A Promised Land

this book does not have to be 700 pages. And it's only part 1??!!? I can see it being inspirational for high school or uni poli sci kids but I personally could not care less.

it was very self righteous and maybe I'm wrong to expect more from the former POTUS but still it was very “ah I love the smell of the roses in my garden and I always say hi to my gardener”

Nice

library hold ran out - this is a LONG book

Listening to Barack Obama's audiobook “A Promised Land” was an enriching experience. The content is deeply engaging, offering a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at his presidency and personal journey. What made the experience even more special was Obama's narration. His voice carries warmth, humor, and a genuine authenticity that kept me captivated, even as I finished the very long audiobook with almost 30 hours. While the sheer number of names sometimes made it challenging to keep track of who was who, it didn't diminish the power of the storytelling. Overall, I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in politics or personal growth. It's a compelling, insightful, and inspiring listen.

A great insight into how a regular person gets into the political system, and how it all works from the inside. It’s great to have some insight into how the people beneath the politicians make the decisions they do, and how they’re forced into positions they don’t necessarily agree with.

It’s an inherently biased book, as all memoirs/autobiographies are bound to be, but he makes a clear distinction between facts and his opinions, and even if you disagree with some of them, following the process to turn his opinions into laws is still deeply relatable.

Revisiting major world events from the President of the US himself gives you another perspective about a lot of things.

Key takeaways:

- I appreciated the way Mr. Obama somehow made being president seem both like a regular job and completely unlike a regular job at the same time. Reading this book, I was struck by how often I flipped between two thoughts: I could never be president, it sounds way too complicated, and I could probably handle being president, it doesn't sound that hard. I'll attribute that to Mr. Obama's ability to humanize the role, not my own ability to handle the pressures of being president.
- Being president is just management. While reading this book, the perspective I took away is that effective management is two parts: 1) Getting experts to work for you and balancing all the concerns your experts bring up simultaneously. If we solve this problem the way the environmental expert says, how will that work with the military expert's concerns? How will that impact the economy? 2) Getting the most out of the experts that work for you.
- No problem tat reaches the top office (president, CEO, etc.) has a clean, 100% solution. If it did, someone else down the chain of command would have solved it already. As the top official, you need to be comfortable weighing a mix of bad options and choosing the least-bad one.

I plan to read every presidential biography capped at one book per president. If the president reads their audiobook then that's the way I will consume it as is my general rule with biographies.

The book is a great insight into how Obama views his time in office and how he views himself. The book largely avoids his 2nd term perhaps because he achieved essentially nothing.

His god complex comes through quite a bit with almost nothing being his fault. A handful of times he will acknowledge that he was rude or short with someone or didn't prepare a staff member properly for the media.

He justifies starting new military action because the republicans did it before him. All while saying how much of a mess those unneeded conflicts were.

He avoids all his war crimes and drone strike policies while parading the moral authority of his presidency and America.

Nothing about the continued use of the patriot act.

Really this book is just more of a feel good story for neoliberals than a thoughtful look at one's time in office.

7/10

Very well narrated audiobook by the man himself. This book kept me hooked even though I have no general interest in American politics. I have to subtract one star for all the stuff that I did it understand at all.

Personal opinion: this book is on the better side of just okay. I liked Michelle's memoir way more. Maybe that's because I'm not the most interested in the inner-workings of the American political system, especially because any first-hand account of that bipartisan system will be inherently very biased; or maybe it's because this was so pragmatically written, in a linear “this is what happened and this is what I did about it” kind of way. Or maybe it's because it's REALLY long. It was interesting to hear more about the big events from his first term because I was young and barely following the news at the time; it was also interesting hearing about his family/personal life. Always the diplomat, Obama was very tactful in his telling of his experience, and it read very much so like his politics; idealistic (in a lovely way, I think), pragmatic, calm, well-paced, but also a little stiff. Still a perfectly decent read.

26 hours of audio book is a lot.

I enjoyed this book, but it was really, really long. I commuted to and fro work and cooked a lot of meals while listening to this. Of course we all know Obama has a lot to say and is brilliant, so that will come as no shock while reading or listening. But it is.. a lot.

I can't imagine figuring out how to pair down a presidency, though.

I have placed a 4, but really feel like a 3.75 because it really does sometimes get tedious.

It was very interesting to get to understand the workings of the President of the United States. I'm glad President Obama took the time to explain some of his thoughts and reasons for events that took place during his time in office. I think everyone should read this book. It might be especially good for those who didn't like him as president. I think he has a lot in common with former president Carter also, as both men took some actions, based on their gut and heart, that didn't bode well at the time with the public.

Man, I love reading this guy's words.

“A Promised Land” is mostly concerned with Barack Obama's election to the highest office in our land and his first four years as President, as told through his eyes, memory, and life.

Obama has always had a way with words, as evidenced by his first major speech at the Democratic National Convention where he initially captured the interest and admiration of so many Americans. Over the ensuing years of his presidency, his words spoke to a nation with a message that needed to be heard in a way that was effective, informative, and just enjoyable to hear.

This book provides a glimpse into the mind and thoughts of a man who occupied the office of the President of the United States for 8 years, helping even those who admired him understand that the job was never easy. The history he provides, with the additional background of his own thoughts, paints a picture that fills in some of the “holes” normal histories or biographies would miss.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this book covers the first four years of his presidency. This book is actually Book One and I cannot wait for the second volume. If you haven't read “A Promised Land” yet, you should be sure to add it to your To Be Read list.

Why did I pick this book?
I've recently read a few management books (Disney, Pixar and Steve Jobs) and love the insight it gives on managing a company, and overall challenges in life. What better book to step up a notch than from a President?

The book itself
Is massive. Don't expect to easily take this with you on a summer holiday.. Tho' I did manage to bring it along to the beach for some reading.
Also note that it is just the first part of Obama's presidency, up to the raid of Bin Laden. Another book is to follow on the next part.
In this one Obama takes the reader through his early life, growing up in Hawaii and the influence his mother and grandmother had on his life, through to his studying years, running for Senate and finally the presidency.

What did I think of it
As soon as I read the intro I knew I would be hooked. I was a little worried that it would be a dry book, for which you would need a thorough understanding of the United States political system.
However, as I discovered in the intro already, Obama takes care to carefully explain the background of a certain topic, before diving deep into how he and his team handled it. You can get a really good insight in the intricacies of most (global) topics.

Also, when Obama doesn't have to stick to the facts and run through a specific string of events, when he has the time to write about the scenery of the White House, or other politician's abodes, the writer in him pops up. I was enthralled by his description of the grounds around the House.

My recommendations
If you enjoyed this book, or maybe are on the fence about starting such a lengthy book, I would suggest going with ‘Ride of a Lifetime' by Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. It's a much shorter book, but the style of writing and topics covered are pretty similar.

I've been listening to this for so many months now that I probably can't even remember half the things which were part of it. But it was a well narrated audiobook and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I've been waiting for this from the library for longer than I can recall but sigh I couldn't get through more than 10 pages (and that includes skipping the introduction) because I kept editing it in my head. This is needlessly verbose and filled with irrelevant details which impede the narrative; Random House did Barack a serious disservice by not assigning an editor to whittle this down to a manageable size while maintaining the author's oh-so-pretty prose.

Michelle Obama's Becoming has recently been released in a young readers edition and I sincerely hope there is one planned for this beautiful monstrosity.

“Politics doesn't have to be what people think it is. It can be something more.”When Barack Obama started his rise to power, I felt hopeful but sceptical as well: Would America, of all nations, really elect a Black man as its president? And who was that guy anyway? As a German, I had been vaguely aware of Obama but I knew next to nothing about him. That would change over time but do little to alleviate my scepticism: Even if this guy was for real, even if he truly believed what he said about change and equality - would this man stay true to his ideals? Would the power he was seeking corrupt him? The first surprise came when he was actually elected as the next President of the United States of America. I became a little more hopeful. That was a powerful sign for the better - the first Afro-American president. Obama didn't deliver on all his promises - Guantanamo Bay detention camp still exists today for example. And yet... Obama helped the world through a recession that could have been much worse. He made “Obamacare” reality. Obama helped further LGBT rights in America and all over the world.To me, personally, Barack Obama is an example for an honest, realistic but idealist politician. Thus, it was with some worry that I started reading the first part of his presidential memoirs, “A Promised Land”.Would I be disenchanted? Would Obama be honest? Had I been deluded about him? The answers to those questions are a resounding “No!”, “Yes!” and “No!” respectively.»Whatever vision I had for a more noble kind of politics, it would have to wait.«Obama tells us about his rise through the ranks and, to my relief, he might not always have acted as “cleanly” as I had hoped for but he mostly did. Obama is quite honest about it and he strives to be better.Throughout the entire 1.000 pages, Obama is not only honest about himself but fairly often self-deprecating and employing a dry humour:»I mean dumb choices in the wake of considerable deliberation: those times when you identify a real problem in your life, analyze it, and then with utter confidence come up with precisely the wrong answer.«From humble beginnings (»She [Michelle] reminded me that we had student loans, a mortgage, and credit card debt to think about.«), armed with the best intentions (»the best we can do is to try to align ourselves with what we feel is right and construct some meaning out of our confusion, and with grace and nerve play at each moment the hand that we're dealt.«) Obama rises to the daily challenges during his political career and always keeps that “moral compass” close at hand to try and do what feels right.Obama obviously knew what was at stake because »I know that the day I raise my right hand and take the oath to be president of the United States, the world will start looking at America differently.«. And many of us did. It was Obama who paved the way for “a skinny Black girl” (Amanda Goreman, at Biden's inauguration) to dream of becoming president. Even before Goreman recited that, Obama wrote: »I know that kids all around this country—Black kids, Hispanic kids, kids who don't fit in—they'll see themselves differently, too, their horizons lifted, their possibilities expanded. And that alone...that would be worth it.”«This book is testament to Obama's efforts, his successes as well as his failures. On the down side, it's long, often very “dry” and especially the deliberations about dealing with the financial crises were very extensive and, to me, too long. Most of the time, Obama is conciliatory towards his political opponents. At times, though, he is very outspoken about his feelings:»I wondered when exactly such a sizable portion of the American Right had become so frightened and insecure that they'd completely lost their minds.« Truth to be told, I'm not sure I'm going to read the next part of Obama's memoirs, though: These one-thousand pages were - at times - the hardest “literary nut” I had to crack and I barely made it through the book. If you - like me - appreciate what Obama stands for and what he accomplished and “just” want to know if he was acting truthfully and honestly then, yes, I fully believe so after reading this. That gives me hope. The fact that America went on to elect the orange menace into office was a setback that might yet be balanced by President Biden and, potentially, the first female Afro-American president. Let's hope together that Obama will keep playing a role in international politics because I truly believe we need more people like him, or, in Obama's own words: »So long as young men and women like that exist in every corner of this earth, I told myself, there is reason enough to hope.« Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

I cried when he discussed the repeal of “don't ask, don't tell”.

Whew! I had to listen to the book to get through the specifics of the political situations. Well written but it can get a bit drudgery. I enjoyed this book immensely actually but it won't get a second read anytime soon (maybe a second listen to someday). His voice was good to listen to. This review is attached to the Kindle format because I went back and forth between reading and listening. Sometimes, since the iPad Kindle app does this, I read along as it is being read to me. That can help, too, if I am tired but not tired enough to go to sleep. There were a few snippets about private life but mainly it was about specific work situations and how he processed them. He was honest about mistakes and even direct about views of people and moments that were not perfect. I am looking forward to volume 2.

Este ha sido una de las raras ocasiones en las que he “leido” un libro con un audiobook. Y lo he hecho porque este libro esta narrado por Obama y puedo escuchar a este hombre por horas y horas.

Tener informacion de primera mano de un ex-presidente es maravilloso, sobre todo su modo de pensar cuando se enfrenta a diversas crisis.
Pero hay un par de cosas que no me acaban de gustar demasiado, primero es la cantidad de nombres que no me suenan de nada, gente que le ayudo a ganar las elecciones o que trabajaban en posiciones mas o menos desconocidas en la casa blanca.

Pero sobre todo lo que menos me ha gustado es que en la mayoria de los casos se atribuye a el o a su equipo la decision adecuada y la mejor implementacion posible. Y esto me parece demasiado increible, para cuando iba por la mitad del libro ya casi me hacia gracia cuando presenta un problema, su solucion y la presenta como la unica y mejor alternativa.
Entiendo que pareciera la mejor alternativa, pero dudo que despues de ver los sucesos, no te plantearas si lo fue o no.

La otra cosa curiosa es como ignora algunas de las contradicciones en las que tuvo que jugar. Por ejemplo, en una parte del libro habla de un viaje a Arabia Saudi y como el regimen alli es retrogrado y denigrante para las mujeres, como le intentaron comprar y como empujan a la creacion de terrorismo contra EEUU y otros paises. Y aun asi, muy colegas con ellos, fiesta juntos, risas y tal.

I read this thick boy over two long borrows from the library. It's very detailed. I enjoy obamas writing cadence but tended to skim through parts describing less than important people to get through to the more exciting or nostalgic descriptions of his first term. The foreshadowing and the hindsight really hit home knowing what came after obama. Can't wait for his next book. 

An eloquent, heady read from the road to the Oval through Operation Neptune Spear with some much-needed levity threaded throughout. I understand more about the Great Recession, Iran sanctions, and a myriad of other things than I ever did before. This book reinforces the idea that the White House and what it stands for is not about one person but instead what a team of people entrusted with America's values and safekeeping can chieve together. What a fascinating look inside that sphere and how far respect, listening, and compromise can truly take us as a nation.

At times, very often in fact, he took the road to Rome from Paris via Tokyo. On the other hand, those extensive incursions in the history of the Middle East or the mess of the American healthcare system were actually interesting enough to keep going. What I liked about this book in particular is the ability to make it each chapter captivating, even if sometimes you have to go through 90% of the chapter filled with elaborate descriptions of some political mechanisms.

I usually don't have the best experience with Audiobook versions of books, but this one being read in Obama's magnetic voice made all the difference. It truly felt like he was relating his life before and during his first term as president to me. Though the American political system differs from ours in vastly diverse ways this was a riveting insight into what goes into the decision making as president of one of the most influential nations on earth.

This feels like the longest book I've read in my entire life and I'm glad I'm done with it but also if you have the opportunity to read this, please do