Customer Reviews

The Inauguration of Barack Obama: A Photographic Journal

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want a good reminder of Barack Obama's inauguration, this handsome hardcover is it. It brings back all the goosebump moments. It's the result of the Washington Post's exhaustive coverage of the event, which employed over 100 photographers and reporters.

It makes a nice bookend with the new New York Times book Obama: The Historic Journey as well as, of course, The Audacity of Hope.

Big and beautiful enough to be a coffee table book, The Inauguration of Barack Obama is more than a collection of photos. Also included is a stirring foreword by Washington Post Editor-at-Large Ben Bradlee, who recalls the first inauguration he attended, of John F. Kennedy, and writes: "This shift of power is orderly, but it's always exciting. It's the essence of democracy." Though the coverage of it isn't as thorough as in the Times book, Obama's story is detailed, too, from childhood through young adulthood -- when he, in his own words, burned inwardly with a "knotted, howling assertion of self" -- through his marriage and family life. At the back of the book is the full text of the Inaugural Address.

I like the variety of photos. One spread shows the thousands gathered for the ceremony itself, another simply Obama's hand encircling his wife's waist on the Day of Service. A sober tribute from Obama and Biden at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is followed by a sweet portrait of Biden holding his young grandson. My favorites are the more candid, silly shots: First lady Michelle Obama getting her gown stepped on by her husband while dancing; daughter Sasha playfully holding her hand in front of her sister Malia's camera, ruining her photo; bundled-up fans at 4 a.m. on the National Mall looking like mummies in their sleeping bags.

The presidential seal on the dust jacket is embossed into the glossy paper. Underneath, the cover of the book looks exactly like the dust jacket, front cover and back.

Here's the chapter list:

Foreword by Ben Bradlee
1. Road to the Presidency
2. Inauguration Weekend: Day 1, Destination: Washington, D.C.
3. Inauguration Weekend: Day 2, Honoring the Dead, Raising a Chorus
4. Inauguration Weekend: Day 3, Answering a Call to Service
5. Inauguration Day: All Eyes on the Moment
6. Text of Inaugural Address
7. Afterword

If You want to see what all took place on that great historical day.
Who was there" What clothes they wore" What were the parades like" How big was the crowd " lots of pictures of the first lady and the new president" Millitary and secret service attendance" Pictures of the inauguration ceremony" The party's after the inauguration" The two girls Sasha & Malia Obama.
It's all here in vibrant and beautiful color , for you to treasure for all time.
Buy it ; it is full & complete.

The Washington Post captured like no other table-top book on the rise and inauguration of President Barack Obama. This pictorial captures the events like you were there.

Despite all the rave reviews of this book I found it to be quite disappointing and not at all what I expected or wanted. It covered alot on the people coming to the inaugural weekend and event but not enough on the president and his family. Lots of photos of flag wavers and crowds just not enough focus on the Obamas per se - the inauguration and all their events. The book is uninspiring and simply boring. Other than that the photos are nice and the book in general (minus the content) is layed out well. In addition my book arrived damaged and crushed with a marred up cover. Total bum deal all around.

This is a keepsake book for us to remember the time when Barack Hussein Obama (BHO), the first African American ever to be elected President of the United States of America, was a bright light, a virtual shining star in America's political firmament, when he did indeed truly embody the meaning of hope for a nation. That time was the days leading up to, and including his inauguration -- as he was installed as our 44th President.

In bold colors that still electrify and cause tingling of the pores just by looking at them, this book displays that pageantry as one complete national tableau: The train ride, each stop, pictures of the smiling faces along the way, the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration itself; the pictures of the Obama family smiling honest smiles as they waved to the crowd.

But also pictures of the homeless men who lived along side the tracks as they were huddled and bundled up in rags trying to keep warm from the bitter cold; the throngs on the Washington D.C. mall near the monuments, all happily waving miniature American flags in a rare display of meaningful national unity as American patriotism. Then there was the Obamas, on their way in, standing in democratic solidarity with the Bushes, who were on their way out: the proverbial peaceful change of power, a peace, in an American Democracy that since Obama's inauguration has ended abruptly and fallen on bad and uncertain times.

These pictures, and the swollen patriotic narrative accompanying them, in the aftermath of Obama's inauguration, only show in dramatic relief how diseased and how damaged our democracy has really become. Obama's honeymoon was over even before the train stopped. The dark side of this story, Paul Harvey's proverbial "the rest of the story," is about how a timid President facing a divided nation refused to lead, but instead sat crouched back at his desk in the oval office, waiting for a divided and racist motivated Republican Congress to dictate for him the terms of his own agenda of the "audacity of hope."

Since there was no "audacity" on the part of our new President, the racist dominated Republican Congress made sure there would also be no hope. And now, just short of four years later, we see how the powerful negative forces within a nation can always be used to trump and overcome hope and the larger interests of the people as a whole. As the saying goes, "hope" is not a program, but a lot wishful thinking -- whether it is audacious or not.

After four years and a "pre-awarded" Nobel Prize, Mr. Obama and the nation have little to show for his refusal to come out of his corner (in the comfort of the Oval Office) and face his adversaries, mano-y-mano. What we got instead from our first black President was little more than a cowardly "rope-a-dope-for-hope" stance as the Republican radicals and racist pounded away at his mid-section. And now that he is in the last round of his first term, still barely hanging on to the ropes, off the vapors of his inauguration, he wants us to automatically revive hope in him by voting for him again?

Some of my friends think he might survive another crippling term, but I say now it is all pretty much irrelevant because his unwillingness to come out into the center of the ring to fight back, has marked him forever as a weak cowardly politician, and dimmed forever both the confidence and the hope in him that we all had invested in him and his presidency. His second term (should he win) now is all so anti-climatic. Barack Hussein Obama, who is that?

Now it is back to the future with Pygmy politics and Pygmy politicians as usual, Mr. Obama included. Three Stars

I am really pleased with this Photographic Journal. It has good pictures and information. Will be a great keepsake that I will pass on to my granddaughter as a memoir for her to keep and pass on.

I was anticipating excellent photographs, and they well may be excellent photos; but the reproduction is inferior. I would recommend getting the "Barack Obama: The Official Inaugural Book" to have the quality historical events require!. Barack Obama: The Official Inaugural Book You will find this a superior book.

This book is a great overview of the inauguration. There were so many images from tv that there was no way to capture but this book did it all. I was especially pleased to see a good picture of Mrs. Obama's inauguration gown without waiting for the Smithsonian exhibition. Newspapers photos will fade. This book will give you memories to share with grandchildren for quite some time.

This photographic journal captured the true atmosphere of such a historical event in American history. For people unable to attend the inauguration, this is a must have item to add to your President Obama collection.

Superb photos throughout - beginning with Obama's speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, then taking the oath in front of the U.S. Capitol, going down the parade route, and dancing at the inaugural balls. The estimated 1.8 million gathered in front of the Capitol and on the National Mall - all facing Obama making his Inauguration speech, is one of my favorites. My biggest favorites, though, are those with the ever-smiling Obama girls - Sasha and Malia.

The book also contains a brief biography that includes Obama's American grandparents, his lucky beaks (eg. opponents flaming out in the 2004 Senate election, being selected to keynote the 2004 Democratic Conventions), anonymity in the 2000 Democratic Convention (even having his credit card declined).

Other photos cover taking the train from Philadelphia to D.C., excited well-wishers, celebrities in attendance, and paying respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

All the photos are clear, well-framed, and capture the unposed excitement of the moment. Does a great job capturing the spirit of a very important and emotional point in America's history!