Pete Souza, an award-winning photojournalist, documents the rise of the charismatic Barack Obama from his first day in the U.S. Senate right up to the Pennsylvania primary in April 2008.More than 80 percent of these candid and stunning photographs, capturing private and political moments, have not been seen before.Souza provides extended commentary about each photo to place it in context and describe the scene and participants. Photo by photo, the viewer is allowed to examine the senator and candidate's path to the very cusp of history.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By Scott Forbes
Format:Hardcover
I took time out after lunch today from my efforts to be "productive" to find something unexpected, something to pump a little energy into my waning self.
The first thing I saw was a bookstore, and I stepped in. It didn't take me long to find photographer and writer Pete Souza's book, The Rise of Barack Obama. It's kind of a "coffee table book" or a photography-lover's book. The reproductions aren't the best I've ever seen (and I'm a "stickler," as I collect fine art and journalistic photography books regularly), but they are pretty good on the whole.
What's a more important matter than that is "How good is the book?" Well, it's very good.
I shed tears every week or every other week, often while watching movies (but elsewhere, too), and I like doing that. It's part of living - both crying tears of sadness and joy - and I'm not embarrassed to come to tears, not even in public.
Souza's book brought me to watery eyes in just a few minutes. There's a lot of beautiful pictures in this book, especially when seen by those who admire Senator Obama the way I do.
This first picture that got me is on pages 20-21, taken during a town hall meeting in Illinois, where Obama is cheek-to-cheek in embrace with a white woman (her face is dominant as it's on the side of their hug that's closer to the camera). She is radiant in her smile. And then you look throughout the photograph and see that everyone there - a mix of the races we are - all seem to have sparkle in their eyes and a glow in their spirits.
Another white woman at a rally - named in the caption as "student Lauren McGill" - who holds a Time magazine with Obama on the cover that reads "Why Barack Obama Could Be the Next President," again, glows with hopefulness and happiness (pages 118-119).
There are touching pictures of the Senator with his daughters. My favorite was a beautiful candid of him with the younger Sasha, cheek-to-cheek. She is smiling; he is seriously tender, his head pressing tightly against his girl.
Another family picture I admire shows Michelle's number one priority in life - being "Mom" - as she sits casually on some riser steps in the back area of a rally with her daughters at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa (pages 128-129).
A sea of Kenyan men - almost all in the photograph with the same intense look of expectancy, curiosity and subdued excitement in seeing the African American Senator in their country - is a magnificent work of photojournalism. The particulars of the emotion of the moment are captured in these faces, and, structurally-speaking, the picture shows the men all looking boldly in the same direction with not an eye blinking. It makes for an exciting, intense image.
Maybe the strongest photograph of all is on pages 156-157, one of a young African-American woman with tightly pursed lips smiling, her eyes both smiling and crying, at a Pennsylvania State University rally in March of this year. Tears have been flowing down her face freely. The picture holds, for me, all of these: bursting joy, pride, rightness, gladness, equity, happiness, hope, and even love.
This is a movement.
It could be said that Souza's book is a highly-edited version of Obama, the man, as well as the public's reaction to him. So be it - it is. But, I dare anyone to find me another person living today that you can find a cache of positive photos this size that could create an equally moving book on anyone else in modern public life. If you look at the book, you just know it's rare for this to happen.
One thing about Souza's collection that history will note, if we do not, is that Obama is clearly a minority among white men (and sometimes women) in the photographs of him "at work" in Washington. I sense that it takes a lot of courage, wherewithal, and an unwavering sense of purpose for someone to endure this. A lot of people do such things, a lot of people can, but more of us aren't willing to put ourselves out there in various uncomfortable situations where we might not "fit in." For Obama to do this as well as he does, without succumbing to feelings or thoughts of alienation or frustration, and to be so charismatic and positive a figure as he is while doing so, you have to admit the candidacy of this man - as it careens through the hearts of so many of us - is very likely what we have to call "a movement."
The first thing I saw was a bookstore, and I stepped in. It didn't take me long to find photographer and writer Pete Souza's book, The Rise of Barack Obama. It's kind of a "coffee table book" or a photography-lover's book. The reproductions aren't the best I've ever seen (and I'm a "stickler," as I collect fine art and journalistic photography books regularly), but they are pretty good on the whole.
What's a more important matter than that is "How good is the book?" Well, it's very good.
I shed tears every week or every other week, often while watching movies (but elsewhere, too), and I like doing that. It's part of living - both crying tears of sadness and joy - and I'm not embarrassed to come to tears, not even in public.
Souza's book brought me to watery eyes in just a few minutes. There's a lot of beautiful pictures in this book, especially when seen by those who admire Senator Obama the way I do.
This first picture that got me is on pages 20-21, taken during a town hall meeting in Illinois, where Obama is cheek-to-cheek in embrace with a white woman (her face is dominant as it's on the side of their hug that's closer to the camera). She is radiant in her smile. And then you look throughout the photograph and see that everyone there - a mix of the races we are - all seem to have sparkle in their eyes and a glow in their spirits.
Another white woman at a rally - named in the caption as "student Lauren McGill" - who holds a Time magazine with Obama on the cover that reads "Why Barack Obama Could Be the Next President," again, glows with hopefulness and happiness (pages 118-119).
There are touching pictures of the Senator with his daughters. My favorite was a beautiful candid of him with the younger Sasha, cheek-to-cheek. She is smiling; he is seriously tender, his head pressing tightly against his girl.
Another family picture I admire shows Michelle's number one priority in life - being "Mom" - as she sits casually on some riser steps in the back area of a rally with her daughters at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa (pages 128-129).
A sea of Kenyan men - almost all in the photograph with the same intense look of expectancy, curiosity and subdued excitement in seeing the African American Senator in their country - is a magnificent work of photojournalism. The particulars of the emotion of the moment are captured in these faces, and, structurally-speaking, the picture shows the men all looking boldly in the same direction with not an eye blinking. It makes for an exciting, intense image.
Maybe the strongest photograph of all is on pages 156-157, one of a young African-American woman with tightly pursed lips smiling, her eyes both smiling and crying, at a Pennsylvania State University rally in March of this year. Tears have been flowing down her face freely. The picture holds, for me, all of these: bursting joy, pride, rightness, gladness, equity, happiness, hope, and even love.
This is a movement.
It could be said that Souza's book is a highly-edited version of Obama, the man, as well as the public's reaction to him. So be it - it is. But, I dare anyone to find me another person living today that you can find a cache of positive photos this size that could create an equally moving book on anyone else in modern public life. If you look at the book, you just know it's rare for this to happen.
One thing about Souza's collection that history will note, if we do not, is that Obama is clearly a minority among white men (and sometimes women) in the photographs of him "at work" in Washington. I sense that it takes a lot of courage, wherewithal, and an unwavering sense of purpose for someone to endure this. A lot of people do such things, a lot of people can, but more of us aren't willing to put ourselves out there in various uncomfortable situations where we might not "fit in." For Obama to do this as well as he does, without succumbing to feelings or thoughts of alienation or frustration, and to be so charismatic and positive a figure as he is while doing so, you have to admit the candidacy of this man - as it careens through the hearts of so many of us - is very likely what we have to call "a movement."
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The photographs by Pete Souza in the fascinating collection "The Rise of Barack Obama" tell us much about Obama, more than what is expressed in the depth of his expressions: his wisdom, compassion, concern, dilemmas, and his hope. These poignant, spontaneous photos portray how he is viewed by those who come in contact with him - friends, colleagues, supporters, and his family, especially his two young daughters, who show us, in their expressions of joy and love for their father, the meaning of family values. Souza's images of Obama over the years he spent with him are the classic pictures of an American during his ascendency.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Miriam
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Pete Souza's book is impressive on many levels, beginning with the amazing photographs he so expertly produced over the years he followed Senator Obama. I was brought to tears several times by the powerful images of the senator with his family, in congress, in our country, and in the world, giving me the sense that I have had a privileged window into the life of a hard-working, committed, capable statesman. Souza's work is photojournalism at its most impressive, perfectly rendering the day-to-day life of an icon from up close and from a distance. One shot may be through the window blinds of a crowded office, another is a closeup of a furrowed brow. The coming together of art, life, and politics, right there in your hand. This book is a treasure!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pete Souza
This man know how to work a camera, his angles are astonishing, something else I suspect he must have mastered is levitation, as he captures scenes only a bird or a mountain... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Pamela A. Buckingham
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foretelling The Future, Souza Decides To Document Obama's Rise
Pete Souza was a White House Photographer for Ronald Reagan and had spent more than 25 years working in Washington, D.C. Read more
Published 5 months ago by James R. Holland
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving and informative
This book is very informative and enlightening. The excellent photography is moving, brings to life the loving, caring family man that Barack Obama is. Ends on Nov. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mo Go's
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful!
A beautiful book with awesome pictures of history being made of the first African American President and the first family. A must for your coffee table.
Published 18 months ago by Alysia D. Banks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who was this man, Barack Obama, who became President?
This book is filled with excellent photographs of Barack Obama from the time he became "known" until he was elected President of the United States. Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. Guild
3.0 out of 5 stars
No new news but a good collectible
Probably because President Obama is so widely covered by media, I have not found the content of the book to be informative. Read more
Published on June 26, 2009 by T. Stone
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rise of Barack Obama
I had seen some of the candid shots Pete Souza had taken of Barack Obama and read that he was the official White House photographer. Read more
Published on April 4, 2009 by Helen M. Bannerman
1.0 out of 5 stars
What photos won't show...
I did not see the magic in this book. It was complete propaganda devoid of even a hint of objectivity.
Published on March 23, 2009 by B. Parsons
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rise of Barak Obama
Excellent set of photos especiially given most can not be made again today after Obama's taken the oath.
Published on January 31, 2009 by Gary J. Kirksey
5.0 out of 5 stars
An essential work
My great-great-great grandchildren will look through this book and know why I had to buy it. Hopefully, although they will never have met me, they will understand me and my era a... Read more
Published on January 15, 2009 by X
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