The Rise of Barack Obama (Hardcover)

~ Photography and Text by Pete Souza (Author)
Key Phrases: Capitol Hill, United States, Barack Obama (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Illinois Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign has galvanized Democrats and independents in ways not seen or heard since John F. Kennedy was president. In fact, the belief in Obama's political positions, his charisma, and Barack's affinity for connecting with his audience has brought an endorsement from Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy.

Pete Souza has extensively documented Senator Barack Obama's rise to political stardom with exclusive photographs beginning with Obama's first day in the U.S. Senate. He has accompanied the Senator to seven countries including Kenya, South Africa, and Russia. Souza had unprecedented access to photograph private and political moments as senator and presidential candidate Obama went about his duties. His photographs of Obama have won national photojournalism awards for the past three years.

Souza is a freelance photographer and assistant professor of photojournalism at Ohio University. He has worked as an official White House photographer for President Ronald Reagan and was also the official photographer for the President's June 2004 funeral. He is the author of two celebrated photographic books of President Reagan's term in office, Unguarded Moments: Behind-the-Scenes Photographs of President Reagan (1992) and Images of Greatness: An Intimate Look at the Presidency of Ronald Reagan by Triumph Books (2004.)

Souza's photographs have also appeared as photo spreads or covers in renowned magazines as National Geographic, Life, Fortune, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report. His photographs have also been part of group exhibits at the National Archives, Smithsonian Museum of American History, and Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600781632
• ISBN-13: 978-1600781636
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #372,583 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Proof-positive" of a Gift of a Leader to the Nation, August 21, 2008

By	Scott Forbes (USA) - See all my reviews

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."

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the Ages, August 21, 2008

By	Norman B. Garber (red state) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Photo book on Obama., July 31, 2008

By	Marcia Nighswander "photo book collector" (Athens, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased three copies for my family. The book includes images from the very beginning of Obama's national political career. I encourage others to purchase the book while you still can get it. If you like history you will want one or more for your library. If Obama is elected president this will be a collector's item.