A Promised Land

A riveting,deeply personal account of history in the makingΓÇöfrom the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ΓÇó NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE ΓÇó NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND PEOPLE NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post ΓÇó Jennifer SzalaiThe New York Times ΓÇó NPR ΓÇó The Guardian ΓÇó Slate ΓÇó Vox ΓÇó The Economist ΓÇó Marie Claire In the stirring first volume of his presidential memoirsBarack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free worlddescribing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidencyΓÇöa time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 42008when he was elected 44th president of the United Statesbecoming the first African American to hold the nationΓÇÖs highest office. Reflecting on the presidencyhe offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential poweras well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Roomand to MoscowCairoBeijingand points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinetwrestles with a global financial crisistakes the measure of Vladimir Putinovercomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Actclashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistantackles Wall Street reformresponds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowoutand authorizes Operation NeptuneΓÇÖs Spearwhich leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspectiveΓÇöthe story of one manΓÇÖs bet with historythe faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black Americanbearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of ΓÇ£hope and changeΓÇ¥ and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroadopen about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughtersand unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the greatongoing American experimentprogress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack ObamaΓÇÖs conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built togetherday by day.