Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope [Paperback]

Elizabeth Lightfoot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2008

Michelle Obama played a large and influential role in her husband's campaign, and is certain to do the same thing during his presidency. Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope examines, for the first time, her astonishing career, from her undergraduate years at Princeton, where she majored in African Studies, to her continuing education at Harvard Law School, where she obtained a Juris Doctor degree. Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope will further examine her influence on her husband, her role in his presidential campaign, and her political beliefs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

No silver spoons. Down-to-earth. Witty. Honest. One-of-a-kind.

 

There is no one quite like her. Michelle Obama. This is the first book to tell the astonishing story of a woman whose intellect, verbal flair, and poise are certain to make her one of the most influential First Ladies in history. A woman whose impassioned speech to the Democratic National Convention may have helped win her husband the Oval Office. A woman touted as a future presidential candidate herself.

 

Readers are given a revealing and intimate look at Michelle Obama’s remarkable life—from her Chicago childhood to her education at Princeton and Harvard, from how she first met Barack Obama at the prestigious law firm where they were the only African Americans, to her role as his closest adviser, and to her own political beliefs. For Michelle, family comes first, and—like so many women who struggle between family and career—she seriously weighed her husband’s presidential ambitions before giving her stamp of approval. Apparently she struck a hard bargain: He had to give up smoking.
 
[We are] driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won’t do—that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.
 That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack’s journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.
That is why I love this country.

 

—Michelle Obama speaking to the Democratic National Convention,
August 25, 2008 

About the Author

Elizabeth Lightfoot has worked as a newspaper and Associated Press reporter, columnist, and magazine writer. She holds a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard and a M.S. in journalism from Columbia. She lives in Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (December 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599215217
• ISBN-13: 978-1599215211
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing, December 5, 2008

By 

Denise L. Plourde-whitehair "DLPW" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope (Paperback)

In the 16 page Preface, and following 10 page Introduction, we learn quickly that Lightfoot was given two months to write the book, and a few days to update it after the general election. We also learn she never interviewed Michelle, and begin to hear her suppositions as to how the Obama family compares to her own. Surprisingly, the Preface and Introduction prove to be better than the following Chapters 1-10 (169 pages of medium sized font, wide spaced print) which are followed by 3 pages of Acknowledgements and another 26 pages of Notes referencing the sources she used to write the book. Anyone who was half paying attention to news broadcasts throughout the election season has already heard everything contained within. Lightfoot shares little we don't already know about Michelle. She often and quickly digresses at length onto other persons and situations in the campaign, and repeats these details again and again in chapter after chapter, all the time giving her opinion and irrelevant thoughts regarding situations. I admit to having stopped reading after Chapter 8 out of sheer boredom and frustration. The book lacks proper editing; at times she speaks to our new President Elect; at other times, it appears she is writing as if the general election decision has not been made yet. Lightfoot quotes and relies on opinions of a British journalist friend, as well as a couple of Michelle's classmates (located in a yearbook) who had little or no interaction with Michelle. It appears throughout that she is struggling to fill the pages in any way she can. I recommend skipping this book entirely. Lightfoot and others should make another attempt only after more of Michelle is revealed to us in her early years as First Lady, or through direct interviews with Michelle and her family.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Success Story that Inspires Me, September 18, 2008

By 

A. Wong - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Michelle Obama: Grace and Intelligence in a Time of Change (Kindle Edition)

I am so excited to read this biography of Michelle Obama. She is smart, beautiful, hard-working, and a dedicated mother. For people who say you can't do it all, Michelle is the proof that you can! And she does it with grace and elegance, all from the heart, with sincerity that many other political figures don't show. My only regret with this Kindle edition is that I can't share it with my daughter!

UPDATE: Now that I've finished the book, I have to say I'm very disappointed. I am a BIG fan of Michelle Obama, but the author wrote this book without ever speaking with, or even having a personal e-mail from, Michelle. She basically Googled Michelle Obama and wrote about whatever she found on the internet. The author pretty quickly exhausts her info about Obama and then spends a lot of the book talking about her own uninteresting suburban life. What a bummer!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars DISAPPOINTING, December 16, 2008

By 

M'shindi's Friend "book enthusiast" (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope (Paperback)

I was so looking forward to a book which would provide some in-depth and substantive information about this remarkable woman who will soon become our First Lady. However, I found that this book fell short of achieving that goal. It was apparent that the author had a short time to write the material in order to fulfill her editor's request and it showed. The inadequacies were underscored when the author revealed that she had not spoken to the subject of this book. How can you write an informed piece about a living person without speaking to her?

Some of her material illustrated that the author was not an authority on politics. Her analyses of some of the political situations that occurred during the race for the White House are shallow and off point.

I am looking forward to finding an excellent biography of Michelle Obama who, I believe, has a great story to tell. Truly, she is an inspiration for many and could be even more so if there is a true biography written about her life.