is a fairly thin paperback book -- only 134 pages -- with good-sized print. The vocabulary is straightforward at a junior-to-high-school level, and follows a journalistic style. I agree with another, previous reviewer that it's not an exciting book. But, it's fair, and indepth enough that the reader will know a lot more about Obama's life than when she/he began.

Because he is now in office and the book finishes as he is elected, some will believe that the book is now too dated to buy. I disagree, as I highly recommend it for middle school, high school and for the young adult sections of public libraries as well as for those families who are home-schooling or for Christian school librarians and teachers.

R. Neil Scott, MLS/MBA
Middle Tennessee State University

I plan to share this book with the community and school libraries in my town...and with English, History, Government and Sociology teaching friends in the US and abroad. In language accessible to young people, the inspiring anecdotes in this biography often step beyond politics to focus on the unexpected journey of our new president - a journey that proves the American Dream lives on. Regardless of your personal politics, this life story should empower young people to recognize the strength that education and perseverance offer them to impact the real world, starting today.

Barack Obama: An American Story is a biography of President Barack Obama written especially for teen and young adult readers. Covering his adolescence (raised by a single mother and grandparents), his rise to the top of his class at Harvard Law, his Christian faith, and how he left a well-paying career to enter the realm of public service, Barack Obama: An American Story is more than a true-life biography - it's a motivational story about bettering oneself and reaching for one's dream. Highly recommended for youth collections in both school and public libraries.

Written like a text book - no effort to use lively writing or to engage young readers. Here is an example from the book: "Community organizing is an approach for developing power and relationships throughout local institutions such as congregations, unions, and associations." My son (5th grade) had NO IDEA what the heck that meant, and even if he had grasped the basic idea of it, I'm just amazed at how boring this statement makes the incredibly powerful idea of people working together to fight injustice or fix their communitities or change bad laws, etc...

Here is another random sample, just opening the book and dropping my finger down: "Obama spoke before a crowd of about 1,000 gathered at Federal Plaza in Chicago in October 2002. That crowd included college students, middle-aged people concerned about the Iraq War, and older people who had protested against the Vietnam War 40 years before. This rally was the first public effort in Chicago that spoke out against the Bush administration's plan for war in Iraq." Facts and figures devoid of life. Dry, dry, dry.

The one good thing about this book is that it does use many direct quotes from Obama and his family and friends.

Nevertheless, I do not recommend this book unless your child desperately needs details to fill out a report or write a biography on the President.

Find something else if you want capture your child's imagination or make history come alive or really inspire him/her with Barack Obama's journey to the White House.