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The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

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Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$25.00~~
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Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6

ISBN: 0307237699
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.04960730092
EAN: 9780307237699
ASIN: 0307237699

Publication Date: October 17, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
Barack Obama's first book, iDreams from My Father/i, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book iThe Audacity of Hope/i, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. i--Daphne Durham/i hr noshade="noshade" size="1" class="bucketDivider" /b class="h1" 20 Second Interview: A Few Words with Barack Obama/bbrbrimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/promos/a-plus/obama.1.jpg" hspace="4" vspace="4" border="0" align="left" bQ:/b How did writing a book that you knew would be read so closely by so many compare to writing your first book, when few people knew who you were?br bA:/b In many ways, iDreams from My Father/i was harder to write. At that point, I wasn't even sure that I could write a book. And writing the first book really was a process of self-discovery, since it touched on my family and my childhood in a much more intimate way. On the other hand, writing iThe Audacity of Hope/i paralleled the work that I do every day--trying to give shape to all the issues that we face as a country, and providing my own personal stamp on them.brbr bQ:/b What is your writing process like? You have such a busy schedule, how did you find time to write?br bA:/b I'm a night owl, so I usually wrote at night after my Senate day was over, and after my family was asleep--from 9:30 p.m. or so until 1 a.m. I would work off an outline--certain themes or stories that I wanted to tell--and get them down in longhand on a yellow pad. Then I'd edit while typing in what I'd written.brbr bQ:/b If readers are to come away from iThe Audacity of Hope/i with one action item (a New Year's Resolution for 2007, perhaps?), what should it be?br bA:/b Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesnt matter what it is--improving the school system, developing strategies to wean ourselves off foreign oil, expanding health care for kids. We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result.brbr bQ:/b You're known for being able to work with people across ideological lines. Is that possible in today's polarized Washington?br bA:/b It is possible. There are a lot of well-meaning people in both political parties. Unfortunately, the political culture tends to emphasize conflict, the media emphasizes conflict, and the structure of our campaigns rewards the negative. I write about these obstacles in chapter 4 of my book, "Politics." When you focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points, and emphasize common sense over ideology, you'd be surprised what can be accomplished. It also helps if you're willing to give other people credit--something politicians have a hard time doing sometimes./divbrbr bQ:/b How do you make people passionate about moderate and complex ideas?br bA:/b I think the country recognizes that the challenges we face aren't amenable to sound-bite solutions. People are looking for serious solutions to complex problems. I don't think we need more moderation per se--I think we should be bolder in promoting universal health care, or dealing with global warming. We just need to understand that actually solving these problems won't be easy, and that whatever solutions we come up with will require consensus among groups with divergent interests. That means everybody has to listen, and everybody has to give a little. That's not easy to do.brbr bQ:/b What has surprised you most about the way Washington works?br bA:/b How little serious debate and deliberation takes place on the floor of the House or the Senate.brbr bQ:/b You talk about how we have a personal responsibility to educate our children. What small thing can the average parent (or person) do to help improve the educational system in America? What small thing can make a big impact?br bA:/b Nothing has a bigger impact than reading to children early in life. Obviously we all have a personal obligation to turn off the TV and read to our own children; but beyond that, participating in a literacy program, working with parents who themselves may have difficulty reading, helping their children with their literacy skills, can make a huge difference in a child's life.brbr bQ:/b Do you ever find time to read? What kinds of books do you try to make time for? What is on your nightstand now? br bA:/b Unfortunately, I had very little time to read while I was writing. I'm trying to make up for lost time now. My tastes are pretty eclectic. I just finished Marilynne Robinsons iGilead/i, a wonderful book. The language just shimmers. I've started iTeam of Rivals/i by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a great study of Lincoln as a political strategist. I read just about anything by Toni Morrison, E.L. Doctorow, or Philip Roth. And I've got a soft spot for John le Carre.brbr bQ:/b What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?br bA:/b I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.brbr hr /="/" noshade="noshade" class="bucketDivider" size="1" p clear="all"

Product Description
#8220;A government that truly represents these Americans#8211;that truly serves these Americans#8211;will require a different kind of politics. That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived. It won#8217;t be pre-packaged, ready to pull off the shelf. It will have to be constructed from the best of our traditions and will have to account for the darker aspects of our past. We will need to understand just how we got to this place, this land of warring factions and tribal hatreds. And we#8217;ll need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break.#8221;br#8211;from bThe Audacity of Hope/bbrbrbrIn July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners#8217; minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called #8220;the audacity of hope.#8221; brbrNow, in bThe Audacity of Hope/b, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics#8211;a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the #8220;endless clash of armies#8221; we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of #8220;our improbable experiment in democracy.#8221; He explores those forces#8211;from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media#8211;that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.brbrAt the heart of this book is Senator Obama#8217;s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats#8211;from terrorism to pandemic#8211;that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy#8211;where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus. brbrA senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes#8211;#8220;waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.#8221;

Customer Reviews: Read 95 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

We Are All One January 8, 2009
Reading about history has always been a favorite past time of mine, ever since grade school, especially reading about real people, you know, before they became famous and they lost touch with the "working guy/girl". I also enjoy Frank Capra movies but that's a subject for another review. So, when I finally got around to reading President-elect Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" I wasn't expecting what happened. I didn't just like it, I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down because it was so real. I found myself questioning what I really believed in. It was like I was having a heart-to-heart conversation with Senator Barack Obama, who just happened to have been elected President of the United States. Now he's the President-elect Obama and I feel like I have this relationship with the, soon-to-be sworn-in, next President of the United States. br /br /The title "The Audacity to Hope" explains why I liked the book so much, and it's because the book gives a good insight into who Barack Obama is. In "The Audacity to Hope" President-elect Obama explains why he feels about being who he is, and as a result it makes me want to be a better person. I believe that what he says is true, "that we have a stake in one another." John F. Kennedy was the only other President, in my life-time, that has given me cause to feel this way. I want so much to believe him when he writes " that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart." We are all one in so many ways.br /br /The book is real because the man is real, he speaks from his heart and he is aware of the hearts of others. He's aware of the millions of Americans who go about their business every day. "Their lives are full of contradictions and ambiguities." He is aware that Americans understand that politics is a business and no longer a mission, . . . "they turn inward, away from the noise and rage and endless chatter." "A government that truly represents these Americans - that truly serves these Americans - will require a different kind of politics." President-elect Obama connects to American's hope when he writes, "That politics will need to reflect our lives as they are actually lived." He states "And we will need to remind ourselves, despite all our differences, just how much we share: common hopes, common dreams, a bond that will not break." Again, testimony to how we as human beings are all one.br /br /Barack Obama is aware of his strengths and also his weaknesses. In "The Audacity of Hope" Barack Obama expresses his feelings on both sides of many important issues and yet he is not closed minded to his critics. "I'd begun to see how any challenge to convention harbored within it the possibility of its own excesses and its own orthodoxy."br /br /In the beginning of "the Audacity of Hope" President-elect Obama writes, "Instead what I offer is something more modest: personal reflections on those values and ideals that have led me to public life." I believe that is exactly what he has done in this book. I also believe him when he quotes Benjamin Franklin saying: "I would rather have it said, He lived usefully, than, He died rich" another reason why we are all one. br /

5 out of 5 stars

Makes me proud to call him my president! January 7, 2009
This is a thoughtful and inspiring book which is written well without being stuffy, written simply without being dumbed down and even at times achieves eloquence, without being preachy. The chapters on "the Constitution", "Faith" and "the World Beyond Our Borders" show a good grasp of American history, and the chapter on "Politics" is an assault on the do-nothing cynicism which seems to have settled into the hearts of too many Americans, both on the right and on the left. I was particularly taken by President Obama's criticism of liberal "progressives" who are so rooted in secularism that they reject people who have faith based values. The candid anecdotes from Obama's own life are fascinating, and reveal a good bit about how his ideas and his personality have been shaped. I wish every American would read this book, no matter who they voted for, and then come together with a renewed sense of purpose to work with each other, disagree civilly, and fully live up to our founding ideals.

5 out of 5 stars

Very well-written January 6, 2009
Written in a style that is easy to read, I found The Audacity of Hope to be very insightful. The author has a simple, but not simplistic, perspective on the world. Since he is our next president, everyone should read this book.

5 out of 5 stars

Obama, the man for 2009! January 6, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is a must read or at least every household should have one of Barack Obama's book in their library.

5 out of 5 stars

No wonder he is the President now January 5, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

this is wonderful audiobook, Barack has a great voice and delivery that made the overall experience thoroughly enjoyable.br /This is an inspiring political biography (with human element to it!!)br /Provides an insight into a man and a politician of collaboration - who clearly has made history!br /br /absolutely loved it - i actually heard the first copy from the library but then ended up buying a copy for my collection.br /I look forward to his presidency.

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