Barack Obama

The Story

By: David Maraniss

Narrated by: David Maraniss

The groundbreaking multigenerational biography, a richly textured account of President Obama and the forces that shaped him and sustain him, from Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, political commentator, and acclaimed biographer David Maraniss.

In Barack Obama: The Story, David Maraniss has written a deeply reported generational biography teeming with fresh insights and revealing information, a masterly narrative drawn from hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama in the Oval Office, and a trove of letters, journals, diaries, and other documents.

The book unfolds in the small towns of Kansas and the remote villages of western Kenya, following the personal struggles of Obama’s white and black ancestors through the swirl of the twentieth century. It is a roots story on a global scale, a saga of constant movement, frustration and accomplishment, strong women and weak men, hopes lost and deferred, people leaving and being left. Disparate family threads converge in the climactic chapters as Obama reaches adulthood and travels from Honolulu to Los Angeles to New York to Chicago, trying to make sense of his past, establish his own identity, and prepare for his political future.

Barack Obama: The Story chronicles as never before the forces that shaped the first black president of the United States and explains why he thinks and acts as he does. Much like the author’s classic study of Bill Clinton, First in His Class, this promises to become a seminal book that will redefine a president.

Not what I expected

I guess I didn’t read the description of this book carefully, because I thought it would be about his White House years. iI think I confused this book with the one I actually wanted. May I have a credit so I can download the one I actually wanted?

A Story of an Unusual Life, Remarkably Researched

What made the experience of listening to Barack Obama the most enjoyable?

The intriguing details in this book of Obama's life prior to his entry into politics were a result of amazingly intricate research. Even street addresses of relatively minor characters are given, and many of Obama's far flung friends and family who are still alive were interviewed. These details were woven into a well told story that provided an intimate picture of the young man and insight into his present character. I have just acquired Dreams from my Father and, at this point, cannot decide which book should be read first. It is obvious from gentle comments in Maraniss' book that Obama's account of his life is told from the bias that is inevitable in personal memories of the past. This is true of everyone. I now plan to read other books by Obama himself.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course Obama himself was my favorite, but the stories involving his mother totally changed my view of her. Maraniss enables the reader to understand even flawed characters.

Have you listened to any of David Maraniss’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but his performance was excellent. I believe that only he could have pronounced the exotic names of people and places with such fluency

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

My reaction was not extreme other than the enjoyment I had in listening to it

Great Book - Boring Reader

Would you consider the audio edition of Barack Obama to be better than the print version?

No

Would you be willing to try another one of David Maraniss’s performances?

NO. This reader was very boring in his delivery. I would have really enjoyed this book and got it for a long road trip. But the reader was so boring I had to stop listening. Now I will read the book instead.

What a book!

The author's reading of the book added greatly to the enjoyment of it. His pronunciation of the names of individuals and the many places in the book is wonderful. He points out factual errors in Mr. Obama's memoir, "Dreams from my Father", but makes it clear that the purpose of the book is not to debunk that prior book. He very carefully explains why it is impossible that the president was born anywhere but in Hawaii. He talks very honestly about Obama, Sr. and his personality flaws and failings. He describes in great detail Obama's three years at a Catholic school in Jakarta, his time in high school in Hawaii as part of a weed club and the state champs basketball team, his two years at Occidental College, his two years at Columbia and his three years working in Chicago before law school. And then the book ends with a simple chronology of highlights of the years to come. There is nothing about Obama's various campaigns or his presidency.

Recommended!!

Fair

If you're looking for WONDERFUL things to hear about Barack Obama, this is not necessarily the book to read. Conversely, if you're looking for NASTY things to hear about Barack Obama, this is not necessary the book to read. What you will find is a very fair and extensive biographical account. No one could accuse David Maraniss of taking "sides". He has compiled a thorough story of Obama's life and it is for the reader to sift through his descriptions to come to your own conclusions about why Barack Obama is who he is. Is it nurture or nature.