The Promise: President Obama, Year One [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Jonathan Alter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2010

Barack Obama’s inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of “Change We Can Believe In” was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama’s historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery.

In The Promise: President Obama, Year One, Jonathan Alter, one of the country’s most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obama’s difficult debut.

What happened in 2009 inside the Oval Office? What worked and what failed? What is the president really like on the job and off-hours, using what his best friend called “a Rubik’s Cube in his brain?" These questions are answered here for the first time. We see how a surprisingly cunning Obama took effective charge in Washington several weeks before his election, made trillion-dollar decisions on the stimulus and budget before he was inaugurated, engineered colossally unpopular bailouts of the banking and auto sectors, and escalated a treacherous war not long after settling into office.

The Promise is a fast-paced and incisive narrative of a young risk-taking president carving his own path amid sky-high expectations and surging joblessness. Alter reveals that it was Obama alone—“feeling lucky”—who insisted on pushing major health care reform over the objections of his vice president and top advisors, including his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who admitted that “I begged him not to do this.”

Alter takes the reader inside the room as Obama prevents a fistfight involving a congressman, coldly reprimands the military brass for insubordination, crashes the key meeting at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, and bounces back after a disastrous Massachusetts election to redeem a promise that had eluded presidents since FDR.

In Alter’s telling, the real Obama is an authentic, demanding, unsentimental, and sometimes overconfident leader. He adapted to the presidency with ease and put more “points on the board” than he is given credit for, but neglected to use his leverage over the banks and failed to connect well with an angry public. We see the famously calm president cursing leaks, playfully trash-talking his advisors, and joking about even the most taboo subjects, still intent on redeeming more of his promise as the problems mount.

This brilliant blend of journalism and history offers the freshest reporting and most acute perspective on the biggest story of our time. It will shape impressions of the Obama presidency and of the man himself for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Author and Newsweek editor Alter (The Defining Moment: FDR'S Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope) chronicles Obama's first year (plus) as U.S. President, from pre-inauguration planning through the passage of health care reform in March, 2010, in this engaging, fast-moving contemporary history. Exploring Obama's "temperament, his approach to decision making, and his analysis of his ambitious first year," as well as the overarching questions of "What happened?" and "How well did he do?", Alter will remind readers why they voted as they did, and why Obama was ultimately victorious. Tasked with "the worst set of problems of any incoming president since Roosevelt in 1933," Obama served up a range of big-ticket solutions that included "the huge and underappreciated stimulus package, the auto bailouts, bank rescue and regulation... sending sixty-one thousand more troops to Afghanistan, and a health care bill," each of which Alter addresses in depth. Alter finds that, despite the denial of right-wingers, Obama performed admirably in the first year, with progress on 50 percent of his campaign promises (and completion of 18 percent). Alter's prose is swift and subtly inspiring; the "Yes, we can!" motto rarely appears but provides an undercurrent for his record of accomplishment. Readers interested in political process and the reality of progressive politics will enjoy this well-considered take on the current administration, a "second draft" of history from a dedicated journalist who wisely anticipates "dozens more versions to come."

From Bookmarks Magazine

Drawing on insider access and more than 200 interviews with key players, Washington veteran Jonathan Alter examines the nascent Obama presidency with a journalist's eye for the telling detail and a historian's perspective. Despite the transparency that the office of president demands (for the most part), Obama remains enigmatic--ebullient, confident, and optimistic; aloof, demanding, and maybe a bit out of touch. Alter, whose obvious admiration for Obama never impedes his journalistic instincts (he candidly discusses Obama's missteps with Wall Street, for example), captures those contradictions well. Presidential chroniclers won't have the advantage of hindsight for some time, but "when it comes ... to the first draft of history, The Promise is more polished--and far more thoughtful--than most" (Los Angeles Times).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition, First Printing edition (May 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439101191
• ISBN-13: 978-1439101193
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jonathan Alter (b. 1957, Chicago, Illinois) is an author, journalist,and television commentator. Since 1983, he has been a correspondent and columnist for Newsweek. He is also an analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, where he appears three or four times a week.
Alter is the author of "The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope" (2006), a national bestseller, and "The Promise: President Obama, Year One" (2010), which went to number 4 on the New York Times Bestseller List and was named one of the 100 "Notable Books of the Year" by the Times. He is also the author of "Between the Lines: A View Inside American Politics, Media and Culture" (2008), a collection of his Newsweek columns.
He lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife, Emily Lazar, a producer for "The Colbert Report," and their three children, Charlotte, Tommy and Molly.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable, vivid and balanced., August 27, 2010

By 

Marjorie (Lafayette, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Promise: President Obama, Year One (Hardcover)

This is a vivid description of the day-to-day operation of the Obama administration in the chaotic first year of his presidency. Overall, I think it was a fair assessment of both Obama's strengths and his weaknesses.

I'm surprised that some of the reviewers here think that Alter's book is overly biased in favor of Obama.

It's clear that the writer thinks highly of Obama personally -- he portrays him as highly intelligent and possessed of effective leadership skills. But Alter is also very clear-eyed about where Obama has gone wrong in the first year of his presidency.

Alter gives Obama credit for actions early in the presidency (the bank and automaker bail-outs) that were unpopular, but probably saved the recession from tipping over into a depression, and for the historic health care legislation. With health care, Obama delivered on something that presidents since FDR have tried and failed to do. Nobody thinks it is a perfect plan but it is something that can be built on.

But Alter faults Obama in other crucial areas -- particularly jobs and housing. Obama, as portrayed by Alter, errs in relying too heavily on one set of economists -- Geithner, Summers, and their acolytes -- while essentially ignoring contradictory views. Everything had to be funnelled through Summers. Obama, in Alter's analysis, thereby encloses himself in the "bubble" that he had said he was going to try to avoid.

Alter also faults Obama for failing to communicate effectively with the American people about what he was trying to do. Obama's cool, unemotional personality does not serve him well, in a situation which required the warmth and empathy that an FDR or a Clinton were able to convey.

Alter's conclusion, apparently somewhat surprising to the writer himself, is that Obama turned out to be best at what was least expected of him -- effective executive management -- and worst in the area where he (as one of the most inspirational and eloquent speakers in recent history) was expected to shine -- communicating with the people.

151 of 208 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Biased account, but with inside access, May 19, 2010

By 

Enjolras (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Promise: President Obama, Year One (Hardcover)

I am an independent who voted for Obama in 2008 and don't regret it (although I am somewhat disappointed in his first year). However, in writing books about politicians, the political scientist in me believes it is crucial to remain objective and try to separate the spin from the reality. For whatever reason, all too often the journalists with the best access in political circles also tend to be the most biased or least analytical. Unfortunately, Jonathan Alter's The Promise: President Obama, Year One is no exception. This book is, to put it kindly, very sympathetic toward the administration.

What do I mean by "sympathetic"? I don't certainly mind if an author admires his subject or favors his policy choices. However, Alter seems determined to find no fault with Obama and dismiss all of his failures as the fault of others. In the introduction, Alter seems to blame Obama's first-year woes on the president's overconfidence in the - get this - the American people. Too often, voters are portrayed as dumb, Republicans as devious, and Obama's policy choices as all brilliant, if misunderstood. However, let's be honest - there are many people who have honest concerns about Obama's policies. I myself agree with some (foreign policy), but not others (healthcare). Sometimes, I got the sense Alter simply repeated spin from the administration. This sort of bias in The Promise: President Obama, Year One is simply unacceptable in real a history.

This type of "journalistic history" book is really built around a few revealing anecdotes, without much substance or depth. Probably the biggest reveal is that Greg Craig was offered a judgeship in an attempt to get him to leave the White House quietly. Of course, if you live outside the Beltway, you probably don't know who Greg Craig even is. There are also some interesting comparisons between Obama and Bill Clinton by staffers who worked for both. However, frankly, you could probably read about the most interesting tidbits on Politico's or other political blogs. I wouldn't recommend buying the book unless you're a political junkie.

Overall, this is a 3-star book - with that third star added in recognition of Alter's hard work getting access and anecdotes. As a study of Obama's first year, it falls short.

A note on the audiobook: Jonathan Alter reads it himself, which is a nice touch.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gain Respect For The Office, December 20, 2010

By 

MasterAP (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Promise: President Obama, Year One (Hardcover)

Filling my need for political back-stories came in Jonathan Alter's book, The Promise.

Alter takes us through the first year of President Obama's first term. It isn't so in depth that you will become bored, but the pace kept me turning the pages.

As with many political books, I couldn't keep this on the end table. Whenever I would try to take a break, I was compelled to return to the story of Obama's presidency.

Alter plays the "all things equal" cared fairly well. He points out some of the failures that took place under President Bush, while also giving him kudos for the things that worked. He calls Bush's presidency a failure and I would think that's a bit too soon to declare.

Alter is not afraid to point out the missteps and mistakes that Obama made. So this book shouldn't get either side angry.

You'll get to hear how President Obama feels about being a one-term President (a real possibility) and you'll understand why he put all of his political capital on big issue items like Health Care Reform and Finance Reform.

With his closest advisers telling him to wait a few months/years, President Obama wanted his legacy to be in reform.

Read this book to see how his first year dealt with angry Republicans, snotty Democrats and gain a little more respect for the office of President.