Obama: From Promise to Power - Softcover

Mendell, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006173666X ISBN 13: 9780061736667

Publisher: Harper, 2008

Synopsis

Barack Obama is arguably the most dynamic political figure to grace the American stage since John F. Kennedy. His meteoric rise from promise to power has stunned even the cynics and inspired a legion of devout followers.

 

For anyone who wants to know more about the man, David Mendell's Obama is essential reading. Mendell, who covered Obama for the Chicago Tribune, had far-reaching access to the Chicago politician as Obama climbed the ladder to the White House, the details of which he shares in this compelling biography. Positioning Obama as the savior of a fumbling Democratic party, Mendell reveals how Obama conquered Illinois politics and paved the way brick by brick for a galvanizing, historic presidential run.

 

With a new afterword by the author, which includes a fresh perspective on Barack Obama following his two historic terms as the first African-American president, and with exclusive interviews with family members and top advisers, and details on Obama's voting record, David Mendell offers a complete, complex, and revealing portrait. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in American politics in general and President Barack Obama in particular.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The biography of America's hottest political superstar, Barack Obama—a man poised on the threshold of greatness.

Barack Obama's meteoric rise from Hawaii high schooler to exemplary Harvard Law School student to well-groomed politico to history-making presidential candidate is the stuff of legend. Since his headline-grabbing speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama has come to represent the promise of unity among groups of all types of Americans—blacks and whites; Democrats, Republicans, and moderates; the young and the old; the upper, middle, and lower classes.

Veteran Chicago Tribune journalist David Mendell has covered Obama since the beginning of the candidate's campaign for the Senate. In Obama: From Promise to Power, the author offers a revealing, detailed portrait based on intensive research and exclusive interviews with Obama's closest aides, mentors, political adversaries, and family—most notably his charismatic wife, Michelle. It is an eye-opening look at the evolution of a brilliant politician whose name has become a catchphrase for hope in a politically jaded society.

About the Author

David Mendell, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, wrote about urban issues and politics for the Chicago Tribune from 1998 to 2007. He is now a Chicago-based freelance writer and an adjunct instructor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, GQ, the Washington Post and other places.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 006173666X
• ISBN 13: 9780061736667
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 416