Customer Reviews

Barack Obama: An American Story

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

 

 

I originally bought this little book for my granddaughter, a kindergartener who idolizes Barack Obama, and one copy for myself. When the book arrived, I quickly read it because I always do the grandmother-preview of all the books I buy for the grandkids. Lo and behold - I found a primer for adults who may just be getting to know Obama and who want to know the basics about who he is, where he's from, and how those circumstances molded him into the Presidential candidate he is today. This (along with the H. Clinton counterpart) should be required reading for all voting Americans. I shared it with several others (adults) and all of them wanted to purchase copies.

This is a great introductory book to Barack Obama written for children. My daughter loves it and it gives a great overview of his life to date. It's short and to the point.

This is really great biography for school-aged children. I've read it with my 7 year old son a couple of times now, and now when he hears or sees Barack Obama on tv, he feels like he knows a bit about him as a person. It's a short book, but is easy to read, and the pictures and illustrations make it very engaging.

This is a very good book for anyone(including adults) who want the facts about Barack Obamas life. Easy read, nice pictures.

Roberta Edwards is a prolific writer -- unless several authors have the same name! Her titles range from INTRODUCING CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY through FIVE SILLY FISHERMEN and SPACE KID to 2008's 48 page children's biography: BARACK OBAMA: AN AMERICAN STORY.

Half or more of those 48 pages are well presented sketches, photos or maps. I suspect that there are many children from ages eight to 14 who would enjoy the book. For adults almost totally unfamiliar with the U.S. Senator from Illinois (if such there be!), Ms Robert's book need not take up more than ten minutes of skimming. There are no big words. There is, to my surprise, no treatment of religion -- anybody's religion. But there is much about race and the white and black ancestors of Barack Obama.

High points of the Senator's life to date include being first black American chosen to be president of the Harvard Law Review, his 2004 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, being sworn in as a U.S. Senator in 2005 by Vice President Richard Cheney and a vigorous campaign for President of the USA which began in February 2007.

I am glad I read the book. It is unpretentious, skillfully put together, succinct and well illustrated. -OOO-

This is a good children's biography of Barack Obama. Most facts seem to be taken from his autobiographies. It contains good information and is great for kids.

By older children, I mean the 6-8 crowd of the recommended ages 4-8. I think parts of this book are too advanced for even some kindergarteners, but it has great pictures and definitely enough information for an adult to paraphrase for the 4-5 year old child.

I bought this for my preschool to introduce the children to voting and presidents for upcoming election day. I won't be able to use this whole book verbetim, but definitely will use parts and paraphrase. I do think that a 1st grader will be able to understand it with an adult there to answer questions. Probably perfectly targeted towards the 2-3rd graders, not just for the language used, but for the concepts presented as well.

I bought this book because i wanted to learn a bit about Obana, since he was running for president.
When it came i was amazed that it was written at a level
children could understand.
I was so impressed with the book that i ordered one for each of my Great Grandchildren. My Grandchildren have enjoyed it as well. It is easy reading and gives anyone a good sense of his life.
I believe it showes children ( or adults) that no matter where you come from, or how poor you are if you really want to do something ,and work at it , you will succeed.

Barrack Obama - An American Story.
I was very dissappointed in this book. It was written for children. I wish there had been a better explanation on the type of book this was, I would not have wasted my money on it.

This is not a children's book. It is a work of propaganda. It should be titled, "How to Win Voters and Influence the Media By Playing the Race Card".
1. Obama's only real-world experience during his legal and political career is playing the race card. But for the race card, he would still be a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. He has no experience whatever as an executive, manager, or trial atorney. As president his total lack of executive experience would damage America the same way that Mayor Ray Nagin's lack of executive experience has damages New Orleand, But if anyone criticizes Obama, he, his wife, or his surrogates in the media (e.g. Chris Matthews and Andrea Mitchell) will play the race card.
2. Obama's sonorous voice and million dollar smile are not a substitute for his lack of judgment. His decisions on almost every political, economic and social issue have been wrong, and have caused him to lip-flop. He lacks the gravitas required of a president.
3. Obama's so-called policies are jive talk. Like Hitler, he is a charismatic speaker. Like Hitler, he believes that he is the messiah. But like Hitler, he has refused to articulate the "changes" that his political, economic and social policies will cause to America . There is no evidence to support his apocryphal claims. One recent example of his jive talk is his position on the military. Although he has consistently voted against the military, he argued to the VFW that he was pro-military because his relatives had served in the military! Only Democrats can accept the "logic" of his
argument.
4. Obama is a de jure but not a de facto American. He grew up in the alien and exotic cultures in both Hawaiiand Indonesia. After law school, he worked in the hate-filled neighborhoods of South Chicago. As Mark Penn, Hillary's strategist, said, he does not have "roots in America". He does not share our values and culture. His anti-American conduct speaks louder than his pro-American words. The disconnect between his words and actions is like that of his colleague John Edwards who's love affair with a TV producer contradicted hisrhetoric on marital fidelity and family values.
5. Like Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown, Obama is a black separatist. For 20 years, he and his wife approved and supported the hate-speech and hate-ideas of Rev. Wright. Although he is bi-racial, he has chosen to align himself with the Black Establishment and the Congressional Black Caucus. If elected president, he will protect their interests, not the nation's interests. The undisputed evidence supports these claims of his racial animus. First, during the primaries he threw his white grandmother under the bus during the debate about race. If elected, he will do the same to white Ameriica. Second, even now he and his campaign are working to register black voters, but not white voters. How could a man who acts like that unite all Americans?
6. Obama's wife Michelle is an open and notorious anti-American. She speaks and acts as if she was the wife of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. She has spent her academic and professional life scorning American values and culture. Her senior thesis proves that she eschewes American values.Even though she is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, and is campaigning for her husband, Obama has made veiled threats to send "boz from the hood" to beat up anyone who dares to criticizes Michelle.
7. The Democrat's lust for the presidency is so great that they are willing to wink at Obama lack of qualification to be President of the United States and Commander in Chief of our armed forces. Like the German industrialists in 1930s Germany who thought that they could control Hitler, they think that in 21st
Century America that they can control Obama. They are wrong. Only Democrats would put their party's interests ahead of the nation's interests, and place our nuclear arsenal in the hands of an unqualified and untested person like Obama.
8. Independent voters should read this book in conjunction with two other books: Obama Nation and The Case Against Barack Obama. They should weigh the evidence. Then they should decide whether they and the nation should assume the risking of electing as president a person like Obama who is not "of the people, by the people, or for the people".