The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth [Paperback]

Joseph Vogel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2007

Why Barack Obama? This was the question posed to students and young professionals across the country in the wake of the senator’s historic announcement for president in Springfield, Illinois. The responses came pouring in from all corners of America.
The Obama Movement is a collection of these fascinating and diverse responses.
Not since the Kennedys in the 1960s has a politician so energized the youth of America. The key distinction is that today’s generation is mobilizing through technology and online networking in ways unimaginable to previous campaigns. Hundreds of thousands of previously turned off young people have tuned into the vision of the former community organizer from South Chicago. Online groups have swelled into the hundreds of thousands, creative ads by supporters have dominated YouTube, and interest has translated into record-setting donations and massive turnouts in Iowa and New Hampshire, Nevada and Texas.
The Obama Movement contains the personal stories of young people in the trenches of one of the most exciting and significant elections in American history—and reveals why they are determined to make their voices count in 2008.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JOSEPH VOGEL is the author of Free Speech 101 and the founder of Barack the Youth Vote, a grassroots organization with members across the country. He has appeared in numerous newspaper, radio, and T.V. interviews and writes for the Huffington Post.

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (September 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595467032
• ISBN-13: 978-0595467037
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,412,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JOSEPH VOGEL is the author of three books, including Man in the Music: The Creative Life & Work of Michael Jackson (2011). Vogel writes about popular music and culture for The Huffington Post and PopMatters. He resides in New York where he is a doctoral candidate and instructor at the University of Rochester.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Collection of Young Voices, October 21, 2007

By 

John K. Wilson (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth (Paperback)

This short collection of essays by young supporters of Obama (ranging from high school students to recent college grads) provides some insight into why Barack Obama's campaign is about more than winning a campaign, and instead could build a progressive movement.

Sarah Carter (granddaughter of Jimmy Carter) offers some celebrity to the collection, and one of the best essays in the book. Unfortunately, with 25 essays spanning only 95 pages, there's not a lot of substance to most of the commentary. But it provides a diverse, readable group of essays about why Obama is so appealing to youth in America.

In my book, Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest, I write about Generation Obama and the potential of a new youth movement merged with a political campaign, and this collection is a useful introduction to that movement.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look at Barack's explosion of popularity with the youth of America, June 6, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth (Paperback)

Barack Obama has, even months from the November 2008 election, come as far as any minority ever has come to capturing the presidency. "The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth" is a look at Barack's explosion of popularity with the youth of America, asking various young voters throughout the country why they support Barack Obama - a segment of the voting population which is usually woefully under-represented in each election. "The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth" is a deftly compiled and highly recommended addition to community library political collections.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars read it if you care, December 13, 2007

By 

KENDRA CAPENRILEY (West Hartford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Obama Movement: Why Barack Obama Speaks to America's Youth (Paperback)

There is a reason Obama is running for president - it's important to become educated and understand what you believe in and why...I am following this movement and I haven't even committed 100% to Obama. Everyone needs to read, research, and build on their knowledge...this is a good place to start.